Chlouvānem/Phonology

This article provides an overview of the phonology (yāṃstarlā) of Chlouvānem, particularly of the general pronunciation used today in official contexts (Standard Chlouvānem), but with looks on the reconstructed pronunciation of the Classical Era (Classical Chlouvānem) and on the main regional variants (mainly Jade Coastal, Eastern Plain, Northern Plain, Southern Far Eastern, Northern Far Eastern).

While the large phonemic inventory, both for vowels and consonants, leaves little space to allophonic variations, much greater is the amount of diatopic variation in the realization of the single phonemes.

Abbreviations for local variants used in the article:

Std. — Standard

Cam. — Camīyi (Northern Far Eastern)

Hln. — Hālyanēṃṣi (Southern)

Hiy. — Hilyamāmi (Eastern Plain, northern Nīmbaṇḍhāra Delta)

Ilē. – Ilēnimarti (Inland Jade Coastal)

Klš. — Kælšamīṇṭi (Southern)

Līkh. – Līlekhaite (Southern Far Eastern)

Līl. — Līlasuṃghāṇi (Jade Coastal)

Līt. — Līlti (Jade Coastal)

Lkn. — Līlikanāni (Southern Far Eastern)

Lṭh. — Līṭhalyināmi (Jade Coastal)

Ltṣ. — Lāltaṣveyi (Eastern Plain, southern Nīmbaṇḍhāra Delta)

Mam. — Mamaikali (Northern Plain)

Pmh. — Pamahīnēni (Inland Southern)

Tlš. — Tālišulkhāni (Western Plain)

Tmṣ. — Tumyāṣrālami (Eastern Plain)

Ytc. — Yotachušeyi (Northeastern)

Vowels

Chlouvānem has a large vowel inventory consisting of 24 phonemes: 15 monophthongs (6 oral short, 5 oral long, and 4 breathy-voiced), 7 diphthongs (4 oral and 3 breathy-voiced), and 2 syllabic consonants. The following table contains their typical phonemic notation:

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː i̤		u uː ṳ
Close-mid	e eː e̤
Open-mid	ɛ ɛː		ɔ
Open		ä äː	ɑ̤
Diphthongs	aɪ̯ eɪ̯ a̤ɪ̯ e̤ɪ̯	ɔə̯	aʊ̯ a̤ʊ̯
Syllabic consonants	ʀ̩ ʀ̩ː

Breathy-voiced vowels vs. /Vɦ/ sequences

Breathy-voiced vowels are closely related to /Vɦ/ sequences as, in many cases, instances of the latter are what historically created the former. In Chlouvānem saṃdhi, /Vɦ/ sequences at the end of a morpheme become /V̤/ when followed by a consonant and, viceversa, breathy-voiced vowels become /Vɦ/ sequences when followed by a vowel. This is especially notable in declension and conjugation:

mailtvąa /maɪ̯ɴ̆tʋäɦä/ "waters", stem mailtvą~mailtvah-, ergative case mailtvahei /maɪ̯ɴ̆tʋäɦeɪ̯/, exessive case mailtvąt /maɪ̯ɴ̆tʋɑ̤t/

švęke /ɕʋe̤ke/ "to point at", root švę~šveh-, 1SG present indicative švehu /ɕʋeɦu/

In the pronunciations of the Northern Far East, East, Northeast, and many areas of the North, breathy-voiced vowels before consonants are realized as a vowel followed by a fricative, which is:

• palatal [ç] or [ʝ] before palatals;
• velar [x] or [ɣ] before velars;
• uvular [χ] before /ʀ/ or /ɴ̆/;
• bilabial [ɸ] or [β] before labials;
• glottal [h] or [ɦ] otherwise.

See, for example, švęke /ɕʋe̤ke/ – Std. [ɕʋe̤ke~ɕve̤ke], Cam. [ɕvexkə].

Vowels /ä äː ɑ̤/

/ä/ (usually simply transcribed as /a/), statistically the most common vowel phoneme in Chlouvānem, is an open central unrounded vowel [ä] in most local pronunciations, but is better transcribed as near-open [ɐ] for the Jade Coastal ones and in a few Eastern Plain ones (notably in the Nīmbaṇḍhāra Delta); this slightly closer realization has been spreading to Standard Chlouvānem.

haloe "name" /ɦäɴ̆ɔə̯/ – Std. [ɦäɴ̆ɔə̯~ɦɐɴ̆ɔə̯~ɦɐɴ̆ɔɒ̯], Līl. [ɦɐɴ̆œː], Lṭh. [ɦɐɴ̆oɪ̯], Līt. [ɦɐɴ̆ɔɒ̯~ɔɪ̯], Tmṣ. [ɦäɴ̆ɔɒ̯], Cam. [ɦäɴ̆ɔɪ̯], Lkn. [ɦäɴ̆oə̯]

