The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Standard Bemé, Bijun and Columbé pronunciations. English approximations are loose in some cases and are only intended to give a general idea of the pronunciation. For more information, see Help:IPA.
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| Diphthongs
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| Bemé orthography |
IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
Bemé |
Bijun |
Columbé[11]
|
| ey |
ei̯ |
eː |
skey |
may
|
| oi |
oi̯ |
ui̯ |
oː |
woiwoi |
joy
|
| ow |
ou̯ |
uː |
grown |
bow,
(Columbé) boot (long)
|
| u[12] |
(Columbé) boot (short)
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|
- ^ a b /kr/ is pronounced /kw/ before back vowels /o u/.
- ^ a b c Bijun /ɹ/ is pronounced /w/ between a consonant and a back vowel (/o u/). This effect most commonly appears in the cluster /kr gr/ (which are both pronounced /kɹ~kw/ in Bijun specifically).
- ^ The distinction between /kr tr tʃr/, as well as between /gr dʒr/, has been historically neutralised, leading to a varying pronunciation:
The pronunciation of ⟨gr⟩ is less variable; there still exists a distinction between /gr~dʒr/ and /dr/, though /dr/ is extremely rare and only exists in certain words, such as grag "stop (v.)" and drag "drag queen".
- ^ Columbé /l/ is only pronounced /ʎ/ when syllabic.
- ^ /n/ may be variably pronounced /m ŋ ɲ/ before certain consonants; see Bemé#Nasal assimilation for more.
- ^ Columbé /n/ is palatalised before /i/ (but not /iː/, which is an allophone of the diphthong /ei̯/).
- ^ Columbé /ɲ/ is pronounced as /j̃/ in intervocalic positions.
- ^ Columbé incorporates a complete lack of leleh; /ɛ/ is always pronounced /e/.
- ^ Bijun /o/ is pronounced /ɔ/ in word-initial syllables.
- ^ Bijun /o/ is pronounced /u/ in word-final positions.
- ^ The pronunciation of diphthongs /ei̯ oi̯ ou̯/ in Columbé has great variations; this table only shows the most common pronunciation. For more information, see Columbé § Phonology.
- ^ Columbé /ou̯/ is often pronounced as a short /u/ in closed syllables.
