Introduction
Palo is first attested in early 2018.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j |
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a | |
Morphology
Nouns
Unmarked nouns are assumed to be in the nominative case, the genitive case is marked with the suffix -s, and the accusative case with the suffix -n.
Personal Pronouns
Palo has a 5-way distinction in 3rd person pronouns dependent on the semantic connotation of its antecedent.
| Pronoun | Class | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ja | inanimate objects | rock, bone, drywall, bottle |
| li | animate beings | artist, cat, woman, spider |
| po | plants and flora | flower, orange, succulus, tree |
| sija | computers | smartphone, laptop, robot, program |
| wa | abstract concepts | goodness, dream, sorrow, democracy |
The 1st and 2nd person pronouns are simply "mi" and "ti" respectively.
Verbs
Verb phrases are ordered subject-verb-object. Grammatical aspect and voice are indicated by 1 of 6 obligatory particles that occurs between the subject and verb arguments:
| Indicative | Participle | |
|---|---|---|
| Active | sa | is |
| Passive | ala | isla |
| Reflexive | awa | iswa |
Syntax
- Adpositions preceed indirect objects. Adpositional phrases always occur last in a sentence.
- Adjectives and adverbs always occur after that which they describe.
Orthography
Written left-to-right and top-to-bottom, Palo orthography is a syllabary based on arrangements of rings and dots in various sizes and colors.