Kotava


Kotava is a proposed international auxiliary language that focuses especially on the principle of cultural neutrality. The name means "the language of one and all", and the Kotava community has adopted the slogan "a project humanistic and universal, utopian and realistic". The language is mainly known in French-speaking countries and most material to learn it is in French.

History

Kotava was invented by Staren Fetcey, who began the project in 1975, on the basis of her study of previous IAL projects. The language was first made available to the public in 1978, and two major revisions were made in 1988 and 1993. Since then, the language has stabilized, with a lexicon of more than 17,000 basic roots. In 2005, a committee of seven members was established with the responsibility of guiding the future evolution of the language.
The overall goal was to create a potential IAL that was not based on a particular cultural substrate. To do this, a number of subgoals were established:

Classification

As an a priori constructed language, Kotava is not related to any other language, natural or constructed. The word order is very free, but current practice leans toward object–subject–verb.

Writing system

Kotava is written with the Latin alphabet, but doesn't use the letters H or Q. The letter H, which was only used to palatalize an L, M, or N, before it, was eliminated and replaced by the letter Y in all cases. It uses no diacritics except for an acute accent, only used to mark the first person of verbs, which is accented on the final vowel.

Phonology

In Kotava, words are pronounced exactly as written, without exceptions.
Most consonants are pronounced as in English, but C is pronounced as English sh, J as in French, and the X as in Scottish loch, and the R is rolled.
The consonants are:
The vowels are pronounced as in Spanish, Swahili, or Tahitian, with no differences of length and no nasalization.
There are five diphthongs: ay, ey, iy, oy, uy.
The stress rule in Kotava is regular for all polysyllabic words: on the last syllable if the word has a final consonant; on the second from last syllable if the word has a final vowel, except for the first person of conjugated verbs, which is stressed on the last syllable, marked with an acute accent.

Morphology

Kotava has strict morphological rules, outlined in a table which prescribes order and interaction. All parts of speech are marked, so there is no ambiguity. Nouns and pronouns are invariable and there is no system of declensions. There are no affixes of gender or plurality, both of which can be indicated with particles or other words, if necessary. One unusual feature of Kotava is a "euphonic" principle which matches endings of adjectives and other modifiers with their nouns.

Grammar

The verbal system is the pivot of Kotava. Verbs are conjugated into three tenses and four moods. In addition, there are mechanisms for voices, aspects, modalities and other nuances, permitting a great deal of subtlety in expression. There are seven persons for verbs, including an inclusive and exclusive first person plural.
In Kotava, the word order tends to be object–subject–verb, and all objects and other complements must be introduced by prepositions. There are also innovations involving conjunctions and prepositions.

Literature

Literature has an important place in the Kotava-speaking community. There are hundreds of translations of novels, tales and other literary texts.
In Les Tétraèdres, a wide historical and fantastic fresco, Kotava is the spoken language would have Neanderthals and transmitted in secret to their descendants for many generations and is recited by some heroines as long oracles.

Example of text

Tale of Hans Christian Andersen: The Princess and the Pea.
Lekeon tiyir sersikye djukurese va sersikya, va sersanhikya. Ta da vaon trasir, va tawava anamelapiyir vexe kotviele koncoba me dojeniayar ; sersikya, jontika tiyid, vexe kas tiyid sersanhikya ? Batcoba tiyir voldrikafa karolara, kotviele koncoba ok arcoba nuvelayad mekotunafa. Gabenapaf in dimdenlapiyir, va sersanhikya loeke co-djudiyir.
Sielon konviele, kultasazon, koafimayar ise ediayar ise muvapayar maneke kovudason, kontan ben tuvel ke widava ve tazeyer aze guazaf gazik miv ve laniyir aze ve fenkuyur.
Sersikya batlize diveon tiyir. Vexe Lorik ! Nuvelayar mancoba leve bata muva, koe bat saz ! Lava tidu usukeem is vageeem traspuyur ise koo vukuduul koayar aze koo buu divayar… voxe in espuyur da tiyir sersanhikya !
— Va batcoba en witit ! guazafa gazikya trakuyur voxe va mecoba ve kaliyir. Ko maga ve laniyir aze va dualteem ve deswayar aze ludevon ic ilava va urt ve rundayar ; va tol-sanoya cipia azon ve plekuyur aze mo urt ve krepkayar aze, vamoon, va tol-sanoya eider bruxafa krinca ware ve plekuyur. Vamoe batcoba sersikya batsielon co-gosenheter.
Gazdon, sin ve eruyud inde in al kenibeyer.
— Rotapon, in ve dulzeyer, mielon itafenkumuyur. Lorik va coba koe bata ilava gruper. Vamoe koncoba olgafa maneke moe varafo alto va jontika faltagla isu ebeltagla dí senheyé ! Eaftafa !
Bam sin ve kagrupeyed da in tiyir sersanikya larde, reme tol-sanoya cipia isu eider bruxafa krinca va urt al peztaleyer. Mana gustafa alma anton rotiyir tela ke garifa sersikya.
Acum sersikye va in ve kureyer, dure tison lanafe da in tiyir sersanhikya nume urt koe yanbajwaxe di zo wonayar lize zo rowir ede metan al ilburer.
Batcoba tir ageltafa rupanha.