View source for Phonology:Sotho

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'''Notes:'''
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*All examples marked with <sup title = "Included in audio sample">[[#audio_note|‡]]</sup> are included in the audio samples. If a table caption is marked then all Sesotho examples in that table are included in the audio samples.
*The orthography used in this and related articles is that of [[South Africa]], not [[Lesotho]]. For a discussion of the differences between the two see the notes on [[Sesotho orthography]].
*Hovering the mouse cursor over most {{H:title|[ɪˈtælɪk]|''italic''|dotted=no}} Sesotho text should reveal an [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] pronunciation key (excluding tones). Note that often when a section discusses formatives, affixes, or vowels it may be necessary to view the IPA to see the proper conjunctive word division and vowel qualities.
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The '''[[phonology]] of [[Sesotho]]''' and those of the other [[Sotho–Tswana languages]] are radically different from those of "older" or more "stereotypical" [[Bantu languages]]. Modern Sesotho in particular has very mixed origins (due to the influence of [[Difaqane]] refuges) inheriting many words and idioms from non-Sotho–Tswana languages.

There are in total 39 consonantal [[phoneme]]s<ref name = "lab_cons">Other authors may choose to include the [[#pp_labialization|labialized]] consonants as contrastive phonemes, potentially increasing the number by 26 to 75. Labialization does create [[minimal pair]]s, as is exemplified by the short [[Sesotho verbs#vbd_passive|passive]] sufffix, but different authors seem to be divided on whether or not these should be counted as authentic phonemes (especially since Sotho–Tswana-type labialization caused by vowel "absorption" is a fairly strange and rare process).
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Besides the passives, there are still numerous minimal pairs differing only in the labialization of a single consonant (note that each of the following pairs has similar tonal patterns):
: {{H:title|[ʀɑlɑ]|''-rala''|dotted=no}} design, versus {{H:title|[ʀʷɑlɑ]|''-rwala''|dotted=no}} wear certain clothing (shoes, socks, gloves, hats, etc); carry (a load) on the head
: {{H:title|[lɑlɑ]|''-lala''|dotted=no}} lie down (old fashioned or poetic), versus {{H:title|[lʷɑlɑ]|''-lwala''|dotted=no}} be sick (old fashioned)
: {{H:title|[mʊʀɑ]|''mora''|dotted=no}} son, versus {{H:title|[mʊʀʷɑ]|''morwa''|dotted=no}} a Khoisan person
: {{H:title|[hɑmɑ]|''-hama''|dotted=no}} milk an animal, versus {{H:title|[hʷɑmɑ]|''-hwama''|dotted=no}} (of fat) congeal
: {{H:title|[t͡sʰɑsɑ]|''-tshasa''|dotted=no}} smear, versus {{H:title|[t͡sʰʷɑsɑ]|''-tshwasa''|dotted=no}} capture prey with the intention of killing it
: {{H:title|[mʊɬɑ]|''mohla''|dotted=no}} day, versus {{H:title|[mʊɬʷɑ]|''mohlwa''|dotted=no}} termite(s)

Normal consonants and their labialised forms do not contrast before back vowels (that is, a labialized consonant will lose its labialization before a back vowel).</ref> (plus 2 [[allophone]]s) and 9 vowel phonemes (plus two close raised allophones). The consonants include a rich set of [[affricate]]s and [[palatal consonant|palatal]] and [[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]] consonants, as well as three [[click consonant|click]] consonants.

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