Ábḫanni

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Ábḫanni
Pronunciation[[ˈáβ.xɐn̪.n̪i]]
Created byThisimpliesthis
SettingTantíyoz
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Ábḫanni [ˈáβ.xɐn̪.n̪i] is a divergent Abhannic language, and is an isolate within this family, forming its own branch.

Phonology

Consonants

Ábḫanni has the following consonant phonemes:

Labial Dental or
alveolar
Palatal or
prepalatal
Velar Glottal
Nasal m
/m/
n
/n̪/
j
/ɲ̟/
Plosive voiceless t
/t̪/
k
/k/
prenasalized mb
/ᵐb/
nd
/ⁿd̪/
ng
/ᵑɡ/
Fricative voiceless z
/θ̱/
s
/ɕ/

/x/
voiced b
/β/
d
/ð/
jh
/ʑ/
h
/ɦ/
Liquid r
/ɺ/
y
/j/

Notes:

  • The consonants /n̪/, /t̪/, /ⁿd̪/, and /θ̱/ are denti-alveolar and laminal; /ð/ is interdental and apical; and /ɺ/ is alveolar and apical.
  • /n̪/ never occurs word-initially, where it was replaced at some point by /m/. For example, míkkar 'to rock (back and forth)' has an frequentative mbaníkkar 'to stumble around' formed by prefix mba-. However, this word-initial /m/-/n̪/ alteration is no longer productive, and hence forms such has zoimíkkar 'I saw that it rocked' exist when using productive morphology such as the evidential zoi-.
  • /n̪/ becomes [ŋ] when preceding /k/.
  • When ungeminated and preceding a stressed vowel, /ɲ̟/ becomes the prenasalized voiced plosive [ᶮɟ̟]. It is written nj when geminated.
  • /t̪/ and /k/ become [d̪] and [g], respectively, when not geminated and following /n̪/.
  • The prenasalized consonants only occur word-initially and are relatively uncommon.
  • /ᵑɡ/ becomes [ŋ] when not preceding a stressed or secondarily stressed vowel.
  • The unvoiced dental fricative /θ̱/ is a denti-alveolar nonsibilant fricative, i.e., a non-sibilant version of [s̪].
  • The phonemes /θ̱/ and /ɕ/ are subject to the assimilaton /ɕVθ̱//ɕVɕ/.
  • When geminated, /β/ becomes [pp] and is written pp.
  • The voiced dental fricative /ð/ is a true interdental fricative. This phoneme is very uncommon and its distribution is highly restricted, occuring only in /aˈðV/ and /aˌðV/ sequences.
  • The consonant /ɺ/ is generally pronounced as a lateral flap. It is subject to the anticipatory dissimilation /ɺVɺ//nVɺ/. Word-finally, this consonant is sometimes weakened to [ɦ].
  • The palatal approximant /j/ has restricted distribution, occuring only sequences of the form /VjV/ while adjacent to at least one /i/ or [ɪ̯].

Vowels

The vowel system of Ábḫanni is, described minimally, /i e ɔ a/, and features length and tone distinctions as well as diphthongs. The full set of vowel phonemes is as follows:

Front Back
short long short long
Close i í
/i í/
ii íi ií
/iː îː ǐː/
Mid pure e é
/e é/
o ó
/ɔ ɔ́/
closing ei éi eí
/eːɪ̯ êːɪ̯ ěːɪ̯/
oi ói
/ɔɪ̯ ɔ́ɪ̯/
ou óu oú
/ɔːʊ̯ ɔ̂ːʊ̯ ɔ̌ːʊ̯/
Open pure a á
/a á/
aa áa aá
/aː âː ǎː/
closing ai ái
/aɪ̯ áɪ̯/
aai áai aái
/aːɪ̯ âːɪ̯ ǎːɪ̯/
ao áo
/ɑɔ̯ ɑ́ɔ̯/
aao áao aáo
/ɑːɔ̯ ɑ̂ːɔ̯ ɑ̌ːɔ̯/