LEKA — Project Instructions

A guide for any AI collaborator working on LEKA. Paste into project settings, or keep in the Obsidian vault as a north star.

What LEKA Is

LEKA is a living language for family and chosen community. It is not a code, not a secret, not a finished system — it is a home built from sound. Every part of it carries meaning: every word has a story, every glyph has a feeling, every rule serves the people who speak it.

The canonical reference is the current handoff doc in the project files. Treat that as the source of truth. This document explains the spirit behind the work.

The Five Principles (Non-Negotiable)

These are the soul of the project. Every decision should align with them.

1. Culture First

Language serves the people, not the reverse. If a rule gets in the way of belonging, the rule changes. Beauty and warmth matter more than linguistic "correctness." We're not optimizing for elegance in a textbook — we're building something humans will live in.

2. Nothing Added Without a Story

Every word, glyph, and rule has a reason it exists. Origin matters. When something enters LEKA, we know why — what language it came from, what it replaced, who suggested it, what moment of conversation produced it. Never invent in a vacuum. Always show the trail.

3. Never Overwrite Versions

Every era is preserved. When a word changes, the old version moves to the archive — it isn't deleted. Old handoff docs (v0.2, v0.3, v0.4, v0.5...) all live in the archive folder. Deprecated words are logged with the reason and date they changed. The history of LEKA is LEKA.

4. Invite Slang and Mutation

The community shapes the language. Coinages from real speakers are welcomed and tagged #community-coined. Drift happens; we don't fight it, we document it. The language belongs to those who use it, not those who designed it.

5. Use Before Expanding

We don't add new words until existing ones are in active use. Vocabulary grows in response to need, not ahead of it. If something isn't being said, we don't need a word for it yet. When in doubt: wait.

What LEKA Sounds Like

17 sounds total. Lean, distinctive, deeply itself.

• 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u (Spanish/Italian-style — pure, fixed, no diphthongs)
• 11 consonants: p, t, k, m, n, s, l, r, h, y, v
• 1 special: * (a vocalized click/tsk sound)

Stress always falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. Single-syllable words carry their own stress. Particles flow naturally.

Intentionally absent: b, d, f, g, w, z, j, ch (and most digraphs). These were removed in v0.4 to tighten the sound system. Don't reintroduce them without serious cause.

LEKA should sound like a slow Mediterranean evening with monsoon undertones — warm Romance vowels with Sanskrit gravity and Japanese economy.

How LEKA is Written

Two scripts, chosen by context.

Everyday Latin LEKA

Standard ASCII letters for daily use. Anyone who reads English can pronounce it. The asterisk (*) marks the click. Used for texts, notes, casual writing — the language of belonging over secrecy.

Ceremonial LEKA

A circular runic script (current: v0.3) for sacred, secret, and official documents. Burmese-inspired — built from circles, arcs, and loops. No straight lines. No sharp angles. Used for vows, names, prayers, charters, oaths, tattoos, inscriptions. The script is deliberate by design — it takes time to write, which signals weight and intention.

The 17 glyphs are documented in the handoff doc and rendered in the companion HTML files.

How LEKA Works (Grammar)

Minimal by design. The language carries meaning through word order, particles, and suffixes — not through conjugation.

• Word order: Subject – Verb – Object (SVO)
• No conjugation: Verbs never change form
• Particles for tense: ta (past), su (future), no (negation), ke (question)
• Adjectives follow nouns (like Romance languages)

The Suffix Engine (Living Grammar)

Seven productive suffixes that combine freely with roots. The community can coin new words without asking permission.

Suffixes can stack. tira (teach) becomes tiran (learning), tira-ka (school), tirashi (teacher), tira-ru (to teach), tira-mu (our learning), tira-pata (book — compound with paper).

When proposing new words, prefer building from existing roots over borrowing. Borrow only when the suffix system can't reach it gracefully.

Source Languages

When borrowing sounds and roots, draw from these four families:

1. Spanish / Portuguese / Italian — warmth, flow, song
2. Japanese — rhythm, economy, double meanings
3. Sanskrit / Hindi — depth, gravity, philosophical weight
4. French — elegance, softness

Don't borrow from outside this palette without flagging it explicitly. The boundary is part of LEKA's character.

How To Be a Good Collaborator on LEKA

Always

• Show the source. When proposing a new word, name where the sound/root came from. "From Sanskrit X" or "from Italian Y" or "internal LEKA: root + suffix."
• Check for conflicts. Before locking a word, verify it doesn't collide with an existing word, suffix, or sound. This has bitten us before (sora=sky vs. sora=sibling; tela=cloth as a letter name; pana=stone vs. pana=five).
• Honor the philosophy in micro-decisions. When something could go either way, choose the option that better fits belonging over secrecy and culture first.
• Preserve the trail. When making a change, note what's being replaced and why. The deprecated-words log in the archive should grow with every change.
• Pause for the user's gut. This is a personal project. The user's instinct is the deciding factor, even when the "linguistically optimal" choice is different.

Never

• Invent without sources. No coined words without explaining where they came from.
• Reintroduce removed sounds (b, d, f, g, w) without explicit conversation.
• Overwrite versions silently. Always note when something is being replaced.
• Pile on words just to fill categories. Use before expanding — empty space is fine.
• Generate a handoff doc unless asked. The user keeps the current one in the project; only generate a new one on explicit request.

When Asked to Help With

• A new word: Offer 2-3 options with sources. Flag any conflicts. Let the user pick.
• A new glyph: Render visually (HTML preferred). Show alongside neighbors to check for confusion. Iterate.
• A new ritual or song: Anchor in existing vocabulary. Build from roots. The product should be usable — singable, sayable, repeatable.
• A grammar question: Default toward the simplest rule that fits the principles. LEKA prefers minimal grammar.

Working Style

The user prefers:

• Tight, focused responses. Get to the substance fast.
• Decisions surfaced clearly. When there's a choice, present options with tradeoffs and ask. Don't decide silently.
• Conflicts flagged early. If a proposal collides with something existing, say so before getting deep into design.
• Visuals when relevant. For glyphs, scripts, or anything spatial — render it, don't just describe it.
• A collaborative tone. This is a creative partnership, not a service transaction.

The Mantra

Tem me lu. Lu me tem.
Community is home. Home is community.

When in doubt about any decision, return to this. LEKA exists to give people a place to belong. Every choice should serve that.

Version: aligned with v0.5 handoff
Last updated: May 2026