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KANZA LANGUAGE

Mixed-Media Lessons for Adults

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Lesson 3

AN INTRODUCTIONTO THE KANZA VERB

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Topics of Discussion

In this lesson you will learn the basics of the Kanza verb.You will learn how to conjugate some active verbs.

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What Are Verbs?

All languages have some way of expressinginformation about actions and states of being.These are generally expressed usingVERBS.Actions in English include Run, Achieve, Shrug, Lie, Mumble, etc.State of being in English is limited to mostly Be, or variations thereof, such as Be Dead, Be Polished, Be Eaten, etc.

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What Are Kanza Verbs?

The Kanza verb also expresses action andstate of being.

In Kanza, action verbs are calledACTIVES, and state of being verbs are

called STATIVES.Kanza statives are quite numerous, and

many of them would be considered action verbs or even ordinary adjectives in English.

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How do they work?

The Kanza verb can consist of four parts, a VERB ROOT, its PREFIXES, its SUFFIXES, and any PARTICLES it may have.The VERB ROOT is like a train car, that can be connected to:PREFIXES that go on the FRONT,SUFFIXES that go on the BACK,And PARTICLES that can FOLLOW behind it, as a whole other train.

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Conjugation

Verb roots can take many different forms, but generally they consist of two parts, a part that stays the same and a part that may change a little.

Think of the verb Say in English. We say I/You/We/They Say, but we also say He/She/ItSays.

Part of it changed (something was added)depending on who was performing the action. This is called CONJUGATION.

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FormsIn Kanza, verbs are conjugated based on WHO is

performing the action and/or experiencing the state of being. There are several combinations, but the main forms are as follows:

S/he* form

Y’all formYou form

We formYou & I formI form

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How Conjugation Works

Verbs are conjugated in few different ways.• The verb root can get prefixes and/or suffixes:

ák’in = I carry VERB ROOT= k’inyák’in = You carry

k’in = S/he* carries• The verb root can change a little bit:

bliⁿ = I am VERB ROOT = yiⁿhniⁿ = You are

yiⁿ = S/he is• Some combination of these ways:

kóⁿbla = I want VERB ROOT=gónyashkónhna = You want

gónya = S/he wants

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What’s Going On

How a verb is conjugated is based upon what its VERB ROOT is.

Furthermore, all VERB ROOTS fit into 1 of about 8 different patterns, called CONJUGATIONS.

IT ISN’T RANDOM! The connection between a VERB ROOT and its specific CONJUGATION can be as old as the language itself.

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For Example: k’in

Let’s look once more at k’in (to carry on the back) for some insight. For our purposes, we’ll be looking at what happens to k’in when the action is not ongoing.

The verb k’in fits a pattern called <A>, which looks like this when the action/state is not ongoing:

* The (g) of aⁿ(g)- shows up only when the next letter is a vowel.

S/he* form: _be

Y’all form: ya_beYou form: ya_

We form: aⁿ(g) *_beYou & I form: aⁿ(g) *_I form: a_

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k’in (continued)The conjugation of k’in looks like this:

AS YOU CAN SEE, IT FITS THE <A> CONJUGATION PERFECTLY.

S/he* form: k’íⁿbe

Y’all form: yak’íⁿbeYou form: yak’íⁿ

We form: aⁿk’íⁿbeYou & I form: aⁿk’íⁿI form: ak’íⁿ

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k’in (continued)Wait a minute… How does the verb root k’in look when

the action IS ongoing? What a great question!

You’ll notice that it looks exactly the same, but without the –be suffixes on the We , Y’all, and S/he* forms. Okay. Hold that thought…

S/he* form: k’íⁿ

Y’all form: yak’íⁿYou form: yak’íⁿ

We form: aⁿk’íⁿYou & I form: aⁿk’íⁿI form: ak’íⁿ

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SimplificationWith the –be suffixes left off, it is easy to spot some patterns that

simplify the conjugation of k’iⁿ significantly:

Also, did you notice that the Verb Root looks the same as S/he* form? That’s because the Verb Root IS the S/he* form!

