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Questions

2 min read · 324 words

The structure of questions depends on whether it is an open ended question or not.

  • Yes-Or-No & Multiple Choice Questions: Add ka to the end of a statement. For example:

    • Yes-Or-No: Vemás-next ài (à di) táberna ka? - You will go to the store or what? (A comparison of how ka functions, not what ka literally means)

    • Multiple Choice: Kiemás e cokoláta ou im enciláda ka? - You want a chocolate (bar) or an enchilada, which one? (A comparison of how kafunctions, not what ka literally means)

    • Etymology: Etymologically, ka does not descend from Japanese 🇯🇵か. It’s descended from Latin 🇻🇦qua, but it came to be used this way because of Japanese, and to distinguish questions from statements without intonation cues.

  • Open Ended Questions: You do not need to use ka like this. While ka may end a sentence in an inverted clause (something like “You want what?”), it is not standard.

    • The Five K’s (The Five W’s of Hafau): Here are the question words:

    • Kuí: This means both “who” or “which”. For example: 1. Kuí er ti amice? - Who is your friend?, 2. Kuí er ti karo? - Which is your car?

    • Ka: This means “what” in an open ended question. For example: Ka viemás? - What do you see?

    • Kuán: This means “when”. For example: Kuán aiudéi-next? - When will you help me?

    • Ko: This means “where”. For example: Ko tenóe? - Where are you? (This literally translates to “Where has you?”, more common is the inverted “Té in ko?”)

    • Kómo: This means “how”. For example: Kómo olvéo di klase d’Espaniól? - How did you forget Spanish class? (This literally translates to “How did you forget the class of Spanish?”)

    • Por Ka: This is not one word. These are two distinct words, meaning “why” or more literally “for what”. For example: Por ka flemás? - Why do you cry?