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= Phonology = | = Phonology & Orthography = | ||
== Vowels == | == Vowels == | ||
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{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! !! | ! !! open !! ''open front'' !! mid !! close !! rounded !! ''front rounded'' !! neutral | ||
|- | |- | ||
| '''Plain''' || a || æ || e || i || o || œ || ø | | '''Plain''' || a || æ || e || i || o || œ || ø | ||
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|} | |} | ||
The | The letters <æ> & <œ> (and their variants) are only found in loanwords. | ||
=== "Native" vowels === | |||
The five "native" vowels are very large targets, having basically the following goal points: | |||
* open /ɑ/ | |||
* mid /ɛ/ | |||
* close /i/ | |||
* rounded /ʊ/ | |||
* neutral /ə/ | |||
The open and rounded vowels tend to be backed, while the mid and close vowels tend to be fronted. The neutral vowel is a mid-central schwa, but can be fairly flexibly pronounced to provide disharmony with the preceding vowel. | |||
=== "Foreign" vowels === | |||
Additionally, two explicitly-fronted vowels may be found in loanwords | |||
* front rounded (nominally /ʏ/) | |||
* open front (nominally /a/) | |||
They are each only explicitly written as separate letters if they contrast with a non-front alternative within the same word (for which the native / "normal" letter is used). | |||
== Consonants == | == Consonants == | ||
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! !! Bilabial !! Labiodental !! Labiovelar !! Interdental !! Alveolar !! Postalveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Uvular !! Glottal | ! !! Bilabial !! Labiodental !! Labiovelar !! Interdental !! Alveolar !! Postalveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Uvular !! Glottal | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Stop || p b || || ku gu || || t d || || || k g || ck cg || | | Stop || p b || || ku gu || || t d || || || k g || ck cg || c | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Nas || hm m || || || || hn n || || hnj nj || hgn gn || || | | Nas || hm m || || || || hn n || || hnj nj || hgn gn || || | ||
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| Aff || || || || || || tj dj || kj gj || || || | | Aff || || || || || || tj dj || kj gj || || || | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Fric || || ff f || xxu xu || þþ þ || ss s || ssj sj || | | Fric || || ff f || xxu xu || þþ þ || ss s || ssj sj || zz z || xx x || || h gh | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Tap || || || || || hr r || || || || || | | Tap || || || || || hr r || || || || || | ||
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Initial fricatives are voiceless, but are written with the otherwise-voiced (usually single-letter) form. | Initial fricatives are voiceless, but are written with the otherwise-voiced (usually single-letter) form. | ||
Voiceless liquids and nasals only occur in native words in initial position (they may occur in any position in loanwords). | |||
Older texts may be found using the ''punctum delens'' (a dot above or below a letter) to mark voiceless forms of consonants other than stops or fricatives. | Older texts may be found using the ''punctum delens'' (a dot above or below a letter) to mark voiceless forms of consonants other than stops or fricatives. | ||
''Note:'' There is no voiceless <rr> and no voiced <c> | |||
== Syllable Structure == | |||
All words consist of alternating consonants and vowels (in other words, all syllables are open, except the final syllable in a word, which may be closed). There are two exceptions: | |||
* A voiced homorganic nasal may occur before a stop intervocalically. In the case of the velar nasal, when it does so, it is written simply <n>. | |||
* Two (but no more than two) vowels may occur in sequence with no (apparent) consonant separating them | |||
There are complex sandhi rules to prevent grammatically-caused, otherwise-illegal vowel and consonant clusters. | |||
=== Sandhi === | |||
''TBD'' | |||
=== Examples === | |||
Valid word shapes include: | |||
* a | |||
* ack | |||
* apa | |||
* ti | |||
* toeb | |||
* dinka | |||
[[Category:Languages]] | |||
[[Category:Conlangs]] |