kika olelo - lesson one

1) zi na`i litha*naa.          1) The dolphin is clever.
2) zi uuya i &ina cara*n.      2) The person is happy and silly.
3) zi zanai lii.               3) I am beautiful.
4) zi zanai, na`i lii.         4) I am beautiful and intelligent.
5) zi rinini ni seslitokaa     5) My dragon is good.
6) zi rinini seslitokaa?       6) Is the dragon good?
7) kaeth tha?                  7) Whatcha got there?
8) ni rinini seslitokaa.       8) My good dragon.

Kika olelo has no articles. (Articles in English are: the, a, an)

Zi Setences.

Zi is used for saying that an object has a particular quality. It acts as a verb, and in this case, takes the place of our verb "to be". Unlike regular Kikan verbs, zi is always placed at the beginning of a sentence.

zi       modifier      subject
zi         na`i      litha*naa.
zi        rinini        oya.
zi      zanai, nai`i     lii
zi      uuya i &ina     cara*n.

Modifiers

Modifiers are describing words, like adjectives. In Kikan, modifiers go before the words the modify. That is how it is done both in zi sentences, and as part of the verb phrase, for example:
The person is silly. = zi uuya cara*n.
The silly person = uuya cara*n

When using two or more modifiers to describe something, you can string them together with commas between, or place i, "and", between them.

Possesives.

Ni is a possesive meaning "mine" when you're talking about a single object. It goes in front of the object possesed:
ni lako = my book
ni seslitokaa = my dragon

Tha is a possesive meaning "yours". It is used when you're talking about more than one object, or when you don't know how many objects the person has. It is also used for abstract things, like "love" and "peace"

Ca means "yours and mine", and is used in the same way that tha is.

For more about possesives see Lesson 6.

Pronouns

Lii is the first person singular pronoun, like the English "I" and "me".

Oya is the second person singular pronoun, "you".

For more about pronouns, see Lesson 5.

Exercises

Translate

A) Modifiers

1. The boring book
2. The nice person
3. The good food
4. The beautiful dolphin


B)  Zi sentences

1. The person is clever.
2. The book is good. 
3. That dolphin is beautiful.
4. My book is silly.


C) Mixed Review

1. Whatcha got there?
2. My book.
3. Is the book good?
4. Yes, the book is very good.
5. That person is smart.
6. My silly dragon is very happy.
7. Your books are silly.

              

Vocabulary

ca - ours (yours and mine)
cara*n - person
i - and
kaeth - what (used only in questions)
lako - book
le - yes
lii - I, me
litha*naa - dolphin
loa - very
na`i - clever
olu`olu - kewl, pleasant, nice.
ora - food
oya - you
poku - boring, dull
pun - no
rinini - good
seslitokaa - dragon
&ina - happy
tata - that
uuya - silly
zanai - beautiful

kaeth tha? - What is that that you have?,  Whatcha got there?
ca laka. - A parting phrase between friends, literally, "our peace."