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=== | ===Vowel Distribution=== | ||
'''Close Unrounded Vowels'''<br /> | |||
The vowels /ɨ/ and /i/ have largely complementary distribution. Either vowel may follow a labial consonant. Elsewhere, /i/ is usually restricted to word-initial (C-) position and after palatal consonants, while /ɨ/ cannot appear in word-initial positions or after palatal consonants. The phoneme /i/ appears outside its usual positions in some foreign-derived words. The vowels /ɨ/ and /i/ are considered to rhyme in Khazarian poetry out of tradition, as in the past /ɨ/ was closer to [ɪ], which is acoustically much more similar to [i].<br /> | |||
'''Nasal Vowels'''<br /> | |||
The nasal vowels do not occur except before a fricative and in word-final position. When nasal vowels appear before plosives and affricates, they indicate an oral vowel followed by a nasal consonant homorganic with the following consonant. Before /l/ or /w/, the nasality is lost altogether and the phonemes are pronounced as oral vowels.<br /> | |||
===Vowel Harmony=== | |||
Khazarian has a system of vowel harmony. All monophthongs are distinguished by the [±front] and [±round] features. There are two sets of vowel harmony systems: a simple one and a complex one. The simple one is only concerned with the [±front] feature, and is common with singular noun cases and derivational suffixes. The complex one focuses on both the [±front] and [±round] features, and is associated with verb suffixes.The centralized back open vowel /ɨ/and /ɑ/ are considered neutral, and ignore vowel harmony. Because of vowel harmony, most affixes come in front, back and rounded forms. | |||
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There are some exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony. In compound words, the vowels do not need to harmonize between the constituent words of the compound. In addition, vowel harmony does not apply in loanwords and some invariant affixes. Some loanwords do, however, exhibit partial or even complete vowel harmony; there are also a few native words that do not follow the rule. In such words, suffixes harmonize with the final vowel. | |||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== |
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