Ka'aian

Ka'aian is the traditional language of the people of Ka'a'. It has influence from native languages spoken by races such as the Foxlings, but it has generally stayed the same through the years it has existed. Ka'aian was originally spoken by the Comanche, who replaced it with their own regional dialect after it was developed by their descendants, the Sapiens.

Writing System

Ka'aian is written with the Great-Script/Great-Letters, an ancient alphabet brought over into the lands by the Overlords from their homeland in the North. The alphabet is composed of 65 letters: "A", 'Ā", "Æ", "Ǽ", "I", "Ī", "U", "Ū", "E", "Ē", "Ai", "O", "Ō", "Au", "K", Kh", "G", "Gh", "Ng", "Ŋ", "Sh", "Y", "Gn", "Ch", "Chh", "J", "Jh", "Nj", "Kn", "Shh", "R", "RR", "T", "TT", "D", "DD", "Nd", "Nh", "S", "L", "Rhh", "Th", "Thh", "Dh", "Dhh", "Ndh", "N", "H", "Lh", "Z", "P", "PP", "B", "Bh", "Mb", "M", "F", "V", "Zh", "Kv", "KK", "Pt", "W", "Nth" and "Nt".

by C.S.De Silva (Ken D)

Geographical Distribution

The Warworlds.

Phonology

The presence of prenasalized consonants, or 'half nasal' consonants (e.g. nd, nj, nt, mb). A short homorganic nasal occurs before a voiced-stop, it is shorter than a sequence of nasal-plus-stop. The nasal is syllabified with the onset of the following syllable, which means that the moraic-weight of the preceding syllable is left unchanged. For example, tam'ba 'copper' contrasts with tamba 'boil'.

Morphology

The main features marked on nouns are case, number, definiteness and animacy. Ka'aian distinguishes several cases. Next to the cross-linguistically rather common nominative, accusative, genitive, dative and ablative, there are also less common cases like the instrumental. The exact number of these cases depends on the exact definition of cases one wishes to employ.

Syntax

Verbs or adjectives often have affixes, and conversely sentences may be constructed using words in another language's syntax. For instance, "on the light" instead of "turn on the light". Or sometimes, "open the light", translated directly from a native language.

Vocabulary

Nouns

• "outstation" – out of town (e.g., going outstation).
• "terrer" – (pronounced as the English "terror") Refers to someone or something being awesomely amazing or good (e.g., "Bloody hell, that guy is terrer!").
• "chop" – stamp (also used as verb). (e.g. "Put your company chop on the receipt".)

Adjectives

• "askyen/eksyen" – show-offy (can either mean "show off" or "to act")
• "aiksy/lan si" – arrogant, overconfident.
• "blurr" – confused, out-of-it. Roughly equivalent to "spacey" in certain slang.
• "cho" – approval.
• "cincai" – casually, simply, doing things as one pleases. e.g. "I just cincai order a dish from the menu."
• "geram" – angry, greatly annoyed, irritated, pissed off. (E.g. "Eh look at his attitude lah, geram only!")
• "la-la" – flashy, gaudy appearance. "La-la" replaces the older derogatory term "Ah Lien" that is used to describe girls who wear heavy make-up and outstanding clothes and accessories, which usually end up being rather bad taste instead of looking sophisticated or in fashion. They also usually sport brightly colored hair. "La-la" can also be used to describe the things these girls are known to wear. (E.g. "That salegirl was very la-la"/"The clothes are so la-la.") These days, the term is also used to describe guys who sports outstanding/bizarre hairstyle and wear outstanding clothes and accessories resulting in bad taste as well. "la-la zai" and "la-la mui" is commonly used to make distinctions between the genders, with the former referring to guys and the latter referring to girls. The "la-la's" also feature rather punkish attitudes.
• "pai-seh" – ashamed, embarrassed/embarrassing.
• "slumber" – relaxed, laid-back.
• "sup-sup sui" – very easy.

Adverbs

• "sibeh" – very, extremely. (E.g. : "That guy is sibeh annoying lo.")