In various areas of the Northern Plain, including in and around Mamaikala, the /äs/ ending is realized as [əʃ]:

prātas "wind" /pʀäːtäs/ – Std. [pʀäːtäs~pʀäːtɐs], Līl. [pʀäːtɐs], Mam. [pʀäːtəʃ], Cam. [pʀäːtäs]

/äː/ (usually simply transcribed as /aː/) is realized as [äː] in most contexts for nearly all pronunciations. Jade Coastal ones realize it as an open back unrounded vowel [ɑː] word-finally, while in the Southern Far East it is often backed and rounded to [ɒː] after labial consonants. Exclusively in and around Cami, it is fronted to [æː] when adjacent to /j/.

lilyā "my, mine" /ɴ̆iɴ̆jäː/ – Std. [ɴ̆iɴ̆jäː], Līl. [ɴ̆iɴ̆jɑː], Tmṣ. [ɴ̆iɴ̆jäː], Cam. [ɴ̆iɴ̆jæː], Lkn. [ɴ̆iɴ̆jäː]

vāyam "image" /ʋäːjäm/ – Std. [ʋäːjä̃m~ʋäːjɐ̃m], Līl. [väːjɐ̃m], Tmṣ. [ʋäːjä̃m~wäːjä̃m], Cam. [ʋæːjä̃m~wæːjä̃m], Lkn. [ʋɒːjä̃m]

Both /ä/ and /äː/ are, nearly everywhere, backed when allophonically nasalized as [ɑ̃ ɑ̃ː], except before word-final /m/:

Lāmberah (name of a river) /ɴ̆aːmbeʀäɦ/ – Std. [ɴ̆ɑ̃ːmbeʀäħ], Līl. [ɴ̆ɑ̃ːmbeʀɐχ], Mam. [ɴ̆ɑ̃ːmbeʀäħ], Cam. [ɴ̆ɑ̃ːmbeʀäh]

/ɑ̤/ does not have particular regional variation, save for the unpacking to [äH] in the Northern Far East/East/Northeast/parts of the North:

mąšake "to pay" /mɑ̤ɕäke/ – Std. [mɑ̤ɕäke~mɑ̤ɕɐke], Līl. [mɑ̤ɕɐke], Tmṣ. [mɑ̤ʃäke], Cam. [mäçɕäkə].

Closed vowels /i iː i̤ u uː ṳ/

The closed vowels /i iː i̤ u uː ṳ/ do not show significant allophony in different regional pronunciations in the Inquisition, except for the Northern and Western Plain having a quality distinction in addition to quantity, with the short ones being slightly less close and more centralized (i.e. /i u/ as [ɪ ʊ]). In most areas with this distinction, this modification of quality does not happen word-finally, but in the Tālišulkhān desert it does:

lila "person" /ɴ̆iɴ̆ä/ – Std. [ɴ̆iɴ̆ä~ɴ̆iɴ̆ɐ], Līl. [ɴ̆iɴ̆ɐ], Cam. [ɴ̆iɴ̆ä], Mam. [ɴ̆ɪɴ̆ä], Tlš. [ɴ̆ɪɴ̆ä].

lilu, leli (acc. and gen. of the above) /ɴ̆iɴ̆u/, /ɴ̆eɴ̆i/ – Std. [ɴ̆iɴ̆u], [ɴ̆eɴ̆i], Līl. [ɴ̆iɴ̆u], [ɴ̆eɴ̆i], Cam. [ɴ̆iɴ̆u], [ɴ̆eɴ̆i], Mam. [ɴ̆ɪɴ̆u], [ɴ̆eɴ̆i], Tlš. [ɴ̆ɪɴ̆ʊ], [ɴ̆eɴ̆ɪ]

murkas "black" /muʀkas/ – Std. [muɐ̯käs~muʀkäs~muɐ̯kɐs], Līl. [muˤkɐs], Cam. [mo̝ɐ̯kas], Mam. [mʊʀkəʃ~mʊɵ̯kəʃ], Tlš. [mʊɵ̯käs]

In the Jade Coast and Eastern Plain, /u/ and /uː/, but not /ṳ/, are fronted to /ʉ/ following /j/ and (in the Nīmbaṇḍhāra Delta only) after /ɕ ɲ/ (and /ʂ/ in the dialects that merge it with /ɕ/):

yunya "Yunya; nature, god" /junjä/ – Std. [junjä], Līl. [jʉnjɐ], Hiy. [jʉnjɐ~jʉnjä], Cam. [junjä]

šulka "five" /ɕunkä~ɕuɴkä~ɕuɴ̆kä/ – Std., Cam. [ɕuŋkä], Hiy. [ʃʉŋkä], Līl., Lṭh. [ɕuɴqɐ], Ltṣ. [ʃʉɴqä]

ñuɂah "cream" /ɲuɁäɦ/ – Std. [ɲuɁäħ], Līl. [ɲuɁɐχ], Hiy. [ɲʉɁɐħ~ɲʉɁäħ], Cam. [ɲuɁäh]

