| Kelantepan Kälamda | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | |||
| Agglutinative | |||
| Alignment | |||
| Accusative | |||
| Head direction | |||
| right | |||
| Tonal | |||
| No | |||
| Declensions | |||
| Yes | |||
| Conjugations | |||
| Yes | |||
| Genders | |||
| No | |||
| Nouns decline according to... | |||
| Case | Number | ||
| Definiteness | Gender | ||
| Verbs conjugate according to... | |||
| Voice | Mood | ||
| Person | Number | ||
| Tense | Aspect | ||
General and Cultural Information[]
Kelantepan (natively na lüdar Kälamtäparya or Kälamda /kjælʌmdʌ/) is a language spoken by the alien Patronans (Gänämar, lit. "Thinkers"). It is spoken in the cold south of the continent Suk’adüm of the planet Patrona (Püjupä) by the Kelantepans (Kälamtäpar), a name which means "Fire-people". The Kelantepans, due to their cold environment, especially in winter, worship fire, the sun, and volcanoes.
Classification[]
Kelantepan is a Kellish language. Kellish languages are spoken all across Sukadum, across the southern Urasurchan bridge, and on the islands and along the northeast coast of the Andem East sea.
- Kellish
- Northeast Andem East Sea branch
- Sukadum branch
- North
- South
- Kelantepan
Kellish languages have significant influences from Andem languages across the Andem East Sea, as well as the Corridor languages separating them from the Horn of Hatsum and their Hatsumish languages.
Kellish and Hatsumish are very distantly related, as evidenced by a few hundred cognates, mostly in fossilized grammatical markers and basic core vocabulary, though they are very different otherwise.
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
| Bilabial | Coronal3 | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Plosive | p b | t d | tʃ dʒ | k kj1 g gj1 | |
| Fricative | s z | h | |||
| Approximant | ɻ̝2,3 l | j | w |
- The sequences /kj/ and /gj/ are more common than the bare /k/ and /g/ and are treated as single consonants.
- /r/ is a raised retroflex approximant, sounding approximately halfway between [ɻ] and [ʐ]. It is devoiced before a voiceless consonant.
- /n/, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, and /l/ are retroflexed after /r/.
Vowels[]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | y | u |
| Mid | e | ʌ |
| Low | æ |
This strange vowel system actually originated as a very simple five-vowel system, having undergone a massive counter-clockwise shift.
Phonotactics[]
(C)V(/N/, /r/);
min: /u/; max: /kjær/
- The syllable-final nasal assimilates to a following consonant, becoming [m] before /m, p, b, h/ or en pausa, [n] before /n, t, d, tʃ, dʒ, s, z, l, j/, [ɳɖ] before /r/, and [ŋ] before /k, kj, g, gj, w/.
- /w/ doesn't occur before /u/ or /y/.
- /j/ doesn't occur before /e/ or /y/ except as a part of /kj/ and /gj/.
- Consecutive vowels are in separate syllables.
- No more than three consecutive vowels are permitted. If a four vowel sequence arises, the second vowel in the sequence is dropped.
Stress[]
Primary stress (in the form of a high pitch and higher volume) is always on the second syllable of a word, with secondary stress (also high pitched) on every other syllable after that. ex. Kälamtäpa [kjæˈlʌntæˌpʌ]
Writing System[]
| Letter | a | ä | b | c | d | e | g | h | j | k | l |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | /ʌ/ | /æ/ | /b/ | /tʃ/ | /d/ | /e/ | /gj/ | /h/ | /dʒ/ | /kj/ | /l/ |
| Letter | m | n | p | r | s | t | u | ü | w | y | z |
| Sound | /m/ | /n/ | /p/ | /r/ | /s/ | /t/ | /u/ | /y/ | /w/ | /j/ | /z/ |
- Adding an apostrophe on <k> and <g> negates the inherent /j/. ex. g’amlu /gʌmlu/ "my eyes"
Nouns[]
Noun class and number[]
Kelantepan uses an inverse number system, where the noun class of a noun determines which numbers receive markings. There are four noun classes in Kelantepan. The first is used for animate nouns, the second and third for inanimate nouns, and the fourth for mass and abstract nouns. The inverse number marker is a suffixed r after a vowel, -rä after a consonant. Singular number is used for a single thing, dual is used for two things, and plural is used for more than two things.
| singular | dual | plural | meaning | example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | - | -r(ä) | -r(ä) | animates | täpa "person" |
| II | -r(ä) | - | - | inanimates | lüdar "sound" |
| III | -r(ä) | - | -r(ä) | paired inanimates | ämlur "his eye" |
| IV | - | - | - | mass and abstract nouns | cärzü "money" |
Case[]
Kelantepan has many cases, represented by suffixes placed after any inverse number marker.
