Overview
Setting[]
...
Basic Grammar[]
Phonology[]
Vowels[]
5 monophthongal vowel sounds
Letter | IPA | Example |
A a | [ɑ(:)] | wazi clear, open |
E e | [ɛ(:)] | dege bird |
I i | [i(:)] | ni I, me |
O o | [o(:)] | ona see |
U u | [u(:)] | kula food |
- In order to denote a long/stressed vowel, the ltter is doubled: sa 'word', saa 'time, hour, clock'
Consonants[]
21 consonant sounds written with 20 letters and 1 letter combination
Letter | IPA | IPA* | Example |
---|---|---|---|
B b | [b] | bo you (sg.) | |
C c | [tʃ] | kucega to arrive | |
D d | [d] | dudo doubt | |
F f | [f] | kufa to do | |
G g | [ɡ] | gozu pleasure | |
H h | [h] | [ɦ] | hugu game, play |
J j | [ɟ] | [dʒ] | jama station |
K k | [k] | kaya home, house | |
L l | [l] | laila night | |
M m | [m] | maxina car | |
N n | [n] | na with, and | |
Ng ng | [ŋ] | ngo cow | |
P p | [p] | para to stop | |
Q q | [ʁ] | [χ] | qadani small |
R r | [r] | rabi angry | |
S s | [s] | sa word | |
T t | [t] | taku will | |
W w | [w] | [ʋ] | wargi green |
X x | [ʃ] | xez chair | |
Y y | [j] | yon day | |
Z z | [z] | zabibu raisin |
- The second column shows possible, but less frequent, pronunciations.
- Ng can be spelt as Ŋ ŋ as well.
Nouns[]
Nouns do not have grammatical gender or cases in Kriul. The can end in any sound that's allowed word-finally in Kriul.
At the most a noun can have 6 different forms that are made by adding prefixes to the nominal root.
All nouns are inflected the same way although not all nouns have all the 6 forms in common use.
Declesion
Prefix | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | - | harena, kula | 'sand, arena, pitch'; 'food' |
Plural | ma- | maharena, makula | 'sands, arenas, pitches'; 'food items' |
Augmentative Singular | ji- | jiharena, jikula | 'desert'; 'feast, supper' |
Augmentative Plural | maji- | majiharena, majikula | 'deserts'; 'feasts, suppers' |
Diminutive Singular | ki- | kiharena, kikula | 'beach'; 'snack' |
Diminutive Plural | maki- | makiharena, makikula | 'beaches'; 'snacks' |
Other words derived from nouns
Noun to Verb | ku- | kuharena 'to sand down', kula 'to eat' |
Noun to Adjective | -i | harenai 'sandy', kulai 'nutritious, alimentary' |
Noun to Agent noun | -ntu | harenantu 'sandman', kulantu 'eater' |
Pronouns[]
Personal Pronouns[]
Sg. 1st | ni | I, me |
Sg. 2nd | bo | you (thou) |
Sg. 3rd | he | he, she, it, him, her |
Pl. 1st | mi | we, us |
Pl. 2nd | yu | you |
Pl. 3rd | mahe (mae) | they, them |
Passive | on | one |
Prepositions[]
Meaning | Preposition | Example | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
Genitive | YA | Maxina ya Jon | Jon's Car; The car of Jon |
Kaya ya ni | My house | ||
Lative | LE | Ni na anda le Marakex. | We are going to Marrakech. |
Ni li da pan le Mark. | I gave the bread to Mark. | ||
Ablative | MIN | Ni na ja min Marakex. | I'm coming from Marrakech. |
In ta min dahabu | This is (made) of gold. | ||
Essive / Comparative | KA | Ka tu | If I were you |
He zama ka dege. | S/he sings like a bird. | ||
Locative | BE | Ni ta be Helsinki. | I am in Helsinki. |
Pan ta be taula. | The bread is on the table. | ||
Partitive | YE | Ni na bua ye kawa. | I am drinking coffee. |
Mi zo kupa ye fruta. | We'll buy some fruit. | ||
Comitative | NA | Kawa na sukar | Coffee with sugar |
Ni ta na sofa nowi. | I have a new sofa. | ||
Abessive | SIN | Kawa sin sukar | Coffee without sugar |
Ni ha pata kukaa sin bo. | I cannot live without you. |
Verbs[]
Verb stems never change their form. Tenses and moods are expressed by grammatical particles and prefixes placed before the verb.
Prefix/Particle | Example | Translation | In Sentence | |
Infinitive | KU- | kufa | to do, doing, deed | |
Negative | HAKU- | hakufa | no to do, not doing, undoing | |
Past Participle | ME- | mefa | done | Kula (ta) mefa. 'The meal is done/ready.' |
Negative | HAME- | hamefa | not done | Kula (ta) hamefa. 'The meal is not done/ready.' |
Present Tense | - | fa | do, does | Ni fa. 'I do.' |
Negative | HA | ha fa | do not, does not | Ni ha fa. 'I do not'. |
Past Tense | LI | li fa | did | Ni li fa. 'I did.' |
Negative | HA LI | ha li fa | did not do | Ni ha li fa. 'I did not do.' |
Future Tense | ZO | zo fa | shall do, will do | Ni zo fa. 'I shall do.' |
Negative | HA ZO | ha zo fa | shall not do, will not do | Ni ha zo fa. 'I shall not do.' |
Conditional Mood | NGA | nga fa | should do, would do | Ni nga fa. 'I should do.' |
Negative | HA NGA | ha nga fa | should not do, would not do | Ni ha nga fa. 'I should not do.' |
Imperative Mood | - | fa | do! | Fa! 'Do!' |
Negative | HA | ha fa | do not! | Ha fa! 'Don't do!' 'Do not!' |
When stressed the negation particle can sometimes be lo.
kuta - to be, being
kuta na (Or: kutana) - to have, having, possession
kuja - to come, coming, arrival
kuanda - to go, going, departure
kukaa - to live, living (kaa 'life')
kukaya - to inhabit, to live, to stay (kaya 'home, house')
kujama - to station, to park (from jama ' station').
Numbers[]
Cardinal | Ordinal | |
1 | yek | rixon |
2 | sibi | ya sibi |
3 | tatu | ya tatu |
4 | oku | ya oku |
5 | qanu | ya qanu |
6 | tufa | ya tufa |
7 | hobi | ya hobi |
8 | galo | ya galo |
9 | lune | ya lune |
10 | isumi | ya isumi |
100 | ikulu | ya ikulu |
1 000 | mia | ya mia |
For other numbers Arabic, Spanish or English numbers are used (often with simplified pronunciation).
[]
Dictionary[]
...
Example text[]
Yonrixon Monday
Yonsibi Tuesday
Yontatu Wednesday
Yonoku Thursday
Yonqanu Friday
Yontufa Saturday
Yonhobi Sunday
Oi Hello, Hi
Ayo Hey, Bye, Goodbye
Kemo boja? How are you?
Nija mo zuri. I am fine.
A bo? And you?
Zuri, xukran. Fine, thank you.
Kege bokaya? Where do you live?
Be Paris. In Paris.
Nikaya be San José. I live in San José.
Ken heta? Who is he/that?
Heta Juan. He/That is Juan.
Ken ta Juan? Who is Juan?
Juan ta aqu yani. Juan is my brother.
Ke botaka bwa? What do you want to drink?
kawa, xukran. (some) Coffee, please.
Bobwa ye winu? Do you drink wine?
Lo, ni ha bwa y’alkool. No, I do not drink (any) alcohol.