Vowels /e eː e̤ ɛ ɛː/

Chlouvānem is rich in mid front vowels, with five such phonemes; their qualities do not overlap in the Standard, but they do in some regional pronunciations. Notably, among younger speakers in the eastern part of the Jade Coast (Līlasuṃghāṇa and areas east of it) and most of the South, they merge as /e(ː)/ when preceding a nasal phoneme, excluding /ɴ̆/:

pǣcicænah "entrée" /pɛːc͡ɕic͡ɕɛnäɦ/ – Std. [pɛːc͡ɕic͡ɕɛnäħ], Līl. [pɛːc͡ɕic͡ɕenɐχ], Lṭh. [pɛːc͡ɕic͡ɕenɐħ~-nɐχ], Mam. [pɛːc͡ɕɪc͡ɕɛnäħ], Cam. [pɛːc͡ɕic͡ɕɛnäh]

In virtually all pronunciations, /ɛ ɛː/ are lowered to [æ æː] before /ʀ/:

kauchlærīn "professor" /kaʊ̯c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʀiːn/ – Std. [käʊ̯c͡ɕʰɴ̆æʀĩːŋ], Līl. [kɐʊ̯c͡ɕʰɴ̆æʀĩːŋ~kɑʊ̯-], Cam. [kɑʊ̯c͡ɕʰɴ̆æʀĩːŋ], Ytc. [käʊ̯c͡ɕʰɴ̆æʐĩŋ]

Vowel /ɔ/ (incl. historical */ʌo̯/)

The vowel /ɔ/ in all contemporary Chlouvānem pronunciation is the result of the merger of historical (Classical) /ɔ/ and another vowel, usually reconstructed as */ʌo̯/ or */ɔʊ̯/; both are still distinguished orthographically, with o used for the former and å for the latter, making /ɔ/ the only Chlouvānem phoneme that has two completely different letters for it to be written with.

In almost all pronunciations (the Coastal Southwest and the Hālyanēṃṣi pronunciation being the main exceptions), when preceding any of /ɴ̆ ʀ c͡ɕ c͡ɕʰ ɟ͡ʑ ɟ͡ʑʱ/, it is raised to a mid [o̞] or high-mid [o] vowel (in free variation, not represented here):

jålkha "cold" /ɟ͡ʑɔɴ̆kʰä/ – Std. [ɟ͡ʑo̞ɴ̆kʰä], Līl. [ɟ͡ʑo̞ɴ̆qʰɐ], Cam. [ɟ͡ʑo̞ɴ̆kʰä], Hln. [ɟ͡ʑɔɴ̆qʰä]

When word-final (an occurrence which is limited to borrowed proper nouns, the accusatives of dual pronouns, the dative of cardinal numerals, and some Eastern toponyms), it is realized as [oː] virtually everywhere:

emibå "one" (DAT.) /emibɔ/ – Std., Līl., Cam., Hln. [emiboː]

ilo "us two" /iɴ̆ɔ/ – Std., Līl., Cam., Hln. [iɴ̆oː]

Paramito (name of a city) /päʀämitɔ/ – Std, Cam., Hln. [päʀämitoː], Līl. [pɐʀɐmitoː]

Currently, there is a tendency among young speakers, almost exclusively adolescents and young adults in the major urban areas, towards the development of a spelling-based phonemic distinction, with /o/ [o] corresponding to written o and /ɔ/ [ɔ] corresponding to written å. In its most radical form, this overrides even the raising of /ɔ/ (when written å) and the [oː] pronunciation in words like emibå mentioned above; otherwise this tendency still keeps them merged in those contexts. However, this usage is considered non-standard and not appropriate in formal circumstances.

Diphthongs

The three non-central diphthong qualities - /aɪ̯ eɪ̯ aʊ̯/ - are mostly stable across different regions; the main tendences are to front /aɪ̯/ and back /aʊ̯/. In most of the Jade Coast, /aʊ̯/ is realized with a more closed nucleus, as [ɐʊ̯], or backed as [ɑʊ̯], the former being prevalent in the inland part and the latter in the coastal part; both are found in intermediate areas, such as the whole area of Lake Lūlunīkam; on the coast northeast of it, in and around Līlta and Taitepamba, it is backed and rounded to [ɒʊ̯]. The backed [ɑʊ̯] realization is also common in the Northern Far East and in the Near East, while rounded [ɒʊ̯] or even [ɔʊ̯] are found in the Southern Far East.

mauši "Calémerian bergamot" /maʊ̯ɕi/ – Std. [mäʊ̯ɕi], Līl. [mɐʊ̯ɕi~mɑʊ̯ɕi], Lṭh. [mɑʊ̯ɕi], Līt. [mɒʊ̯ʃi], Cam. [mɑʊ̯ɕi], Lkn. [mɔʊ̯ʃi]