| Case | Meaning | Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammatical cases | |||
| Nominative | Subject | 0 | päje "stones" |
| Genitive | "of x" | ya | päjeya |
| Accusative | Object | m/ya1 | päjem |
| Instrumental | "using x" | käwe | päjekäwe |
| Polar cases | |||
| Causative | "due to x" | bä | päjebä |
| Evitative | "to avoid x" | wä-bä | päjewäbä |
| Benefactive | "for x" | jü | päjejü |
| Malefactive | "to harm x" | wä-jü | päjewäjü |
| Comitative | "with x" | pem | päjepem |
| Privative | "without x" | wä-pem | päjewäpem |
| Mathematical cases | |||
| Distributive | "per x" | düra | päjedüra |
| Comparative | "like x" | düne | päjedüne |
| Adverbial | "as x" | kama | päjekama |
| Locative cases | |||
| Inessive | "in x" | rü | päjerü |
| Elative | "out of x" | rü-ca | päjerüca |
| Illative | "into x" | rü-ze | päjerüze |
| Internal perlative | "through x" | rü-puha | päjerüpuha |
| Subessive | "under x" | rü-bumtä | päjerübumtä |
| Adessive | "on x" | da | päjeda |
| Ablative | "off of x" | da-ca | päjedaca |
| Allative | "onto x" | da-ze | päjedaze |
| External perlative | "along/across x" | da-puha | päjedapuha |
| Superessive | "above x" | da-bumtä | päjedabumtä |
- The accusative takes the same form as the genitive whenever the inverse number suffix is -r. ex. gähämarya "fighters (acc)" vs purnemenämräm "a calculator (acc)"
Inalienable possession[]
Inalienably possessed nouns are those which always have a possessor, like family members, body parts, and part-whole relations. They are obligatorily marked for their possessor using prefixes.
| sg | du | pl | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | g’a- | cü- | pü- |
| 2 | nu- | due- | zua- |
| 3 | ä- | de- | za- |
Anomalous suffixes[]
Some Kelantepan nouns have parts which are appended to the end of a noun, even after any grammatical suffixes. ex. ühä-de "visions", ühäwäpem-de, ühäda-de, etc. These are either discontinuous parts of the root or the occasional derivational suffix.
Nominal derivations[]
- Agent: -ma, gähäma "fighter"
- Patient: -ü, tenareü "thoughts"
- Instrument: -näm, purnemenämrä "calculator"
- Diminutive: -se, päjese "pebbles"
- Augmentative: -su, päjesu "boulders"
- Instance: anomalous -de, turjär-de "pain"
- Location: -(a)rca, bäudarcar, "school"
Pronouns[]
The pronouns are of the same form as the possessive affixes, with a couple of exceptions. They can be marked for each case just like any other noun, but in the nominative case they receive a suffix -e. The third person singular pronouns are demonstrative pronouns, with gee meaning "this one" and nae meaning "that one".
| NOM | sg | du | pl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | g’ae | cüe | püe |
| 2 | nue | duäe | zuae |
| 3 | gee/nae | däe | zae |
Determiners[]
Determiners are placed before nouns. They include articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, and numerals (discussed in the vocab section).
Articles[]
Articles are undeclinable particles. The indefinite article is a null morpheme. The definite article is na. There is also an interrogative article lum which indicates that the noun is what is being asked about in a sentence. It cannot be used with pronouns.
The articles are used even for abstract nouns, where they are normally avoided in English (na debä "love").
The use of the definite article is optional with case-inflected nouns when modifying other nouns, and with some proper nouns. And if a phrase is repeated many times in a passage, the definite article does not need to be repeated each time.
Demonstratives[]
Demonstratives match the case marking of the nouns they mark.
proximal (ge na), distal (na na)
Quantifiers[]
Kelantepan's continuum of quantifiers is broken up symmetrically.
no/none (wä(m)), very few/almost no/small minority (yä(m)), some/few/minority (jama), many/small majority (paer), most/almost all/vast majority (mezu), all/every (ulula)
Distributives[]
any (kea na)
Verbs[]
Verbs conjugate according to aspect and evidentiality.
Evidentiality[]
| Abbr. | Suffix | Meaning/Uses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonevidential | nevid | -0 | Used for common knowledge or what is not known, such as questions. |
| Visual | vis | -zu | Used for evidence gained through observation. |
| Reportative | rep | -me | Used for evidence gained through retelling, news, or hearing. |
| Tactile | tact | -te | Used for evidence gained through touch or knowledge of the self. |
| Olfactory | olf | -edä | Used for evidence gained through smell and taste. |
| Deductive | ded | -ür | Used for knowledge inferred from multiple small sources. |
| Assumptive | ass | -sam | Used for stated knowledge without any source. |
Aspect[]
| Abbr. | Suffix | Meaning/Uses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inchoative | inc | -0 | Describes the beginning of an action or state. |
| Imperfective | ipfv | -a | Describes an incomplete action or state in progress or occurring habitually. |
| Cessative | cess | -le | Describes the end or completion of an action or state. |
| Defective | def | -lu | Describes an attempt or failure of an action. |
Affix order[]
Stem-Evidence-Aspect
- Turjäa lum gee. "Is this hurting?"
