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Hwnic: Difference between revisions
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* Vowels often lack front-back contrast, and vowels tend to assimilate to consonants and not the other way around. | * Vowels often lack front-back contrast, and vowels tend to assimilate to consonants and not the other way around. | ||
The orthography is based on the IPA. However, a key point is usually vowels assimilate to consonants and not the other way around: ''pe te ke qe'' would be [ | The orthography is based on the IPA. However, a key point is usually vowels assimilate to consonants and not the other way around: ''pe te ke qe'' would be [pɛ tɛ kə qɤ]. The most common value for ‹i› is [ɯ] which is often realized as [ɨ̞], whereas the less common value [i] appears in some particles and palatalizes the preceding consonant. The values for y and u are the same in native words, although y can be [ai] in loanwords. Syllabic l has a schwa-onglide to distinguish it from /o/. | ||
=== Stress and prosody === | === Stress and prosody === | ||
Most words have initial stress. A syllable containing a syllabic /l/, most commonly ''bl'', ''ml'', and ''dl'', is stressed. For words that start with a syllabic /m/, /n/, or /r/, the stress may be on the second syllable. Particles have low pitch, and as such a few pairs of words are distinguished by pitch alone. Compound words retain the stress of their constituents, although consecutive stress causes pitch sandhi and the second stress takes on a low or falling pitch. In the future, Hwnic might become a tonal language. | Most words have initial stress. A syllable containing a syllabic /l/, most commonly ''bl'', ''ml'', and ''dl'', is stressed. For words that start with a syllabic /m/, /n/, or /r/, the stress may be on the second syllable. Particles have low pitch, and as such a few pairs of words are distinguished by pitch alone. Compound words retain the stress of their constituents, although consecutive stress causes pitch sandhi and the second stress takes on a low or falling pitch. In the future, Hwnic might become a tonal language. | ||
Hwnic is stress-timed. Stressed syllables are longer, unstressed a may become voiceless, but other vowels aren't usually reduced. | |||
=== Phonotactics === | === Phonotactics === | ||