Cha

=Phonology= The Latin transliteration of Ja uses an alphabet of 16 letters: A /ɑ/, /a/ K /k/ E /e/, /ɛ/ H /h/ I /i/, /ɪ/ J /j/ L /l/ M /m/ N /n/ O /ɔ/, /o/ P /p/ R /r/ S /s/ T /t/ U /u/, /ʊ/ V /v/.

- Overall, the letters sound the way you would expect them to be (standard Latin pronunciation). All letters are generally pronounced the same way regardless of their placement.

- As an exception from this rule, the letter "i" tends to form diphthongs /aɪ/, /eɪ/, /oɪ/ and /uɪ/ when it follows another vowel; other vowels are pronounced separately from each other.

Ja words are stressed on the last root vowel. Most often, this turns out to be the penultimate syllable, or the last syllable if the word ends with a consonant. In a multi-syllable word, when the stress falls in an unusual place, it is sometimes denoted by an accent: á, é, í, ó, ú. (We will do this more often here than what is usually seen in Ja texts, where accents may be ommitted altogether.) In certain grammatical constructions the accent is also put on one-syllable words.

=Phonotactics= Generally, Ja syllable structure can be described as (C)v(C). Out of all consonants, however, K, H, J and P cannot be syllable-final, while V and T can end a syllable but cannot be word-final.

=Examples=

=Basic Grammar= Ja has a very simple and regular grammar.

Syntax
Ja is a SVO language. Verbs are placed after the subject, adjectives follow the noun, and adverbs follow the verb.

It is not uncommon, however, to place a word or phrase in front of the sentence for additional emphasis. E.g. one would say Kasunoté ju mia kasktaohute (Today I am going to the store) instead of Ju mia kasktaohute kasunoté (I am going to the store today).

Ja adjectives are virtually indistinguishable from intransitive verbs.

Ja makes an extensive use of supines and subordinate clauses.

Noun
A Ja noun has four cases, each marked with its distinctive ending.

Nominative
A noun in Nominative has zero ending: su (water), junotó (toy), punsé (tree), kojemijas (airplane). Note that with words in Nominative, the stress is always on the last syllable.

Nominative is used for the subjects of a sentence or a subordinate clause. Nominative is also used when two nouns are linked with the copula oa: Ku oa men ju síkao sorsunoté! -- You are the man I saw yesterday!

Accusative
A noun in the Accusative case receives the ending -u: sú, junotou, punseu, kojemijasu. Note that if the word root already ends with -u, u is not doubled but instead it receives the accent mark.

Accusative denotes the direct object of a transitive verb, and follows the verb. In composite verbs (and the majority of verbs in Ja are composite) the signature of the verb is defined by its last (main) root: whatever object the root-verb takes will also be the object of the composite verb.

For example, the verb mia (to move) may take an object -- the thing that is being moved. Therefore, the composite verb jaemia (to think, lit. "to move in one's head") also takes a direct object, and, unlike in English, the phrase Ju jaemia kú (I am thinking of you) needs no prepositions.

On the other hand, the verb sattia (to learn) has the root tia (to come, to become) which in this form is intransitive (the transitive form of tia means "to bring"). Therefore, sattia cannot have direct objects either, and in Ju sattia sati Jau (I am learning Ja) an adverbial is required before Jau. (Lit. "I learn to know Ja".)

Genitive
Nouns in Genitive have the ending -o. As with other endings, if the root ends with an o, it is not doubled but receives the accent mark. Nouns in Genitive describe other nouns and follow them. They usually are placed after adjectives describing the same noun.

Genitive in Ja carries a wide range of semantic meanings, from posession to having a quality to being related to the main word in some way or another. Overall the range of cases when Genitive is used in Ja is similar to those where you use posessive or the preposition "of" in English.

Ja nouns in Genitive can also serve as a Verb of a sentence, replacing the use of a copula. Genitive in this role expresses belonging to a group, e.g.: Ju meno! (I am a man!), Ka punseo jea (This is a tall tree) etc.

Locative / Instrumental
Locative / Instrumental nouns receive the ending -e.