/aɪ̯/ is fronted to [æɪ̯] in virtually all of the Chlouvānem-speaking world except for most of the Plain and of the Jade Coast (Līlasuṃghāṇa and Taitepamba being the only major areas there where fronting occurs). In some areas of the South (notably in Kælšamīṇṭa), it is merged with /eɪ̯/ as [e̞ɪ̯] or even [ɛɪ̯]. When word-final and unstressed, as commonly occuring as a plural marker, most of the Southern Far East reduces it to [ɛ].

maita "river" /maɪ̯tä/ – Std. [mäɪ̯tä], Līl. [mæɪ̯tɐ], Lṭh. [maɪ̯tɐ], Klš. [me̞ɪ̯tä], Hiy. [maɪ̯tä~maɪ̯tɐ], Cam., Ytc., Lkn. [mæɪ̯tä]

maitai "rivers" /maɪ̯taɪ̯/ – Std. [mäɪ̯täɪ̯], Līl., Cam., Ytc. [mæɪ̯tæɪ̯], Lṭh., Hiy. [maɪ̯taɪ̯], Klš. [me̞ɪ̯te̞ɪ̯], Hiy. [maɪ̯taɪ̯], Lkn. [mæɪ̯tɛ]

/ɔə̯/ varies much more diatopically, with the [ɔə̯] realization (likely the Classical one) being mostly only persistant in the Standard, in the Near East, in the North, and in the West. Most other areas have a fronted and more closed second element in [ɔɪ̯]; the Southern Far East usually has a more closed first element in [oə̯], while the southern Jade Coast and parts of the Southern coast have both in [oɪ̯]. Opening, rounding, and backing of the second element to [ɔɒ̯] is found almost exclusively in a coastal strip from just north of Taitepamba through Līlta (where [ɔɪ̯] is however also found) to the Nīmbaṇḍhāra Delta included, and is a possible realization in the Standard. Finally, a realization as a rounded front vowel is found in the southern rainforest and adjacent areas, including the whole of the Līlasuṃghāṇa metro area.

haloe "name" /ɦäɴ̆ɔə̯/ – Std. [ɦäɴ̆ɔə̯~ɦɐɴ̆ɔə̯~ɦɐɴ̆ɔɒ̯], Līl. [ɦɐɴ̆œː], Pmh. [ɦäɴ̆œː] Lṭh. [ɦɐɴ̆oɪ̯], Līt. [ɦɐɴ̆ɔɒ̯~ɔɪ̯], Tmṣ. [ɦäɴ̆ɔɒ̯], Mam., Cam. [ɦäɴ̆ɔɪ̯], Lkn. [ɦäɴ̆oə̯]

Rounded front vowels

Phonemic rounded front vowels /y yː ø øː/ are only found as the result of language contact among Chlouvānem-speaking communities in Kŭyŭgwažtov, Soenjŏ-tave, and other countries of the former Kaiṣamā. They are mostly limited to loans from the local languages, and often contrast with unrounded variants wherever those same words have been borrowed into Chlouvānem as spoken in the Inquisition.

köndegura "mountain road", (Kŭy. köndŭgŭr >) Kŭyŭgwaž Chl. /køndeɡuʀä/ [køndeɡuʀä]

nüvka (typical Kŭyŭgwaž dish), (Kŭy. nüvŭk >) Kŭyŭgwaž Chl. /nyʋkä/ [nyʏ̯kä~nyːkä~nywkä~nyfkä], cf. nivka /niʋkä/ for the same dish in Chlouvānem as spoken in the Inquisition.

Rounded front vowels were present in the unattested Pre-Chlouvānem and later unrounded before recorded history, but a later change resulted into some dialects of pre-Classical Chlouvānem (including Lūlunīkami, but not the one that became the modern standard) having phonemic /y yː ø øː/ and possibly /œʏ̯/ as the result of Proto-Lahob *ɨ *ɨː *aɨ̯ *aːɨ̯. These dialects therefore had a regular ü-ablaut sequence ü/ǖ - ö/ȫ - *öu~*au~*ȫ in place of the Standard Chlouvānem roots with u>i-ablaut u/ū - i/ī - au. This is easily seen in the stems for the PLB root *pʰɨʕəd-, ħuld- "to play" in Standard Chlouvānem:

Standard Chl.: ħuld- (infinitive/past - base grade), ħild- (present - middle grade), ħauld·ild- (causative - strong grade)

Pre-Classical Lūl.: füld-, föld-, *föuld·ild-

Nasalized vowels

Nasalized vowels are prominent in Chlouvānem, but they are not considered independent phonemes, being instead analyzed as sequences of a vowel plus /ɴ/ or another nasal consonant (excluding /ɴ̆/) in coda position. Excluding vowels allophonically partially nasalized because of the presence of a nasal consonant following it, there are five possible sequences that create nasalized vowels, and whether a nasal consonant after it is spoken determines its spelling (all phonetic transcriptions below refer to Standard Chlouvānem):

• /VːNC/, where /C/ is a voiceless stop, is always realized as [ṼːC] and written as VṃC, unless it is situated at a morpheme boundary:

  sūṃṭaras "camel" /suːɳʈäʀäs/, root noun: [sũːʈäʀäs]

  āntimē "3SG stays on (something)" /äːntimeː/, morphemically ān-tim-ē: [ɑ̃ːntimeː]

• /VːNC/, where /C/ is a voiced consonant, is always realized as [ṼːNC] and written with the nasal consonant homorganic to C.

