Pkalho-Kolo 2

This page is devoted to Phonology/Phonotactics, a sample text, and a brief English to Pkalho-Kölo Word-List

I. A. Consonants
Pkalho-Kölo has 24 consonants, some of them easily intabulated, others requiring explanation:

ph, as you would expect, is the bilabial fricative written with the Greek letter phi, which I am unable to paste here.

pk is a sound peculiar to the city of Pkalho, double-articulated, a simultaneous implosive p and plosive k. Form the lips to pronounce a p and the back of the tongue to pronounce a k. The lips open with a pop, and at the same moment the k is released. Not difficult with a little practice. pkw is the labialised version. fh is the corresponding fricative, which could be written /fç/ (I thought I had invented this sound, but in fact it is used by one of those obscure African languages that have 80 or more consonants. (It was in fact the Chadic language Margi/Marghi. Hinotëma.))

lh is an interdental lateral, close in sound to /ð/ Compared to "l" it sounds "dark" i.e. velarised.

n is /n/ between vowels and before t, c, y and n. Before or after any other consonant it is /ŋ/

Sounds missing from the chart:

rl at the beginning of a word, at the end of a syllable or after a consonant is /ļ/ the post-alveolar lateral of Dravidian and Australian Aboriginal languages. Between vowels it is /r/ an alveolar flap; I write "r" at the end of a syllable for brevity. Rl- retains its word-initial sound even if a prefix or aspectual extension is added.

pr could be written /pļ/ Native speakers regard it, like pk, as a single sound. The tongue should press against the back of the alveolar ridge, and release as the lips open.

cw is not simply labialised c. In pronouncing it, the tip of the tongue should press against the back of the bottom teeth while the the top of the tongue touches the hard palate. fw is the corresponding fricative: it could be written /çw/ but the tongue should be in the same position as for cw. Why do I write "fw"? I was trying to avoid diacritical marks, I didn’t like sw, chw or xw, and I couldn't think of anything else except fw.

hw is the voiceless fricative w that we used to have in English in words like “hwæt.”

I. B. Vowels
ä is the low rounded back vowel in British English “swan,” written with an upside-down a. ë is a mid-central vowel. (I can't paste these symbols.)

There are twelve diphthongs, six “like” (rounded + rounded, unrounded + unrounded) and six “unlike” (one rounded, one unrounded.)

II. Phonotactics
1. All root words end in a vowel

2. Syllables can end only in a vowel or the consonants m, n, rl, lh, or l.

3. A syllable can contain a diphthong or a final consonant, but not both. The exception is when a one-syllable word containing a diphthong takes the relative suffix in its reduced form -n.

4. Words do not begin with a diphthong, though three words, au, ea and ui consist of a diphthong.

5. Words beginning with a vowel have glottal onset. Elision occurs only when the neutral demonstratives e and o follow the suffixes -la, -rë or -pë. Thus iturë en, (someone) said the following, becomes itur'en.

(Also, the word erä, person, human being, loses its first vowel in compound words: velya (to play music) - velyarä (musician), kaulo (garden) - kaulorä (gardener). The word for ten, thilä, also loses its last vowel before ea, one: thil'ea, eleven; heru thil'ea, forty-one, etc.)

6. When a word beginning with a vowel takes a directional prefix, or is extended by aspectual stem-modification, an epenthetic r is inserted. Thus olkwela (it resembles) - pkärolkwela (they resemble each other); ilurë (a light shone) - yërilurë (a light flashed for a moment). Word-initial rl keeps its pronunciation /ļ/ even after a prefix, as noted above.

Minor points: after m, the consonants k and kw are realised as pk and pkw. The sequences m+kw and m+pkw I always write mkw, regardless of the original script. After m, r and l the consonant hw becomes the labialised form of the bilabial fricative written with the letter phi, which I can't seem to paste here. The sequence l+hw I write lphw, to distinguish it from the sequence lh+w. The double consonants mm, nn, rll and ll occur frequently: doubled lh ought also to occur, but it seems to have been replaced by the rather rare sequence lh+th, which I write lth.

III. Intonation.
Unlike English, Pkalho-Kölo does not have word-stress: each syllable is pronounced with equal weight, allowing for natural variation. It does however have pitch accent: accented syllables are pronounced at a higher pitch. Three rules roughly cover this:

I. Directional prefixes have an accent which they never lose.

II. One-syllable root words do not normally have an accent.

III. Two and three-syllable root words have an accent on the first syllable, which they lose when immediately preceded by a directional prefix.

