Re: Introduction to Kerla

OK, here goes:



Description of Kerla (So Far)


Phonology - Consonants:

          Labial     Alveo-Dental     Velar     Palatal     Glottal

Stops      p  b          t  d         k  g                     ?*

Fricatives   v            s                      c /S/         h*

Nasals       m            n             ng*

Flaps                     r

Laterals                  l

* ? and h only occur initially; ng only exists when pronouncing -nk/g-


Phonology - Vowels:

          Front     Central     Back

High        i                     u

Middle      e                     o

Low                    a

Diphthongs: ai, au, eu, ia, iu, io, oi, ui


Phonotactics:

Syllable structure is CV(R), where V is any vowel or diphthong, and where R
is a member of the set {l r m n s c}, or CVS, where S is a voiceless stop,
followed by sV.

Clusters of two nasals, two fricatives, a flap or lateral following a
nasal, and a flap following a lateral are not allowed.

The phonotactics may be amended later on to allow stop + flap and stop +
lateral clusters.


Root/Primitive Design Notes:

- Every root/primitive will denote a concept

- Every root/primitive will have a basic form denoting either a predicate
or an argument

- All perceivable objects/entities will be basic arguments

- All perceivable actions/activities will be basic predicates

- Basic predicates will have derived arguments, and basic arguments will
have derived predicates

- The zero predicate implies equivalence between two or more arguments

- All basic predicates will, by default, be in present tense, indicative
mood, punctual aspect, active voice, and transitive.  Thus, all other
tenses, moods, etc. will be derived.

- All roots/primitives will have 2 syllables and end in a vowel of the set
{a e o u}

- The vowel i is the plural radical, and as such, it will not be allowed in
the creation of basic root/primitive forms

- All roots/primitives will be created using a computer program, and then
perhaps "tweaked" by the creator(s).


Syntax:

Kerla syntax is based on predicate logic, where a predicate is a relation
between one or two main arguments.

Canonical word-order is VSO.

All modifiers follow their heads, and agree with them in number and case.

There is no distinction between "adjectives" and "relative clauses" -- "the
big house" = "the house that is big."

Embedded/subjunctive clauses (as in "I think that she is pretty") simply
take the object position of the main verb.

Locational/motional predicates are used as equivalents to English
prepositions.

Argument-modifier order is Head-Modifier-Number-Demonstrative-Relative
Clause.

If a head is the subject of a relative clause, then the head-clause
structure is Head-Verb-Object Argument.

If a head is the object of a relative clause, the structure is Head-Verb-
Subject-Resumptive Pronoun.


Arguments ("Nouns"):

There are no articles in Kerla, although the existential argument (=
English "some") can be used when referring to an indefinite or hypothetical
argument.

There is also no grammatical gender in Kerla.

There are two grammatical numbers, singular and plural.  The singular is
used when referencing one item of a (potential) set of such items, or a
specified number of items of such a set, or when using the universal or
existential arguments.  The plural will be used when referencing an
unspecified number of items of a set of such items, or when a specified
(implicitly or explicitly) quantity can be dereferenced (as in "I saw three
ducks.  Then I went into town and the ducks followed me.").  Every argument
has a default singular form, and the plural is marked by -i (when an
argument ends in -e, the e is dropped and then the i is added).

There is at least one case in Kerla - the genitive, or possessive, case.
This case is marked by the suffix -n.  However, this case is not used for
partitive phrases such as "six of the houses."  (There may also be an
accusative case, but I have not decided yet.)


Pronouns:

Currently there are three grammatical persons in Kerla, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
The 1st-person pronominal root is _me_, the 2nd is _te_, and the 3rd is
_se_.  There are no separate male and female forms for any of the pronouns.

There are (currently) three demonstrative pronouns, one to denote something
near the speaker, one to denote something near the listener, and one to
denote something far from both speaker and listener.  I haven't decided on
the forms yet.

There is also an interrogative pronoun.  However, I haven't yet decided on
that form, either.

All pronouns inflect for case and number.  Possessive pronouns are marked
with the genitive/possessive -n (e.g. _me-n_ "my").


Predicates ("Verbs"):

The predicate class is by far the larger and more complex of the two
classes of words in Kerla.  Predicates inflect for tense, mood, aspect,
voice, and (in)transitivity.

Currently, the number of predicate inflections resembles the verb paradigms
for most creoles.  There are markers for anterior (i.e. past) tense,
irrealis (i.e. subjunctive) mood, imperative mood, non-punctual (i.e.
progressive) aspect, passive voice, and intransitivity.  Unfortunately, I
haven't decided on the final forms for these yet.


Particles:

Kerla also has some particles, which do not inflect at all.  At the very
least, there are a negative particle and a question particle.  There will
probably also be particles indicating temporal relations such as "now"
and "then."  There may also be an instrumental particle, analogous to
English "by" and "with" (as in "I broke the window with a hammer").  Again,
none of the forms for these have been finally decided yet, though the
negative and question particles will likely be _ne_ and _ko_, respectively.


Suffixes:

Kerla will use only suffixes for derivation.  This is the least developed
part of the language, however, and is far from complete.


Conclusion:

As you can see, Kerla is definitely still a work in progress.  But I hope
what I have so far is of some interest.


Questions/comments?

- Rob