Verbs

• "cabut/cantas" – to run off, flee or to escape.
• "gostan" – reverse a vehicle, from the nautical term "go astern". Sometimes also expressed as "gostan balik" (lit., reverse back).
• "jadi" – happened, succeeded ("So what jadi?")
• "jalan" – to walk.
• "kacau" – to disturb (e.g.: Please don't kacau me.)
• "kantoi" – to get caught ("I kena kantoi..." means, "I got shafted/reprimanded/caught")
• "kena" – to get caught/punished; often used like a noun ("I sure kena if I cheat").
• "kilt" – to punish/scold/cause trouble to someone ("If you're not careful ah, this guy will kilt you")
• "mempersiasuikan" - to embarrass.
• "minum" – to drink.
• "on/off" – to turn something on or off, respectively (e.g. "Don't forget to off the motor.")
• "pengsan" – to faint.
• "pon" – to skip school/play truant.
• "saman" – to issue a fine, usually in relation to a traffic offense, from "summons".
• "siam" – to ae.g. "Boss is coming. I siam fast.")
• "sit" – since this is the word used for riding in a vehicle in various dialects, it is used in the same way in English, e.g. "sit-bus."
• "wo hen baite" – "to be white" (to be happy/excited. When you feel like nothing can go wrong).
• "tahan" – to stand, to bear ("Cannot tahan her perfume! So strong!").
• "yam-cha" – socializing with friends usually in mamak-stalls (saloons), but other places also apply. Generally identifies with "go have a drink".
• "lempang" – literally "bash", it usually refers to a slap. (Example: "He can lempang your face.")
• (any word) + "ing" – doing a certain action ("Tengah makan" or "I'm eating right now" is shortened to "Makan-ing' and "He's the one cheating me!" equates to 'He's d'one dat tipu-ing me leh..' ")
• "Kow-kow" / "Kow kow" / "Kowkow" / "kaukau" – (pronounced "Kao-kao") used to stress a personal satisfaction on a specific action specified before. The stress can be due to shock, anger, pain, or pleasure. Example: He got it kow kow ("He got it badly")

Interjections

• "Alamak" – exclamation of surprise or shock. (E.g. "Alamak!" (Oh no!)).
• "Wei" – exclamation when conversing to a close friend, or used as "hello" when answering phone.
• "Syok/shiok" – indicates the object as superlatively good.
• "Bo jio" – indicates the lack of invitation. The usage is to annoy friends or families when they have a fun time than the speaker.
• "Habis/Mampus/Mampui/Sei/Pok kai/" – generic exclamations to indicate "trouble".
• "Cehwah/Huiyooh/Fuyoh/Fulamak/Aiseh" – exclamation of amazement/wonder/marvel. (E.g. Fuyoooh, his hair so jinjang!)
• "Jinjang" – a term to explain one's appearance, being out of fashion or old-fashioned. Sometimes it is used to refer to people who act rudely or uncivilized in public.
• "Giler Ah!" – exclamation of shock or amazement.
• "Izzit?" – expression of mild unbelief. ("Really? ", basically, "Is it?").
• "Watodo" – rhetorical question (Example; "Watodo? Iz alldy haren", which means "What can we do? It has already happened.")
• "Podaa!" – when expressing disbelief.
• "Abuden?" – equivalent to simply saying "Obviously". Usually used a sarcastic response to an obvious observation or question.

Grammar

• "(Subject + predicate), N'est-se pas-oder???" – literally "and so it is?", this is often used as a question. "It" doesn't refer to the subject, but rather to the entire preceding clause ("Is it so?") This is comparable to the phrase "isn't it?" and the usage of "cor???" (used when expecting an answer).

Successor Languages

• Yippish

Spoken by

• Abra-Comanches
• Sapiens

Common Phrases

Kombuva saha ælapilla, kombuva saha halælapilla, kombuva saha gayanukitta et kombuva saha halkirīma."
("And today we fight, and today we dance, and today we sing and play the lance" (a folk-song))
"Na tong di nei ra shingr ur tos lak."
("Open collar, pocket no dollar" (expression reflecting linkage between extravagant appearance and persona, and illusion of wealth))
"Kāyubōvan!!!"
(a greeting, similar to "Hi there!!!")
"Pragnāvē hondama prabhavaya vannē minis ātmaya tullaya."
[("The best source of wisdom is in love itself") a proverb].