Actually it’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s enough to be going on with.

IV. Sample Text
A brief sample text, in Latin letters (Pkalho-Kölo has its own writing system, alphabetic and written from top to bottom and right to left, though a few of the literate prefer left to right.) This is the beginning of a translation of the Grimm Brothers story called "The Seven Ravens":

'''Täthumä atäla lemäi tonun lamo niköli akäto teina eali. Cimekoäkuto cwëllen e wöhela icwiyi löipë nörövafhanela eto iturë ölvu thena-mäyupiela yuli.'''

'''Oto cwinli pintörë eali lamovon atähi kwellapkwe poucahwali ewan, eyi valarikurë lumphë nälmen. Epkëväiloto nöweiwë poucamöli, e hëfworë nilneripë fhampon nömäihi kovo nälhmulemä. Waweto äpkäkwearë lhaun kanlöla vayi haulato emäin thopala muriphili.'''

There was once a man who had seven sons, and last of all one daughter. although the little girl was very pretty, she was so weak and small that they thought she could not live but they said she should at once be christened.

So the father sent one of his sons in haste to the spring to get some water, but the other six ran with him. Each wanted to be the first at drawing the water, and so they were in such a hurry that they all let their pitchers fall into the well, and they stood foolishly looking at one another, and did not know what to do, for none dared go home.

'''Vakuito hauvela atäwë yoähauyi ephiun alwä-nänala lupka-prëmon. Mëula, itur’on, thounölela nikö nömäin rlui yakerëvo; mipko nouma lankwäherëto haunöla murirën lhaun, phouvö värurë, vihwëp’en, fwapehwa fhalhkotopë lhau nömäin.'''

'''Ituhöiherëto oraun, nila luncarë kälhkarën nökwärë keipë kaprokalerën fhora-cëlhmu fhalhvo nikön. Yohwekuto e vihwën keila kounarën, hunyëla epwean thonukwä nirë-tekan, ela houri rlöhwala lhöyepkwe lamo nikön cwälu teinavo, ilva voprälel’on vali-prëlli nilkwe-kwörorëyi.'''

In the mean time the father was uneasy, and could not tell what made the young men stay so long. “Surely,” said he, “the whole seven must have forgotten themselves over some game of play.” And when he had waited still longer and they yet did not come, he flew into a rage and wished them all turned into ravens.

Scarcely had he spoken these words when he heard a croaking over his head, and looked up and saw seven ravens as black as coal flying round and round. Sorry as he was to see his wish so fulfilled, he did not know how what was done could be undone, and he comforted himself as well as he could with his dear little daughter, who soon became stronger and every day more beautiful.

I'm going to try to upload a couple of scans of Pkalho-Kölo in its own writing system. These were written a few years ago and the language has changed slightly since then, but they still give an idea of what the script looks like. (Oh bother they're in the wrong order and I have no idea what to do about it.)

V. English - Pkalho-Kölo:
OK. I'm going, I hope, to add a brief word-list.

A.
to abandon             kwëllo above                  nila absent                 hau to accompany           mimä to accuse, blame       rlauce acquire, obtain        vea to add to              hwëno admire                 pamyu admit, confess         kwalpë advice                 nouve adorn, decorate        prulkwe afraid; to fear        yafhë after; later           neto afternoon              yeilo agree with             tinnä air                    äyu almond                 nuifhe amazed                 wafwu amusing, funny         yömwi ancient                täthu angry                  väru ankle                  prënka to announce            prilpa to answer              kwehwä ant                    höpi apple                  kwäli to approve of          telpkwa approximately          proha apricot                cwäimo an arbour              vëlpkwä arm                    kwenya ash, ashes             hëtha ask a favour           prëhwi ask a question         cwiu (maternal) aunt        nenya (paternal) aunt        nula autumn                 cämphu awake                  viro aware of               ehu away; out              alwä an axe                 kolke

