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Nkwu: Difference between revisions
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===Vowels=== | ===Vowels=== | ||
{{PAGENAME}} has a simple system of five-vowels qualities as in Spanish and Swahili. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | |||
|+ '''Single vowels''' | |||
|- align=center | |||
! !! front !! central !! back | |||
|- align=center | |||
! high | |||
| '''i''' || || '''u''' | |||
|- align=center | |||
! mid | |||
| '''e''' || || '''o''' | |||
|- align=center | |||
! low | |||
| || '''a''' || | |||
|} | |||
Some authors have described {{PAGENAME}} as also having phonemic long vowels as well, however long vowels behave prosodically in an identical way to vowel sequences, encouraging the analysis of them as sequences of two identical vowels. Such sequences of two identical vowels are, however, generally written with a macron for traditional reasons and to save space, however when it is impossible to type a macron, the vowel is doubled. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable" | |||
|- align=center | |||
! Phonemic<br />Analysis !! Romanised<br />(macrons possible) !! Romanised<br />(macrons impossible) | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /a/ | |||
| ⟨ a ⟩ || ⟨ a ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /aa/ | |||
| ⟨ ā ⟩ || ⟨ aa ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /e/ | |||
| ⟨ e ⟩ || ⟨ e ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /aa/ | |||
| ⟨ ē ⟩ || ⟨ ee ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /i/ | |||
| ⟨ i ⟩ || ⟨ i ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /ii/ | |||
| ⟨ ī ⟩ || ⟨ ii ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /o/ | |||
| ⟨ o ⟩ || ⟨ o ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /oo/ | |||
| ⟨ ō ⟩ || ⟨ oo ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /u/ | |||
| ⟨ u ⟩ || ⟨ u ⟩ | |||
|- align=center | |||
! /uu/ | |||
| ⟨ ū ⟩ || ⟨ uu ⟩ | |||
|} | |||
Unstressed vowels tend to be pronounced laxly as [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɔ ʊ] for /i e a o u/. Some speakers pronounce stressed vowels more tensely, closer to their cardinal pronunciations of [i e a o u]. | |||
===Phonotactics=== | ===Phonotactics=== | ||
===Prosody=== | ===Prosody=== | ||