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==Morphophonology== | ==Morphophonology== | ||
The vowels of Letaale can be divided into two types: | |||
# '''Primary vowels''': the monophthongs /a aː e eː i iː o oː u uː/ and the diphthong /ai/ | |||
# '''Secondary vowels''': the remaining diphthongs /au eo ia io iu ua ue ui/ | |||
Each of the eleven primary vowels is associated with a single consonant and vice versa. These pairs are relevant for ''inversions'' and ''conversions'' in trisyllabic word-clauses, such as the noun '''k_j_m_''' ('the dog') which converts to the verb '''_uu_o_i''' ('be a dog'). | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable" | ||
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All trisyllabic lemmas are composed of three of the resulting syllables. For example '''''jotaale''''' is allowable as a lemma whereas '''''jitaale''''' is not because '''j''' and '''i''' are not a pair. | All trisyllabic lemmas are composed of three of the resulting syllables. For example '''''jotaale''''' is allowable as a lemma whereas '''''jitaale''''' is not because '''j''' and '''i''' are not a pair. | ||
Secondary vowels are not associated with any particular consonant and only appear in clitics and naming prefixes. These prefixes are always unstressed. | |||
==Morphology== | ==Morphology== |
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