B.
back (of the body)     thällu a bag                  phacë a ball                 phälla bank; shore            velta

bare, desolate         kwähu barter, exchange       yäpre basement               lhumvä basket                 praphe a bat (animal)         pilvä (have a) bath          camwe a bay (seaside)        taukwä a beach                päina beautiful              nilkwe to beckon              kwöki a bee                  vëlve beech-tree             luka beehive                kwuho a beetle               rluiko before                 norlla begin, start           keri on behalf of           liphu behind, hidden by      pemwä behind, to the rear    thuomä to believe             prepko a bell                 nukwu belongings             kelu below; down            nälhmu to bend; bent          wilu bend down              vella to benefit from        kampri beside                 alvi beyond; far side       pelha

big, large             kapu bind, tie up           lelhko birch-tree             rlepa bird                   cöi to bite                kamku bitter                 lhipwi bizarre, peculiar      cömwe black                  cëlhmu blackbird              kiela blackcurrants          rlelwi blade of grass         rlilwe blame, guilt           vëlhu to blame, accuse       rlauce blanket                pwelka blaze, flare up        fhuvi to bless               mäyu blind                  mukë blood                  fhëma blood-clot             limwu blossom                phuolë

blunt                  vuco to blush               urllo a board (wood)         capë to boast               prämpwe a boat                 phawe boisterous             pruivu a book                 cälpa borrow; lend           hoä a bottle               rlempo to bounce              pumpë boundary               älle bouquet (flowers)      cwöllo a bowl                 tälpo a box                  canto a boy                  pwenya brave                  talhmo bread                  nulhä to break               pkate break, snap            papkä to breathe             hiphu breeze                 wefha to bribe               prilho a bridge               tälve brief; short time      helu bright, clear          cäyu bright, shiny          luili bring, carry           tou

broad, wide            pkoula bronze                 prufho (older) brother        apko (younger) brother      upe brown                  hämpra a bruise               rlëmwa (scrubbing) brush      thepi a bucket               polhka a bud                  nipwë to build               tuina to bully               pruco to bump into           pkwape to burst               rlumco to bury                lhemcu busy, occupied         pkivë butter                 yomyë a buttercup            pilpwä butterfly              kwëpha a button               nöpe buy; sell              proä

C.
a cabinet              preina a cage                 cäki cake                   cöme calm, still            tulwa a canal                thölwe candle                 cilpe carpet                 thälvo carnation              kwölmi a carrot               nimhi carry, bring           tou cat                    mimwe catch (ball etc)       napke caterpillar            wulumpri cautious, wary         nöho a cave                 louku cease, stop            kwento ceiling                limcö centre, middle         kunu certain, sure          unne a chain                pkilpa a chair                phapre chalk                  pkëlki chase away             kwärva cheap (price)          yekwo cheerful               hwöi cheese                 hennä (wooden) chest         këlta a child                uno chin                   nuopi to choose              kweru a chronicle            thentä cinnamon               pkwillu circle, ring           kamyo circumference          aro clap hands             päkwa clay                   lämi clear, bright          cäyu clever                 nilvë a cliff                wäntu to climb               lanti to cling to            limyë a cloak                lhalwe a clock                kälkwo to close, shut         pkire close, near            mawe close, tight           cwipë cloth, fabric          täivo a cloth, towel         miho

clothes                kwoma cloud                  uphe clover                 äphi clumsy                 konla coal                   fhora a coat                 palko coffee                 tavä a coin                 premo to coincide            prope cold (to touch)        lhëfwa cold (weather)         ëfwu collide with           pronkwa colour                 kwëra a comb                 neiva common                 mauro to compare             hwate to compel              promu to complain            rlocwe to complete            lhapi complicated            minlö to compromise          pkwolla confess, admit         kwalpë confident              kehwo console, comfort       lhönya contain, hold          otu container, jar         piuve contempt               yaupë contented              hwamo continual              nanti continue, remain       näna to convince            yencu to cook                mahe cool                   thafwä copper                 melprä to copy out            preivë coral                  kiula correct, true          prea a corridor             pkieva couch, sofa            tancu to cough               pkähe to count               yummo a country              wale countryside            täina courteous              nelko (female) cousin        vehwa (male) cousin          tuhwa

to cover; covered      pëu cream                  cenyö a crime                rlako crowd                  cumo crumb; grain           öku to crumble             phuprë to cry; tears          yölli (rock-)crystal         käicwe cucumber               lumpkä a cup                  tuphe cupboard               pano curious, intriguing     viulo a current              tiuphe curtain                cephu curve                  meto cushion                mëlpha a cut, wound           vicu to cut, sever          ciko

