Qtolqjimctadû: Difference between revisions
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Word-final spellings : | Word-final spellings : | ||
Besides the final <g>, <l> and <wi> that become [j], there are also final <ebm> and <ebn> that are pronounced [ɛjm] and [ɛjn], respectively. | Besides the final <g>, <l> and <wi> that become [j], there are also final <ebm> and <ebn> that are pronounced [ɛjm] and [ɛjn], respectively. | ||
Moreover, final <e>, <ô>, <d>, <q>, <s>, <t>, <z>, <er> are not pronounced. Instead, final spellings <dde>, <qe>, <sse>, <tte>, <ze> are pronounced [d], [ʃ], [θ] (or possibly [s) ?), [t], [z], respectively. | Moreover, final <e>, <ô>, <d>, <q>, <nowiki><s>, <t>, <z>, <er> are not pronounced. Instead, final spellings <dde>, <qe>, <sse>, <tte>, <ze> are pronounced [d], [ʃ], [θ] (or possibly [s) ?), [t], [z], respectively. | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
Revision as of 17:02, 19 May 2026
Introduction
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p b | t̚ t d̚ d | k g | ||||||||||||||||
| Sibilant Fricative | s z | ʃ ʒ | ʃʲ / ç / ɕ | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-sibilant Fricative | ɸ β | f v | θ ð | (ɬ / ɮ) | ɧ̙ʷ ɧ̙ʷ̬ | x | χ ʁ | h | |||||||||||
| Approximant | ɹ | j | w | ||||||||||||||||
| Trill | (r) | ʀ | |||||||||||||||||
| Flap | ɾ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approx. | l ɫ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prenasalised occlusives | ᵑg |
Notes :
In earlier documentation, proper knowledge of IPA was lacking and several of the phonemes had to be identified from either phonetically inaccurate IPA descriptions or vague, impressionistic ones. Several phonemes could not be recovered. Here is a list of deviations from the above table :
Identified phonemes :
/ɸ/ was described as [fʷ] (written <ÎF, îf>).
/β/ was described as [vʷ] (written <ÎV, îv>).
/ʁ/ was described as [ʀ] (written <R, r>).
/ʀ/ was described as [rˤ] (sorte de « r » très roulé, written <RX, rx>).
/ɹ/ was described as [ʀˤ] (sorte de « r » anglais, written <RÛ, rû>).
/ɫ/ was described as [l̪ ] (comme à la fin du mot anglais "well", written <Û, û>).
/χ/ was most likely corresponding to the sound described as [x] (written <X, x>), while /x/ itself was most likely described as [xˤ] (written <ÎX, îx>).
/ŋ/ was probably described as [ɲˤ] (written <ÎÑ, îñ>), while the sound described as [ŋ] (written <ÎÑg, îñg>) probably corresponded to /ᵑg/.
/ɾ/ was most likely corresponding to the sound described as [r̺] (written <ĦÛ, ħû>, as well as part of the cluster /bɾ/+V with the help of <Ë, ë> as [bɾə], described as [br̺ə]).
/r/ might have been what was described as [r] (sorte de « r » roulé à la japonaise, written <LÛ, lû>).
/ɧ̙ʷ/ and its voiced version /ɧ̙ʷ̬/ are, to this day, subject to doubt regarding their IPA descriptions. They were most likely corresponding to the sounds described as [ʃ ̪ ] (written <ÎQ, îq>) and [ʒ̺̺̺ ] (written <ÎÖ, îö> or <LÎÖ, lîö>).
/t̚/ and /d̚/ are also subject to some doubt regarding their IPA descriptions still. They were described as [t̪] (written <TÛ, tû>) and [d̪] (written <DÛ, dû>).
The phoneme described as [ʃʲ] probably has a realization closer to [ç] or [ɕ] (written <QÛ, qû>).
Unidentified or very doubtful phonemes :
Some /h/-like phoneme, described as [hˤ] (written <ÎH, îh>). It might have corresponded to /ɣ/, but it is not very likely.
/ɬ/ or /ɮ/ might have been what was described as [l̤ʲ] (written <HÛ, hû>). Based on its spelling it is more likely to be devoiced.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i y | ɨ | u | ||||
| Close-mid | e ø | ə | o | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ œ ɛ̃ œ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | |||||
| Open | ä | ɑ̃ |
Similarly to consonants, some vowels had to be "re-identified" from previous documentation and some deviations arise :
/œ/ is probably what was described as [æ] (written <Ù, ù> or <E, ĕ> or <EÔ/Eô, eô>).
