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===Vowels=== | ===Vowels=== | ||
There are five vowels, four of which contrast in length. The quality of long vowels mostly overlaps with the quality of short vowels, except long ones are pronounced slightly more closed, while short vowels are slightly centralized. The only exception is /aː/ which is fronted noticeably comparing to its short counterpart. Long vowels are denoted with a silent "h" before consonants in the orthography, since the consonant /h/ appeares in this environment, while conjugating various words. In Yrhu the final "h" is pronounced as a weak aspiration, but it is still silent before other consonants, lengthening a preceding vowel. | |||
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The high vowels /i/ and /u/ along with their long counterparts influence a preceding consonant: /i/ always palatalize it, while /u/ always labialize the consonant. This is a type of an assimilation process. The feature is very noticeable in Yrkyr speech despite not being phonemic. | |||
===Phonotactics=== | ===Phonotactics=== | ||
Most basic Yrkyr word roots are monosyllabic. Typical syllable structures are '''V''', '''CV''' and '''CVC''', where '''C''' is a consonant and '''V''' is a vowel. The first two types are called light syllables, which take part in vowel alterations and don't receive stress, when there is a heavy syllable of a '''CVC''' structure nearby. There are no limitations to which consonant may appear word-initially or in consonant clusters, which are only possible on syllable boundaries. Root final clusters are not allowed, an epenthetic [ə] being inserted between the consonants, when such a cluster would appear. Vowel sequences are also not allowed, except between different words. Nearby consonants and vowels are affecting each other, creating a comlex system of alterations, some of which became unpredictable with time, for example: ''lyči'' /ˈlə.t͡ʃi/ - "to see", ''lyteŋ'' /lə.ˈtɛn/ - "I see it", where /t/ always palatalizes to /t͡ʃ/ before /i/; ''kʷocawun'' /kʷʌ.t͡sɑ.ˈwun/ - ''while bathing'', ''lykʷos'' /lə.ˈkʷʌs/ to wash (something) - kʷoskyŋ /ˈkʷʌs.kəŋ/ "I wash up", ''laxkʷohŋ'' /lɑx.ˈkʷʌːŋ/ - "I took a bath", where /t͡s/ becomes /s/ and dissappears. | Most basic Yrkyr word roots are monosyllabic. Typical syllable structures are '''V''', '''CV''' and '''CVC''', where '''C''' is a consonant and '''V''' is a vowel. The first two types are called light syllables, which take part in vowel alterations and don't receive stress, when there is a heavy syllable of a '''CVC''' structure nearby. There are no limitations to which consonant may appear word-initially or in consonant clusters, which are only possible on syllable boundaries. Root final clusters are not allowed, an epenthetic [ə] being inserted between the consonants, when such a cluster would appear. Vowel sequences are also not allowed, except between different words. Nearby consonants and vowels are affecting each other, creating a comlex system of alterations, some of which became unpredictable with time, for example: ''lyči'' /ˈlə.t͡ʃi/ - "to see", ''lyteŋ'' /lə.ˈtɛn/ - "I see it", where /t/ always palatalizes to /t͡ʃ/ before /i/; ''kʷocawun'' /kʷʌ.t͡sɑ.ˈwun/ - ''while bathing'', ''lykʷos'' /lə.ˈkʷʌs/ to wash (something) - kʷoskyŋ /ˈkʷʌs.kəŋ/ "I wash up", ''laxkʷohŋ'' /lɑx.ˈkʷʌːŋ/ - "I took a bath", where /t͡s/ becomes /s/ and dissappears. |
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