- Turjätele. "I feel it stopped hurting."
- Turjäte warnä. "I'm not hurt!"
Copula[]
The copula "to be" is expressed as a null morpheme, though it still conjugates normally. It never completely disappears from a sentence as it is not allowed to be in the perfective aspect. ex. Mea nue na elezuya se ü. "I hear you might be the chosen one."
Particles[]
There are many particles indicating grammatical mood, polarity/intensity, and speaker attitude. They can be appended to any clause.
Moods[]
- indicative (0),
- optative (hace),
- subjunctive/protasis (se),
- conditional/apodosis (ele),
- hypothetical (ähu),
- imperative (ne)
Polarity[]
The polar particles show the truth value of the statement, and have alternate 'intense' forms. The intensive affirmative particle is identical to the imperative particle and the negative particle is identical to the negative quantifier.
- affirmative (0),
- intensive affirmative (ne),
- negative (wä(m)),
- intensive negative (warnä)
Emotion[]
The Patronans have a very alien system of emotions, as their emotions and equivalent body language are completely cross-cultural. Patronans only experience emotions as a result of specific events, and if the event is done and not being thought about, then the emotion it created is gone as well. This means that Patronans are usually in an emotionless state, and switch between emotions very quickly.
- happiness/enjoyment (bu),
- disgust/hatred (kata)
- curiousity/wonder (ü),
- surprise/fear (äe),
- sadness (dam),
- romance (hum)
Syntax[]
Kelantepan is a purely right-branching language.
Verb-Subject-Object-Obliques-Mood-Polarity-Emotion
Examples:
- Debätea g’ae nuya camesewäpem ele ne hum. "I would love you unconditionally."
- Zua nae na ämdäadüne hace ü. "I hope he looks like his brother."
- Turjätelu ge na g’amlur dam. "This eye really hurts sometimes."
Kelantepan is a pro-drop language, so pronouns disappear if they can be inferred from context.
Vocabulary[]
Conjunctions[]
| meaning | translation | |
|---|---|---|
| är | addition | and |
| k’er | exclusive alternative | either/or |
| pa | nonexclusive alternative | and/or |
| embem | contrast/exception | but/yet |
| üzär | rationale | for/because |
| lu | consequence | so |
Numbers[]
Kelantepan numbers were base-18 before introduction of octal mathematics by the Alemarese, and the number words up to 19 remain. Zero was also introduced by the Alemarese.
| # | #+8 | #+16 | #*8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | püdem | 8 | püta | 16 | emse | 0 | püdem |
| 1 | kea | 9 | ärkü | 17 | ärkukum | 8 | püta |
| 2 | dur | 10 | kü | 18 | kukum | 16 | emse |
| 3 | umgü | 11 | küke | 19 | kukumke | 24 | umpüta |
| 4 | ärsam | 12 | cece | 20 | emse-ärsam | 32 | ärsampüta |
| 5 | sam | 13 | ärhedu | 21 | emse-sam | 40 | sampüta |
| 6 | samke | 14 | hedu | 22 | emse-samke | 48 | samkepüta |
| 7 | etea | 15 | heduke | 23 | emse-etea | 56 | eteapüta |
| 8 | püta | 16 | emse | 24 | umpüta | 64 | pütasu |
- Numbers in the ones place are usually just placed after the eights place and separated by a hyphen (e.g. 45 sampüta-sam). However, the multiples of eight plus one, except for 9 and 17, are formed with the suffix -ke. ex. 40 sampüta, 41 sampütake, 42 sampüta-dur
- Multiples of 18 have two names: a base-18 version formed from the non-18 factor followed by -kukum (3 becomes um-, so 54 is umkukum, not *umgükukum), and an octal version. ex. 36 (2018/448) durkukum or ärsampüta-ärsam.
Body parts[]
As all body parts are inalienably possessed nouns, they begin in the 3s owner prefix ä-.
- Body: äulula
- Chest: äsumdu
- Belly: ämbämgu
- Back: äheu
- Tail: äkü
- Head: äurk’a
- Eyes: ämlu
- Nose: änenunäm
- Mouth: ähuta
- Tongue: älahä
- Teeth: ätata
- Forehead ridges: äwälä
- Ears: änüdünäm
- Hair: äner
- Arms: äbargura
- Hands: ädem
- Fingers: ädemse
- Legs: äjek’u
- Feet: äham
- Toes: ähamse
Family terms[]
As all body parts are inalienably possessed nouns, they begin in the 3s owner prefix ä-.
- Mother: äzeyuma/äbäbä
- Sibling: ämdäa