Vindamal: Difference between revisions

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 The consonant system is largely symmetrical and avoids complex contrasts, with no distinction between aspirated, ejective, or palatalized consonants.
 ===Vowels===
+Vindamal has a six-vowel system with a phonemic distinction between short and long vowels. The vowel inventory is symmetrical and favors clear, stable vowel qualities.
 {| class="wikitable"
-|+ Vowel inventory
+! !! Front !! Back
-|-
-!  !! Front !! Central !! Back
 |-
 ! Close
-| i/y ||  || u
+| i, y || u
-|-
-! Mid-Close
-| e ||  || o
 |-
 ! Mid
-|  || ə ||
+| e || o
 |-
 ! Open
-|  || || ɑ
+| a ||
 |}
-Vowels come in both long and short varieties. They are typically identical in quality, but the long vowels are held for approximately twice the length of its short counterpart. Long vowels may only occur in stressed syllables.
+All vowels may occur in both short and long forms. Long vowels are approximately twice the duration of their short counterparts and are restricted to stressed syllables.
-The vowels /a/ and /e/, when short, may reduce to a schwa [ə] in unstressed syllables in common speech.
+{| class="wikitable"
+! Short !! Long
+|-
+| a || ā
+|-
+| e || ē
+|-
+| i || ī
+|-
+| o || ō
+|-
+| u || ū
+|-
+| y || ȳ
+|}
+The vowel /y/ is a front rounded vowel, similar to the vowel found in German *ü* or Swedish *y*.
+Vowel quality remains relatively stable, though limited reduction may occur in unstressed syllables. In particular, /a/ and /e/ may be realized as [ə] when unstressed. This reduction is not phonemic and is not reflected in the orthography.
+Long vowels occur only in stressed syllables and do not undergo reduction.
 ===Allophony===