  Lāmberah (name of a river) /ɴ̆aːmbeʀäɦ/ [ɴ̆ɑ̃ːmbeʀäħ]

• /VNC/ is always realized as [ṼNC] and written with the homorganic nasal consonant:

  daṇḍa "cane, staff, pole, stick" /däɳɖä/ [dɑ̃ɳɖä]

Exception to the aforementioned rules is when /C/ is one of /d dʱ s ʂ ɕ/: in those cases, both are possible (with the simple nasalization without a pronounced consonant being statistically more common), and the nasalized-only case is analyzed as being a /V(ː)ɴC/ sequence:

suṃdaka (a kind of tree) /suɴdäkä/ [sũdäkä]

pundas "cable" /pundäs/ [pũndäs]

Vowels are also allophonically nasalized when part of a word-final /V(ː)m/ or /V(ː)n/ sequence. If the final consonant is /m/, the vowel is nasalized but the consonant is pronounced. If the final consonant is /n/, the consonant is only pronounced as [ŋ] if the vowel is closed, otherwise only nasalization remains:

chlǣvānem "Chlouvānem" /c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛːʋäːnem/ [c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛːʋäːnẽm]

lilvan "sash, belt" /ɴ̆iɴ̆ʋän/ [ɴ̆iɴ̆ʋɑ̃]

hulin "woman" /ɦuɴ̆in/ [ɦuɴ̆ĩŋ]

Consonants

→ PoA ↓ Manner		Labials	Dentals	Retroflexes	Palatals	Velars	Laryngeals
Nasals		m	n	ɳ	ɲ		ɴ
Stops	Unvoiced	p pʰ	t̪ t̪ʰ	ʈ ʈʰ	c͡ɕ c͡ɕʰ	k kʰ	ʔ ʡ
	Voiced	b bʱ	d̪ d̪ʱ	ɖ ɖʱ	ɟ͡ʑ ɟ͡ʑʱ	ɡ ɡʱ
Fricatives			s	ʂ	ɕ		ɦ ħ
Approximants		ʋ			j		ʀ ɴ̆

Nasals

→ See also the section on nasalized vowels above.

Four out of the five Chlouvānem nasal phonemes may occur in the onset, and have no major variations across the Chlouvānem-speaking world:

nanai "forest" /nänäɪ̯/ – Std. [nänäɪ̯], Līl. [nɐnæɪ̯], Lṭh. [nɐnaɪ̯], Klš. [näne̞ɪ̯], Cam. [nänæɪ̯]

marta "city" /maʀta/ – Std. [mäɐ̯tä], Līl. [mɐˤtɐ], Cam. [mɑɐ̯tä], Mam. [mäʀtä]

ñæltah "(male's) sister" /ɲɛɴ̆täɦ/ – Std., Mam. [ɲɛɴ̆täħ], Līl. [ɲɛɴ̆tɐχ], Cam. [ɲɛɴ̆täh]

ṇīṭah "skin, bark" /ɳiːʈäɦ/ – Std. [ɳiːʈäħ], Līl. [ɳiːʈɐχ], Hiy. [ɳiːʈäħ~ɳiːʈɐħ], Cam. [ɳiːʈäh]

The laryngeal nasal only surfaces as such before laryngeals (and not in the Southern Jade Coast); otherwise - and only analyzed as such before /d dʱ s ʂ ɕ/}}, where it contrasts with homorganic nasals - it produces nasalized vowels, as detained in the section above.

saṃrasta "war" /säɴʀästä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [sɑ̃ɴʀästä], Līl. [sɑ̃ʀɐstɐ]

Homorganic nasals are usually considered to be phonemically what they are phonetically, except for velars, which do not have any homorganic phoneme. This occurrence, written l, is considered to be /n/ by some linguists and /ɴ/ by others. A minority view considers to be /ɴ/ only those instances formed by saṃdhi through a morpheme which originally had /m/ and are written ṃ. Both l+velar and ṃ+velar are pronounced the same in all contemporary Chlouvānem pronunciations, but likely not in Classical Chlouvānem.
Linguists analyzing the pronunciation of Lake Lūlunīkam and the Southern Jade Coast, plus the southern side of the Nīmbaṇḍhāra delta, consider this to be /ɴ̆/, as in those pronunciations it is not the nasal element to be made velar, but the stop element to be made uvular:

lgutake "to buy" /nɡutäke~ɴɡutäke~ɴ̆ɡutäke/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [ŋɡutäke], Līl., Līt., Lṭh. [ɴɢutɐke]

šulka "five" /ɕunkä~ɕuɴkä~ɕuɴ̆kä/ – Std., Cam. [ɕuŋkä], Hiy. [ʃʉŋkä], Līl., Lṭh. [ɕuɴqɐ], Ltṣ. [ʃʉɴqä]