/œ̃/ is probably what was described as [æ̃] (written <Ä, è> or <Ä, ä>).
/ø/ is probably what was described as [œ] (written <EU/Eu, eu> or <OE/Oe, oe>).
Orthography
Orthography was made complicated on purpose.
Alphabet
Table of phonemes and their corresponding graphemes
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m <M, m> | n <N, n> | ɲ <Ñ, ñ> | ŋ <ÎÑ, îñ> | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p <P, p> ; b <B, b> | t̚ <TÛ, tû> ; t <T, t> ; d̚ <DÛ, dû> ; d <D, d> | k <K, k> ; g <G, g> | ||||||||||||||||
| Sibilant Fricative | s <C, c> alt. <TĦ/Tħ, tħ> ; z <Z, z> alt. <DĦ/Dħ, dħ> alt. <SĦ/Sħ, sħ> | ʃ <Q, q> ; ʒ <Ö, ö> alt. <JĦ/Jħ, jħ> alt. <QJ/Qj, qj> | ʃʲ / ç / ɕ <QÛ, qû> | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-sibilant Fricative | ɸ <ÎF, îf> ; β <ÎV, îv> | f <F, f> alt. <PĦ/Pħ, pħ> ; v <V, v> alt. <BĦ/Bħ, bħ> | θ <S, s> alt. <Tûhh, s> ; ð <J, j> | (ɬ / ɮ <HÛ, hû>) | ɧ̙ʷ <ÎQ, îq> ; ɧ̙ʷ̬ <ÎÖ, îö> alt. <LÎÖ, lîö> | x <ÎX, îx> | χ <X, x> ; ʁ <R, r> | h <H, h> | |||||||||||
| Approximant | ɹ <RÛ, rû> | j <I, i> (before a vowel), <Ü, ü> (after a vowel)(1) ; ɥ <U, u> (before some vowels)(2) | w <O, o> (before or after a vowel)(3) | ||||||||||||||||
| Trill | (r <LÛ, lû>) | ʀ <RX, rx> | |||||||||||||||||
| Flap | ɾ <ĦÛ, ħû>(4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approx. | l <L, l> ɫ <Û, û> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prenasalised occlusives | ᵑg <ÎÑg, îñg> |
Notes on consonants :
(1) There are a few exceptions, where <ü> appears in front of a vowel, or <î> is used after a vowel :
ÜÃ, üã [ja]
ÜÕ, üõ [jo]
EÎ, eî [əj]
EÎ, çî [ej]
EÎ, ùî [œj]
EÎ, ÿî [ɛj]
IÎ, iî [ij]
There is a list of accepted spelling where <I, i> stands for /j/ :
<Ia, ia> [ja]
<Ie, ie> [jə]
<Iç, iç> [je]
<Iù, iù> [jœ]
<Iÿ, iÿ> [jɛ]
<Io, io> [jo] or [jɔ]
<Iu, iu> [jy]
<Iô, iô> [jo]
<Iä, iä> [jɑ̃]
<Ià, ià> [jɔ̃]
<Ié, ié> [jɛ̃]
<Iè, iè> [jœ̃]
<Ii, ii> [ji]
<Iou, iou> [ju]
<Ieu, ieu> [jø]
And a list of accepted spellings where <Ü, ü> stands for /j/ (minus the exceptions above) :
<AÜ, aü> [aj]
<EÜ, eü> [əj]
<EÜ, çü> [ej]
<EÜ, ùü> [œj]
<EÜ, ÿü> [ɛj]
<OÜ, oü> [oj] or [ɔj]
<UÜ, uü> [yj]
<ÔÜ, ôü> [oj]
<ÄÜ, äü> [aɑ̃j]
<ÄÜ, àü> [ɔ̃j]
<ÄÜ, éü> [ɛ̃j]
<ÄÜ, èü> [œ̃j]
<ÃÜ, ãü> [aj]
<ÕÜ, õü> [oj]
<EUÜ, euü> [øj]
Some other exceptions are due to original consonants /g/ <G, g>, /l/ <L, l> and syllable /wi/ <W, w> turning into [j] when in a word-final position. Instead, the spellings <gue>, <lle> and <wi> are used to denote the sounds [g], [l] and [wi] at the end of a word.
(2) The phoneme /ɥ/ only appears in a handful of diphtongues :
UÎ, uî [ɥi]
Ui, ui [ɥi]
Ua, ua [ɥa]
Uç, uç [ɥe]
Uÿ, uÿ [ɥɛ]
(3) The grapheme <io> is thus ambiguous and can denote either /iw/ or /jo/. Similarly, <Oi, oi> denotes either /i/ or /wi/, and <Oe, oe>, which denotes either /wə/ or /ø/. Another exception is <OU/Ou, ou> which denotes /u/.
