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Kirtumur: Difference between revisions
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Vowel length was phonemic in East Kyrdan, but in Kirtumur the only vowel that has both a short and a long versions is /e/, which is still differentiated by quality: the short counterpart is noticeably more open. Kirtumur also has two diphthongs: ''"ei"'' [eɪ] and ''"au"'' [aʉ], with the second being pronounced [ɛʏ] in the northeast. Erepursal variety has additional two vowels: ''"y"'' [y] and ''"ȳ"'' [øː], which usually correspond to ''"i"'' in Umunesal. The old East Kyrdan diphthongs *ai and *ei are still distinct in Erepursal with *ai becoming ''"ei"'' [ɛɪ] | Vowel length was phonemic in East Kyrdan, but in Kirtumur the only vowel that has both a short and a long versions is /e/, which is still differentiated by quality: the short counterpart is noticeably more open. Kirtumur also has two diphthongs: ''"ei"'' [eɪ] and ''"au"'' [aʉ], with the second being pronounced [ɛʏ] in the northeast. Erepursal variety has additional two vowels: ''"y"'' [y] and ''"ȳ"'' [øː], which usually correspond to ''"i"'' in Umunesal. The old East Kyrdan diphthongs *ai and *ei are still distinct in Erepursal with *ai becoming ''"ei"'' [ɛɪ] and *ei becoming ''"ui"'' [ʉɪ]~[ɵɪ], while both merged into [eɪ] in Umunesal. | ||
Early in its history a sound change took place that gave rise to the Kirtumur vowel harmony. According to this rule, a front vowel differs depending on the vowel in the following syllable. When the next syllable contains a high vowel ([i] or [u]) or a diphthong, then the vowel is [i] and in other cases it is [ɛ], for instance: '''''e'''n'''e'''thachē'' "she/he gave it to them", '''''i'''n'''i'''šukē'' "she/he bought it for them". Certain prefixes, like the locative prefix, does not change, however. If the vowel is [ɛ], then both [i] and [ɛ] can appear before it, but the latter appears much more often then the former. | Early in its history a sound change took place that gave rise to the Kirtumur vowel harmony. According to this rule, a front vowel differs depending on the vowel in the following syllable. When the next syllable contains a high vowel ([i] or [u]) or a diphthong, then the vowel is [i] and in other cases it is [ɛ], for instance: '''''e'''n'''e'''thachē'' "she/he gave it to them", '''''i'''n'''i'''šukē'' "she/he bought it for them". Certain prefixes, like the locative prefix, does not change, however. If the vowel is [ɛ], then both [i] and [ɛ] can appear before it, but the latter appears much more often then the former. | ||