Unvoiced stops

Unvoiced stops are mostly pronounced as their IPA equivalents, except for the uvular realization of velar stops after /ɴ ɴ̆/ noted in the previous section. However, a sizeable number of younger urban speakers from the Eastern Plain and the Inland Jade Coast merge the epiglottal stop /ʡ/ into the glottal stop /Ɂ/ except when speaking slowly and carefully.

panna "aluminium" /pännä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [pännä], Līl. [pɐnnɐ]

phēcam "cat" /pʰeːc͡ɕäm/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [pʰeːc͡ɕãm], Līl. [pʰeːc͡ɕɐ̃m]

talša "novel" /täɴ̆ɕä/ – Std., Cam. [täɴ̆ɕä], Līl. [tɐɴ̆ɕɐ], Hiy. [täɴ̆ʃä]

thudam "dog" /tʰudäm/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [tʰudãm], Līl. [tʰudɐ̃m]

ṭūmma "eparchy" /ʈuːmmä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [ʈuːmmä], Līl. [ʈuːmmɐ]

ṭhoṣa (a kind of bird) /ʈʰɔʂä/ – Std., Cam. [ʈʰɔʂä], Līl. [ʈʰɔʂɐ], Hiy. [ʈʰɔʃä]

cūlla "car" /c͡ɕuːɴ̆ɴ̆ä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [c͡ɕũːɴɴ̆ä], Līl. [c͡ɕũːɴɴ̆ɐ]

chiṣa "stairs" /c͡ɕʰiːʂä/ – Std., Cam. [c͡ɕʰiːʂä], Līl. [c͡ɕʰiːʂɐ], Hiy. [c͡ɕʰiːʃä]

keika "garden" /keɪ̯kä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [keɪ̯kä], Līl. [keɪ̯kɐ]

kharlyāgin "rickshaw" /kʰäʀɴ̆jäːɡin/ – Std., Hiy. [kʰäɐ̯ɴ̆jäːɡĩŋ], Līl. [kʰɐˤɴ̆jäːɡĩŋ], Cam. [kʰɑɐ̯ɴ̆jäːɡĩŋ], Mam. [kʰäʀɴ̆jäːɡĩŋ]

paɂīta "várzea forest" /päɁiːtä/ – Std., Hiy, Cam. [päɁiːtä], Līl. [pɐɁiːtɐ]

ƾarpas "raspberry" /ʡäʀpäs/ – Std. [ʡäɐ̯päs], Līl. [Ɂɐˤpɐs], Hiy. [Ɂäɐ̯päs], Cam. [ʡɑɐ̯päs]

In nearly every pronunciation, excluding only Southern ones, a non-phonemic [Ɂ] is inserted at the beginning of every vowel-initial word except in fast speech:

ogin "bee" /ɔɡin/ – Std., Līl., Cam. [Ɂɔɡĩŋ], Hln. [ɔɡĩŋ]

Voiced stops

Voiced stops are pronounced nearly everywhere as in the standard:

buneya "female's older sister" /bunejä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [bunejä], Līl. [bunejɐ]

bhešā "drop [of water or other liquids]" /bʱeɕäː/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [bʱeɕäː], Līl. [bʱeɕɑː]

dehām "mouth" /deɦäːm/ – Std., Līl., Hiy., Cam. [deɦãːm]

dhāna "hand" /dʱäːnä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [dʱäːnä], Līl. [dʱäːnɐ]

ḍuya "okra" /ɖujä/ — Std., Hiy., Cam. [ɖujä], Līl. [ɖujɐ]

ḍhoe "remembrance; (computers:) file" /ɖʱɔə̯/ – Std. [ɖʱɔə̯~ɖʱɔɒ̯], Līl. [ɖʱœː], Lṭh. [ɖʱoɪ̯], Līt. [ɖʱɔɒ̯~ɔɪ̯], Cam. [ɖʱɔɪ̯]

junyā "flower" /ɟ͡ʑunjäː/ – Std., Hiy. [ɟ͡ʑunjäː], Līl. [ɟ͡ʑunjɑː], Cam. [ɟ͡ʑunjæː]

jhūṃras "glue" /ɟ͡ʑʱuːɴʀäs/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [ɟ͡ʑʱũːɴʀäs], Līl. [ɟ͡ʑʱũːɴʀɐs]

geta "elephant" /ɡetä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [ɡetä], Līl. [ɡetɐ]

ghāṇa "garland" /ɡʱäːɳä/ — Std., Hiy., Cam. [ɡʱäːɳä], Līl. [ɡʱäːɳɐ]

Fricatives

Fricatives have little allophony (voicing of intervocalic sibilants is not a native Chlouvānem trait, even though it is sometimes found among L2 speakers), but more regional variation. Notably, in the Nīmbaṇḍhāra delta, in neighboring Līlta, as well as in parts of the Northwest, /ʂ ɕ/ merge into a single phoneme, usually realized as [ʃ].

