Tsimulh languages/Lexicon

Phonology

Consonants

Tsimulh languages/Lexicon changes the voiced series of Proto-Quihum into the aspirated series and loses the velar-uvular distinction in dorsal stops.

Tsimulh languages/Lexicon uses about 30 consonant phonemes. The null initial is pronounced [h]. Two vowels that come in hiatus with each other may be separated by [ɦ].

Consonants
Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Glottal
central lateral plain labialized plain labialized
Nasal m n
Plosive tenuis p t k ʔ ʔʷ
breathy voiced (gʰ) gʷʰ
ejective kʷʼ
Fricative s ł ś [h~ɦ]
Affricate tenuis c ƛ ć
breathy voiced ʒʰ λʰ ʒ́ʰ
ejective ƛʼ ćʼ
Approximant l y w
Notes
  • g /kʰ/ is quite rare.

Phonotactics

A word may not end in a consonant cluster; usually an epenthetic vowel i is inserted to resolve a consonant cluster. Word-final aspirated plosives are also disallowed.

Word-initial b, p or ph is only found in loanwords - in word initial position these phonemes were converted respectively to u /w/, u /w/ and hu /ʔʷ/.

Vowels

Tsimulh languages/Lexicon has five short and long monophthongs. There are no diphthongs.

Front Central Back
Close i /i/ ī /iː/ u /u/ ū /uː/
Mid e /e/ ē /eː/ o /o/ ō /oː/
Open a /a/ ā /aː/

Stress

Tsimulh languages/Lexicon has penultimate stress like Classical Nahuatl.