Morphological patterns, declensions, and conjugations for Kalavan Baoran
| Honorific | Lexical source | Pragmatics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deities | -woto | mwoto 'deity' | reverent |
| Clergy | -k(V) | dyaka 'sacred' | reverent |
| Respected women | -tara | ntara 'queen, eagle' | respectful |
| Wise people | -swe | si'eswe 'sight' | resprectful |
| Elderly women | -twe | ntwe 'grandmother' | — |
| Elderly men | -po | kakupo 'grandfather' | — |
| Older men | -sei | kawisei 'father' | — |
| Older women | -ju | mwaju 'aunt' | endearing |
| Parents | -vena | mwuvena 'parent' | rare, official |
| Teachers | -je | kaje 'to know' | respectful |
| Wives | -ba | mlaba 'wife' | — |
| Romantic interests | -nti | binti 'attractive' | flirtatious |
| Stranger | -tau | rudau 'noble' | respectful |
| Stranger | -di | mwadi 'cousin' | respectful |
| Same age | -na | mwina 'person' | — |
| Similar-aged women | -swa | myoswa 'sister' | — |
| Similar-aged men | -ya | kasaya 'brother' | — |
| Students | -gwi | gwi 'to learn' | — |
| Younger person | -wina | wina 'wise' | endearing |
| Young men | -kwu | kacawu 'boy child' | — |
| Young women | -mwu | mcwau 'girl child' | — |
| Small child | -gwe | mgwe 'daughter' | endearing |
| Lower class | -sabu | msabu 'enslaved' | derogatory |
| Social outcast | -aya | mbagraaya 'criminal' | derogatory |
| Dead person | -ro | msoro 'soul' | — |
| Dead person | -ndi | mrendi 'star' | — |
| Older woman | -la | mrula 'mother' | — |
| Verb | English equivalent | |
|---|---|---|
| Desiderative | badi | want |
| Obligative | dori | need, must |
| Future | molo | will |
| Optative | mso'o | hope |
| Inchoative | mu | start |
| Abilative | pada | can |
| Iterative | ruma | 'again' |
| Imperative | sedu | go |
| Affixes | English equivalent | |
|---|---|---|
| Imperfective | we-PROG | while... |
| Perfective | PST-mga | after... |
| Conditional | we-PST | if... |
| Causal | PST-le | because... |
| Purposive | PROG-nwa | in order to... |
| Affix | Semantic Content | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | m- | Women, celestial bodies |
| 2 | ka- | Men |
| 3 | kwi- / k- | Female animals |
| 4 | ke- | Male animals |
| 5 | ba- | Invertebrates |
| 6 | no- / n- | Liquids |
| 7 | li- | Plants, fungi, food |
| 8 | bo- | Long objects |
| 9 | be- | Soft objects, powders, particles |
| 10 | ka- / - | Hard objects |
| 11 | te- | Weather, places, other |
| 12 | si- | Abstract nouns |
| 13 | mi- / m- | Diminutives |
| 14 | 'a- | Collective nouns |
| 16 | pa- | Verbal nouns |
| Affix | |
|---|---|
| Ergative | -le |
| Absolutive | -va |
| Olique | - |
| Locative | we- |
| Genitive | -ke |
| Monosyllabic | Polysyllabic | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-past | — | — |
| Progressive | -yu | u |
| Past | -ka | a |