When used as Locative, it indicates place or time: sue (in water), punseolane (in a forest), kojemijase (on an airplane), sorsunoté (yesterday), vorté (soon; lit. "in a short time"). Sometimes locative also denotes possession, but such usage is rare: e.g. compare Ku athata ju ati taorulanu ká (Give me this book) vs. Ku tita jute taorulanu ká (Bring this book to me, i.e. to my place).

When used as Instrumental, the same form indicates a tool or object with which an action is done. This usage usually translates into English with the help of preposition "with", although not always: Nunmen ká lojana vovuovu-lojanaolae (This boy plays on a violin). In Ja, it is interchangeable with a phrase that includes the word lai (using): Jamen tala veltutirhonu seorure (The master beats the dog with a stick) can be said as Jamen tala veltutirhonu lai seoruru (The master beats the dog using a stick).

Although Locative and Instrumental share the same ending, it is usually quite obvious whether it the place, time, or tool is meant in each given case.

Nouns in Locative / Instrumental folow the verb and play the role of indirect objects or adverbials.

Infixes -t- and -k-
Two infixes, -t- and -k-, can be used in different parts of speech and with different noun cases. The general semantic meaning of them is as follows: In particular, when used with Locative, -t- and -k- have the meaning of "to" and "from". respectively. E.g. Ju mia hute (I go home) vs. Ju mia huke (I am leaving home); Karmel neka taoruru taolonte (She put the pencil on the desk) vs. Karmel haka taoruru taolonke (She took the pencil from the desk), etc.

The same infixes can also be used with Genitive (e.g. huomen juo "my husband" vs. huomen juko "my ex-husband") but such usage is much more rare.

When used in verbs, -t- and -k- form prospective and perfective aspects. Used in adverbials, they produce adverbs of purpose and adverbs of cause, etc. We will give examples of these in each respective section below.

Verb
Verbs in Ja receive the ending -a. As with other endings, if the root ends with the same vowel, it is not duplicated but receives the accent instead. Verbs do not conjugate.

A large percentage of Ja verbs are ergative and change their meaning depending on whether they are used as transitive or intransitive verbs. For example: mia (goes and moves /something/), tia (comes and brings /something/), kela (errs and breaks /something/) etc.

There are no verb tenses in Ja. The infixes -t- and -k- put verbs into the prospective and perfective aspects, signifying the action that is about to start or has been completed. Quite often aspects are translated into other languages using future and past tenses: Ju sika tou siaotenone juo! (I have seen it with my own eyes!) or Ku kasta paki katou! (You will pay for this!). On the other hand, a narrative like Palsunoté moa korujamen pala... (Once upon a time there lived a king...) definitely does not require an aspect change.

Infix -i-
The infix -i- is used with verbs and denotes imaginary actions. When put in the perfective aspect, it it used to mark actions that could happen, but never did (subjunctive). On the other hand, when it is used with verbs in the prospective aspect, it shows that the action may happen, ор may not, depending on the circumstances (conditional).

For example: Ju tikia ku tithiki jú! (I would come if you called me!) or Ju patia katou aki teu (I will do it if I have time). Compare with: Ju tika ku tithiki jú! (I came because you called me) and Ju pata katou aki teu (I will do it because I have time).

Intransitive Verbs as Adjectives
Ja adjectives, form the grammatical point of view, do not differ from intransitive verbs. In a way, all Ja adjectives are participles. They end with -a and go after the noun.

Adjectives often play the role of a verb in a sentence, requiring no copula. For example, losia (beautiful) can be used in Ku nunmelo losia (You are a beautiful girl) as well as Nunmel ká losia roi (This girl is very beautiful).

Just like verbs, adjectives can have aspects: Mijas losika jila e nirekélao katé (The car, once beautiful, was now dirty and scratched).

Another way of looking at adjectives is to see them as one-word subordinate clauses. The word losia is composed of two words, loi "good" and sia "look" and literally means "good-looking". One can look at it as the verb that means "to look good". The phrase nunmel losia can be equally well translated as "a beautiful girl", "a good-looking girl" and "a girl that looks good".

Translating Pronouns
=Advanced Examples=

=Dictionary=