sartām "building" /säʀtäːm/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [säɐ̯täːm], Līl., Līt. [sɐˤtäːm]

ṣubha "few, little" /ʂubʱä/ — Std., Cam. [ʂubʱä], Līl. [ʂubʱɐ], Līt. [ʃubʱɐ], Hiy. [ʃʉbʱä]

šumilkoe "theory" /ɕuminkɔə̯~ɕumiɴkɔə̯~ɕumiɴ̆kɔə̯/ – Std. [ɕumiŋkɔə̯~ɔɒ̯], Līl. [ɕumiɴqœː], Cam. [ɕumiŋkɔɪ̯], Līt. [ʃumiɴqɔɒ̯~ɔɪ̯], Hiy. [ʃʉmiŋkɔɒ̯]

The two laryngeal fricatives /ħ ɦ/ vary little, but they may be considered to merge word-finally where /ɦ/ (the only one analyzed there) is pronounced as [ħ] in most pronunciations. Notably, though, the whole Far East and Northeast uses [h], while the inland Jade Coast from Ilēnimarta up until the coast to Līṭhalyinām uses [χ]. /ħ/ (< Proto-Lahob *pʰ) corresponded to /ɸ/ in many pre-Classical era dialects and is reflected as /ɸ/ or /f/ in many vernaculars (including Līlasuṃghāṇi and Ilēnimarti), as they derived from those dialects; however, local pronunciations of Chlouvānem use [ħ] anyway.

hįnna "wheel" /ɦi̤nnä/ – Std., Hiy. [ɦi̤nnä], Līl. [ɦi̤nnɐ], Cam. [ɦihnä~hiçnä]

ħulde "to play" /ħuɴ̆de/ – Std., Līl., Hiy., Cam. [ħuɴ̆de]

cf. the attestation of this word (from Proto-Lahob *pʰɨʕəd-ke) in the pre-Classical Lūlunīkami dialect, fülde /ɸyɴ̆de/.

ñæltah "(male's) sister" /ɲɛɴ̆täɦ/ – Std., Mam. [ɲɛɴ̆täħ], Līl. [ɲɛɴ̆tɐχ], Cam. [ɲɛɴ̆täh]

/ɦ/ following one of /ɴ̆ ʀ/ may be realized as [ɦ], [x], or aspiration depending on the area. The /ʀɦ/ cluster is realized as [ʀɦ] nearly everywhere and as [ʀx] only in parts of the Southern Far East (mainly along the coast from Līlikanāna to Ehaliħombu); [ʀʱ] is found almost exclusively around Līṭhalyinām. For the /ɴ̆ɦ/ cluster, however, the aspirated realization [ɴ̆ʱ] is much more common, extending all along the coast south to Lūlunimarta and north to Līlta, and inland to Lūkṣṇyaḍāra, therefore including virtually all of the Jade Coast. A realization closer to [ɴ̆x~ɴ̆χ] is however the norm in most of the Chlouvānem-speaking world.

lhakṣam (a fruit quite similar to a pineapple, but smaller and sweeter) /ɴ̆ɦäkʂäm/ – Std. [ɴ̆ɦäkʂäm~ɴ̆χäkṣäm], Mam., Cam. [ɴ̆χäkʂäm], Līl. [ɴ̆ʱɐkʂɐm] Līt. [ɴ̆ʱɐkʃɐm]

dāyārhaikra "palm vinegar" /däːjäːʀɦaɪ̯kʀä/ – Std. [däːjäːʀɦaɪ̯kʀä], Līl. [däːjäːʀɦæɪ̯kʁɐ], Cam. [dæːjæːʀɦæɪ̯kʀä], Lkn. [däːjäːʀxæɪ̯kʀä], Lṭh. [däːjäːʀʱaɪ̯kʁɐ]

/ʋ/ and /j/

/ʋ/ has a number of different allophones - [ʋ v w ʊ̯ f ɸ β] being the most common ones - whose presence varies regionally; in some pronunciations, the [ʋ] allophone is not even present. In Standard Chlouvānem, it is [ʋ] all the time except when in an onset and preceding another consonant, where it is realized as [v]. This contextual allophone is present in virtually every pronunciation, except for Southern ones, where it is realized in this context as [w], often followed by an extra-short [ŭ] vowel, except for the /ʋʀ/ cluster in Kælšamīṇṭa and neighboring areas, which is realized as [ɻ]. In the onset, most of the Chlouvānem-speaking world has the same pattern as the Standard, but the Near and Far East use the [v] allophone when preceded by a consonant in the same syllable; the inland Jade Coast (but only sporadically in Līlasuṃghāṇa, where it is typical of young people), meanwhile, uses the [w] allophone when intervocalic. The [ʋ] allophone is absent in the parts of the Southern Far East (including, notably, Līlekhaitē), which use [v] when adjacent to a consonant and [w] otherwise. Initial /ʋː/ is always /vː/, except for the South, which has /wu-] Coda /ʋ/ is realized differently across the Chlouvānem world: while it is, for most people, an approximant, as in the Standard, in the Jade Coast and parts of the lower Plain (but not the Nīmbaṇḍhāra delta) it forms a diphthong with the preceding vowel, meaning that the /äʋ/ sequence merges with /äʊ̯/. In the Far East, it is realized as a fricative agreeing in voicing with the following consonant, and also in PoA if it is labial.
/j/, meanwhile, is consistently realized as [j] in the whole Chlouvānem-speaking world.