Plus, remember that the –be is only tacked on to the end of the We , Y’all, and S/he* forms when the action/state is not ongoing.

S/he* form: k’iⁿ

Y’all form: yak’íⁿYou form: yak’íⁿ

We form: aⁿk’íⁿYou & I form: aⁿk’íⁿI form: ak’íⁿ

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<A> Simplified

Since we know that S/he* form is the same as the Verb Root, and that the We, Y’all, and S/he* forms get –be when the action is not ongoing, we can simplify that big chart to just 3 items!

I a_You ya_ (also used for Y’all)You & I an(g)_ (also used for We)

Furthermore, in all Active verbs, the You & I form is an(g)_, so you really don’t need to memorize it for every conjugation!

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Let’s Practice It: ci

The verb root ci (to pitch a tent) uses the <A> conjugation. Using the chart below, conjugate it for all forms.I a_You ya_You & I an(g)_

Don’t worry about accent marks for stress in this exercise—we’ll get to that later.

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ci Conjugated (no stress)

ONGOING

NOT ONGOING

S/he* form: ci

Y’all form: yaciYou form: yaci

We form: aⁿciYou & I form: aⁿciI form: aci

S/he* form: cibe

Y’all form: yacibeYou form: yaci

We form: aⁿcibeYou & I form: aⁿciI form: aci

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A Word on Stress

Knowing where stress (accent) falls in Kanza verbs is more art than science.

Basically, though, the second vowel in a verb will tend to be stressed loudest.

In certain conjugation patterns, stress CAN move to the left.

In situations where certain non-conjugation prefixes are added, the stress CAN move to the left, as well.

So let’s look back at our conjugation of ci.

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ci Conjugated

ONGOING

NOT ONGOING

ci = ci

ya- + ci yacíya- + ci = yací

aⁿ(g)+ ci = aⁿcíaⁿ(g)+ ci = aⁿcía- + ci = ací

ci + -be = cibe

ya- + ci +-be = yacíbeya- + ci = yací

aⁿ(g)+ ci + -be = aⁿcíbeaⁿ(g)+ ci = aⁿcía- + ci = ací

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A Word on Tense

In English, we mark all our verbs for TENSE.For instance, past tense of to pitch a tent is pitched a tent,

and present tense is pitch a tentIn Kanza, something similar happens, but it’s not exactly

the same thing.In Kanza, verbs aren’t thought of in terms of TENSE (where

the action/state is situated on a timeline), but in terms of ASPECT (how the action/state progresses or flows through time).

If the action/state “flows,” the verb is ongoing. If it doesn’t “flow” or is no longer “flowing,” the verb is not ongoing.

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Ongoing and Not Ongoing

Remember, it’s easy to generate the ‘not ongoing’ forms just by adding –be to the We, Y’all, and S/he* forms. So, we won’t talk about them any more right now. But we will see them again in the next lesson (where we’ll also learn that the ‘ongoing’ forms require Verb Particles to help them).

We brought up the ‘not ongoing’ aspect forms not to confuse, but simply to introduce the notion of conjugation at its most complex, i.e., with both prefixes AND suffixes—it only gets easier from here!

Right now, the most important thing is to get a handle on how to generate only the ‘ongoing’ aspect forms.

So, from here on out, when we speak of conjugation, we will only be talking about the ‘ongoing’ aspect forms.

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The Conjugations

Remember, there are about 8 conjugations.<A> is for regular Active verbs<B> is for irregular roots that start with B<D> is for irregular roots that start with D<G> is for irregular roots that start with G<H> is for irregular roots that start with H<Y> is for irregular roots that start with Y

(This one is also called <R> for historical reasons.)<Ø> is for irregular roots that start with nasal vowels or ’<S> is for regular Stative verbs

Of these <A> and <Y> conjugations are the most numerous. We’ve seen <A>, so what is <Y>?