D.
a daisy                cëpwe a daffodil             pruma damage, harm           mati damp, moist            ömle to dance               hwäivo danger                 thalfhi dark-coloured          tänyu daughter               teina daunting               wölpha dawn                   pkela day                    vali deceit, guile          lhëmu to decide              tencu decorate, adorn        prulkwe delicious              nölu deep                   tolphu deep, low-pitched      lälhu deer                   tilwe to delay               louri deliberately           leicwa delicious              nölu delight                mölli to demolish            prampë depart, leave          nacwi to describe            prouphe to despise             yaupë desolate, bare         kwähu deter, dissuade        lhencë dew                    nehwi difficult              tälna

to dig                 thumo dim, faint             hwemho to dip                 lëpku direct, straight       tëlvi disappear              walhu disappointed           vamyo to disapprove          venlo to discuss             pkweina dishonest              wiefhi to display             prallu distant                rloä distinguish between    kwiulo distribute             paumi ditch, trench          thorllu to dive                tupre diverse, various       lëmpa to divide up           palte dizzy                  wauhu a dog                  rlupe a doll                 kimpro a door                 kwalo dot, spot              töi to doubt               thavo down, below            nälhmu dragonfly              kwëlkwe to draw                kiene a drawer               prënu dreadful, terrible     rloku dream                  nephö dress, robe            prayu to dress, put on       kwoma to drink               nuo to droop               hwolë a drop                 vöi drop, fall             neri drunk                  vipwä dry                    hiya dusk                   prepho dust                   pethu to dye                 louvi

E.
ear                    lufhi earlier; before        norlla early                  hwëlo earth, ground          malu earthworm              welwi east                   heipha easy                   ëphu to eat                 mui echo                   kwauho edge                   puhi (make an) effort       pwora eight                  vähi eloquent               kwilko embarrassed            rlampwe embers                 tholce emerald                pwälho emerge; take out       luce emotion; mood          wönä empty, hollow          vaho end, tip               tëu endure, undergo        lhälu enjoyable              kelphwa enough                 mötu to entertain           pkwiuva enthusiastic           pwikwä to envelop             phoru to envy                volce to erase               fwipe errand, task           petä equal to               puyö escape from            ilpka evening                vielo exact, precise         pikwe

to exceed; too much    priu exchange, barter       yäpre (make) excuses         pruipi expensive              pöne expert at              tielu explain; clear         yoä extinguish, put out    väfwe extra                  hwëno eye                    löme eyelid                 lömki

F.
the face               cwea faint, dim             hwemho fair, just             kämo to faint               fwäiko fairy-tale             pölye to fall over           täpu to fall, drop          neri famous                 kweinö far away               rloä far side; beyond       pelha fast, quick            hikö fasten, tie            puce father                 atä to fear; afraid        yafhë a feather              peivo fee                    taphi feeble, weak           wöhe feel, touch            fwiu a fence                pkanta fern                   rluphë a few                  phënu a field                kolta to fight               rlukwi to find; to be found   këu fine, good             lawe fine (weather)         nahe finger                 mëcu finish, complete       lhapi fire                   ifhë fireplace              procu firm (not soft)        kinno fish                   ilho to fish (with a line)  pruhli fit together           hine five                   pkaru a flag                 phampru to flare, blaze up     fhuvi flat (surface)         häpwa flit past              prihi floor                  phalma flour                  luphe a flute                hifwe to fly                 lalpe follow, walk behind    pkuhe following, next        lilyë foolish; nonsense      wawe

foolish, stupid        yempa foot                   pkino to forbid              lhampe forcefully             pkalli forehead               kämrle forest, wood           wiprä to forget              thulo to forgive             hwale a fork                 cankwe fort, stronghold       tarkä fortunate              hweva four                   heru a fox                  lhëphi fragile                cwehwi fragrant               nifhe fresh; recent          pkwewe friend                 cäilo (in) front             torö frost                  fwimë to frown               rlulka fruit                  perö frustrating            tönlo to fry                 cifho full; to fill          pkulho (to have) fun          päye a funnel               pkuye funny, amusing         yömwi a furnace              rlafho furniture              tëmpre futile, useless        phulë