vāṇa "plant" /ʋäːɳä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [ʋäːɳä], Līl. [ʋäːɳɐ], Līkh. [wäːɳä]

vra- "dys-" (medical prefix) /ʋʀä-/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [vʀä-], Līl. [vʀɐ-], Klš. [ɻä-], Hln. [wŭʀä-]

vvlurake "to think" /ʋːɴ̆uʀäke/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [vːɴ̆uʀäke], Līl. [vːɴ̆uʀɐke], Klš., Hln. [wuɴ̆uʀäke]

vlānis (a spice) /ʋɴ̆äːnis/ – Std., Līl., Hiy., Cam. [vɴ̆äːnis], Klš., Hln. [wŭɴ̆äːnis]

švas "animal" /ɕʋäs/ – Std. [ɕʋäs], Līl. [ɕʋɐs], Cam. [ɕväs], Hiy. [ʃʋäs]

ivrīva "it has been flooded" /iʋʀiːʋä/ – Std., Cam. [ivʀiːʋä], Līl. [iʊ̯ʀiːwɐ~iʊ̯ʀiːʋɐ], Ilē. [iʊ̯ʀiːwɐ] (note the syllabic division i·vrī in the Standard and iv·rī in the other pronunciations)

chlævprauda "TV news broadcast" /c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʋpʀäʊ̯dä/ – Std. [c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʋpʀäʊ̯dä], Līl. [c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʊ̯pʀɑʊ̯dɐ~c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʊ̯pʀɐʊ̯dɐ], Ilē. [c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛʊ̯pʀɐʊ̯dɐ], Cam. [c͡ɕʰɴ̆ɛɸpʀɑʊ̯dä]

yaivcārṇædani "communism" /jäɪ̯ʋc͡ɕäːʀɳɛdäni/ – Std. [jäɪ̯vc͡ɕäːʀɳɛdäni], Līl., Ilē. [jæɪ̯ʉ̯c͡ɕäːʀɳɛdɐni], Cam. [jäɪ̯fc͡ɕäːʀɳɛdäni]

yalka "beach" /jänkä~jäɴkä~jäɴ̆kä/ – Std., Hiy., Cam. [jäŋkä], Līl. [jɐɴqɐ]

Phonotactics

Clusters

Chlouvānem allows a large number of initial clusters, listed here (using the orthographical representations). Note that any single consonant except for ṇ ñ ɂ ƾ h ħ y and any cluster given here (except for rh- and lh-) may be furthermore followed by -y- (i.e. up to five consonants may appear in an initial cluster like vṣpry-):

• mb- mbr- mbl- mbh- mr- ml-
• nd- ndv- ndr- ndh-
• ṇḍ- ṇḍv- ṇḍr- ṇḍh-
• ñj- ñjv- ñjr- ñjl- ñjh-
• pr- pl-
• phr- phl-
• br- bl-
• bhr- bhl-
• ts- tv- tr-
• thr-
• dv- dr-
• dhr-
• ṭv-
• ḍv-
• cr- cv-
• chl-
• jñ- jv- jr- jl-
• kṣ- kv- kr- kl-
• khr- khl-
• gv- gr- gl-
• ghr- ghl-
• sm- smr- sml- sn- sp- spr- spl- sph- st- sts- stv- str- sth- sk- skv- skr- skl- skh- ss- sv- svr- svl- sr- sl-
• ṣm- ṣmr- ṣml- ṣṇ- ṣp- ṣpr- ṣpl- ṣph- ṣṭ- ṣṭv- ṣṭr- ṣṭh- ṣk- ṣkv- ṣkr- ṣkl- ṣkh- ṣv- ṣvr- ṣvl- ṣr- ṣl-
• šm- šñ- šp- špr- špl- šph- št- štv- štr- šth- šc- šch- šk- škv- škr- škl- škh- šv- švr- švl- šr- šl-
• vt- vtr- vth- vj- vjr- vjl- vjh- vk- vkr- vkl- vkh- vs- vsp- vspr- vspl- vsph- vst- vstv- vstr- vsth- vsk- vskr- vskl- vskh- vsr- vṣ- vṣp- vṣpl- vṣph- vṣṭ- vṣṭr- vṣṭh- vṣk- vṣkr- vṣkl- vṣkh- vṣr- vš- všr- vv- vvl- vr- vl-
• rh-
• lt- lth- ld- ldh- lg- lgh- lv- lh- ll-