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<R> Simplified

Remember, S/he* form is always the same as the Verb Root.I bl_You hn_You & I an(g)_

But here, instead of being prefixed to the verb root, the first letter of the verb root gets changed in some of the forms. Keep in mind that <Y> is for y- roots.

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Let’s Practice It: yastá

The verb root yastá (to chew on) uses the <Y> conjugation. Using the chart below, conjugate it for all Persons & Numbers.I bl_You hn_You & I an(g)_

Now, since <Y> is for verb roots that start with y, we are going to change the y in a few of the forms, namely the Iand You forms. In the other forms, we’ll leave that poor yalone!

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yastá Conjugated(Stress Shown)

S/he* form:yastá

Y’all form:hnásta

You form:hnásta

We form:aⁿyásta

You & I form:aⁿyásta

I form:blásta

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Another Word on Stress

Do you remember how I told you that the knowing where stress goes in the Kanza verb is an art?Well, one of the little tricks of the trade involves moving the stress leftward on some of the <Y> forms that change the y, namely bl- and hn- for I and You.Again, don’t worry. You’ll get it eventually, and the details shouldn’t keep you from learning broad strokes.

SO DON’T STRESS OUT!

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The Other Conjugations

<S> is for Stative verbs. We’ll talk about them some other time.

As for <B> <D> <G> <H> and <Ø> they are fairly similar to one another.

Furthermore, they are like <Y> in that they are triggered by and change certain letters in their roots.

<H> is for h roots, <B> is for b roots, etc.<Ø> is for roots that start with ’ or a Nasal Vowel.Just like <Y>, only the I and You root letters change.

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OK, Let’s See ‘Em

These are just the simplified versions.

<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-

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A Little Practice Never Hurt Anyone: hu

Using the chart below, give the correct form :

<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-hu (to be coming here) uses <H>.What verb means “I am coming here” in Kanza?

(Try and guess before moving on)phu = I am coming here

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A Little Practice Never Hurt Anyone: on

Using the chart below, give the correct form :

<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-on (to use) uses <Ø>.What verb means “you & I use” in Kanza?

aⁿgón = you & I use

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A Little Practice Never Hurt Anyone: gághe

Using the chart below, give the correct form :<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>

I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-gághe (to make) uses <G>.What verb means “you make” in Kanza.

shkághe = you make

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A Little Practice Never Hurt Anyone: baxí

Using the chart below, give the correct form :<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>

I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-baxí (to shove) uses <B>.What verb means “we shove” in Kanza?

aⁿbáxi = we shove

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A Little Practice Never Hurt Anyone: dóⁿbe

Using the chart below, give the correct form :

<B> <D> <G> <H> <Ø>I p- t- p- ph- m-You shp- sht- shk- sh- zh-You & I aⁿ(g)- an(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)- aⁿ(g)-dóⁿbe (to look at) uses <D>.What verb means “she looks at” in Kanza?

dóⁿbe = she looks at (no change!)

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A Good First Step

This is a good first step into the world of the Kanza verb.

There is still much, much more to learn.

Practice what you have just learned and you will find the next steps much easier.

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Next Steps

In the next lesson we will learn:A few noteworthy exceptionsInteresting applications of new and very useful prefixes and suffixesCausative verbsHow to use particles to alter the meaning of a verbThe <S> Stative conjugation

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Keep in Mind

The Kanza language is just as useful and worthy of speech and writing as any other.It is the responsibility of anyone who CAN use the language to actually USE the language. This includes reading and writing as well as listening and talking.WALK THE TALK!

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND INTEREST

KANZA LANGUAGE PROJECTKAW NATIONDRAWER 50KAW CITY, OK 74641 (580) 269-1199http://www.kawnation.com/langhome.htmllanguage@kawnation.com