G.
to gamble              rlomle game, match            wempru a gap, space           vihu garden                 kaulo gate                   palmo generous               move gentle                 milu get out of bed         nimpwä gift, present          prawe ginger                 kënla give/receive           kwea (pane of) glass        hwinya gloomy, dark           rläwa gloves                 nämpri to glow                kwömlu go to bed              nöhwa gold                   kërllu good, fine             lawe good-looking           lelpha gossip, rumour         thähe to govern              lhiemä grapes                 cärmo grass                  rliwa grateful               tautho greedy                 yömle (dark) green           veima (light) green          lefha grey                   hithä to grieve              lilhpwä to grind               kwënme to grope about         mäkwo ground, earth          malu guard, watch over      pkulma to guess at            wilyo guess (correctly)      nalyo (be a) guest           kwamo to guide               hilpko guilt, blame           vëlhu to gush out            pofwä

H.
hairbrush              phiepru half                   pkavi hall                   paphe hammer                 lampro hand                   näke a handle               pkopa to hang up             wolte happy                  leha a harbour              tanve hard, rigid            tilke harm, damage           mati a hat                  phumo to hate                fhayo the head               poä headache               neilho healthy                fhape to heap up             pumhwe to hear; a sound       licwe heart                  coä hearth                 procu heavy                  kumlho the heel               kompe a helmet               lhulpä help, aid              källe a hen                  kolci heroic                 kalvo to hesitate            këmhwe to hide, hidden        hweca high; tall             käho high-pitched           lelya hill                   pälu to hinder              cwopë to hint                thohwe a history              thentä hit, strike            tepku hold, contain          otu hold, take hold of     pkoä hole, pit              tuko hollow, empty          vaho honey                  leimo hope                   waphë horse                  fhëvu hot (to touch)         uvi

hot (weather)          vöra house	               tämo hummingbird	       pkwëlpa a hundred	       elphu hungry		       fwëva to hunt		       kwilvo hurry, run	       lari to hurt; pain	       rlëvu a hut		       hepra hyacinth	       leihwe

I. J. K.
ice		       cwihä ideal, perfect	       pköwe to ignore	       vope illness; sick	       yälme to imagine	       phanyö immediately	       ölvu indoors		       wäru inform, tell	       cei infuse; make (tea)     vahwä ingredient	       primu to inherit	       rliphe (be) injured	       völka ink		       lhilmi innocent	       ceiphi inside		       ulka to insult	       fhärha intact, whole	       mulle intelligent            nilvë interesting	       wöla to interfere           velpkwä intriguing	       viulo to invite	       yuco iris (flower)	       liukwa iron		       lhäkwu irrelevant	       thëlpwe island		       phimö to jab, poke	       tëmpki jar, container	       piuve jasmine		       cillö to join, fit	       liwe journey		       cwallo joy		       mölli a jug		       pwëku juice		       pwöle to jump		       pkupä just, fair	       kämo a kettle	       lhäpke a key		       kilwe to kick		       pkenco kind-hearted	       nöi to kiss		       pwöma knife		       kilvi knock in (nails)       pwentu a knot		       rlipu know (facts)	       loä know (how to)	       täne know (a person)	       pame

L.
to lack			hau a ladder		kepwä a lake			hwela lamp			celma a land, country		wale large, big		kapu later; after		neto to laugh		yehwa law, rule		alhu lawn			fwalo a layer			perllo lazy			hälle lead, go first		pkahi lead (metal)		thënwe leaf			phëya learn/teach		phea leave, depart		nacwi left (side)		thali left over; remnant	lumphë leg			thuya a legend		kallu lemon			mölme lend/borrow		hoä let go, release		hoce lettuce			elhwa a lid			nëpra (to tell) a lie		phëu to lie down		neiwe to lift			cohwi light (not heavy)	weiha light; to shine		ilu lightning		hwico to like, want		phöi likely, probable       kwulvo

lilac			öhwa to limp			tante to line up; a row	cwema linen			malwi lion			pkalo a list			cäime the liver		rlamlö to load with		lhahu a lock			cëmpka to loiter		teilë lonely			wahwe long (time)		nouma long ago		teilho to look at		pkwea a loom			tiuve loose, unattached	meiwa lose (a game, etc.)	mulha lose (a thing)		yallu loud			lhouwe to love			mela low-pitched		lälhu loyal			kwova