There is a list of accepted spellings where <O, o> stands for /w/ :
<Oa, oa> [wa]
<Oe, oe> [wə]
<Oç, oç> [we]
<Où, où> [wœ]
<Oÿ, oÿ> [wɛ]
<Oo, oo> [wo] or [wɔ]
<Oy, oy> [wy]
<Oô, oô> [wo]
<Oä, oä> [wɑ̃]
<Oà, oà> [wɔ̃]
<Oé, oé> [wɛ̃]
<Oè, oè> [wœ̃] (This one was described as [wœ̃] already in the original documentation (instead of expected [wæ̃] and has therefore cast some doubt on the identification of vowels /ø/, /œ/ and /œ̃/.)
<Oi, oi> [wi]
<Oeu, oeu> [wø]
And reciprocally (<Ao, ao> [aw]... etc).
(4) The phoneme /ɾ/ also appears as part of a syllable /bɾə/, written <Ë, ë>. When <Ë, ë> is followed by a vowel, the /ə/ is replaced by that vowel :
Ëa, ëa [bɾa]
Ëç, ëç [bɾe]
Ëÿ, ëÿ [bɾɛ]
Ëu, ëu [bɾy]
Ëo, ëo [bɾo] or [bɾɔ]
Ëï, ëï [bɾi]
Ëä, ëä [bɾɑ̃]
Ëà, ëà [bɾɔ̃]
Ëé, ëé [bɾɛ̃]
Ëè, ëè [bɾœ̃]
Ëou, ëou [bɾu]
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i <I, i> alt. <Oi, oi> ; y <U, u> | ɨ <Î, î> alt. <Ï, ï>(1) | u <OU/Ou, ou> | ||||
| Close-mid | e <E, ç/ë> ; ø <EU/Eu, eu> alt. <OE/Oe, oe> | ə <E, e> | o <O, o> alt. <Ô, ô> alt. <Õ, õ> | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ <E, ÿ/ê> alt. <EA, ea> ; œ <E, ù/ĕ> alt. <EÔ/Eô, eô> ; ɛ̃ <Ä, é/â>(2) ; œ̃ <Ä, è/ä>(2) | ɔ <O, o> ; ɔ̃ <Ä, à/ă>(2) | |||||
| Open | ä <A, a> alt. <Ã, ã> | ɑ̃ <Ä, ä>(2) |
Notes on vowels :
Long vowels are simply written with a double grapheme (<Aa, aa> /a:/,... etc).
(1) The grapheme <Î, î> denotes /ɨ/, except in front of some consonants (<F, f>, <V, v>, <Q, q>, <Ö, ö>, <Ñ, ñ>, <X, x>, <H, h>) ; the grapheme <Ï, ï> is used instead in order to denote /ɨ/.
(2) Nasal vowels can also be written with some vowels followed by a <N, n> or a <M, m> :
/ɑ̃/ <An, an> ; <Am, am> ; <En, en> ; <Em, em>
/ɛ̃/ <In, in> , <Im, im> ; <Ein, ein> ; <Eim, eim>
/ɔ̃/ <On, on> ; <Om, om>
/œ̃/ <Un, un> ; <Um, um>
However, if there are two <N, n> or <M, m> following a vowel, then it is not nasalized and pronounced as V+[n or m] (<Ann, ann> [an], <Amm, amm> [am],... etc).
General notes :
The grapheme <Ħ, ħ> can also be written <Hh, hh>.
There are a few more noteworthy spellings with unexpected pronunciations :
<Äî, äî> [an]
<Äî, àî> [on] or [ɔn]
<Äî, éî> [in] or [im]
<Äî, èî> [un] or [œm]
<ÜÂ, üâ> [jaj]
<ÜY, üy> [jɔj]
<ÊÜ, êü> [jaj]
<YÜ, yü> [joj] or [jɔj]
<ÃÎ, ãî> [aji]
<ÕÎ, õî> [oji]
Word-final spellings :
Besides the final <g>, <l> and <wi> that become [j], there are also final <ebm> and <ebn> that are pronounced [ɛjm] and [ɛjn], respectively.
Moreover, final <e>, <ô>, <d>, , <nowiki>
, <t>, <z>, <er> are not pronounced. Instead, final spellings <dde>, <qe>, <sse>, <tte>, <ze> are pronounced [d], [ʃ], [θ] (or possibly [s) ?), [t], [z], respectively.