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Word-final {{IPA|/e/}}, generally written ''é'', is usually diphthongised to {{IPA|[ei̯]}} | Word-final {{IPA|/e/}}, generally written ''é'', is usually diphthongised to {{IPA|[ei̯]}}. | ||
Macambese has 5 valid diphthongs: {{IPA|/ei̯ oi̯ ou̯ au̯ ai̯/}}. {{IPA|/ai̯ au̯/}} primarily only occur in English loanwords and are written ⟨aî⟩ and ⟨aou⟩ respectively (historically {{IPA|/au̯/}} was also written ⟨aû⟩ but this is now obsolete), like ''traîbe'' "tribe", ''éspaîque'' "a type of long, thin sword", ''claoune'' "clown" and ''plaouv'néje'' "snowplough". Importantly, the use of the circumflex in {{IPA|/ai̯/}} ⟨aî⟩ is not to show a silent /s/ as it is generally used in French, but instead originally was a variant of the [[w:Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] that replaced it. Thus, the circumflex in Macambese operates almost equivalently to the diaeresis in French; indeed, ''éspaîque'' alone was often spelt ''éspaïque'' or ''espaïque'' as late as the mid-19th century. | |||
====Nasal vowels==== | ====Nasal vowels==== | ||
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Macambese is generally agreed to have six phonemic nasal vowels, {{IPA|/ã ɛ̃ ĩ ɔ̃ ũ ʌ̃/}}. {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} is often realised as {{IPA|/ẽ/}} in Southern dialects, while {{IPA|/ũ/}} is very commonly realised as {{IPA|[õw̃]}}, though many speakers in Chapsfield (''Shampsfeile'') still seem to retain the {{IPA|[ũ]}} pronunciation that today is otherwise considered archaic. {{IPA|/ʌ̃/}} only occurs in some words such as ''un'' "singular masculine indefinite article" and ''pron'''un'''cé'' "to pronounce", and may be variably realised as {{IPA|[ɨ̃]}}, {{IPA|[ə̃]}} or in the most divergent dialects as {{IPA|[ỹ]}}. {{IPA|/ĩ/}} is even rarer, mostly occurring in verb conjugations like ''v'''in''''' "he/she/it goes", and also has a tendency especially among younger speakers to morph into a combination of {{IPA|/i/}} and a nasal homorganic to the consonant after it, as in ''is vinte'' {{IPA|[is ˈvĩtə]}} "he went" pronounced as {{IPA|[is ˈvintə]}}. {{IPA|/ã/}} is pronounced firmly centrally. | Macambese is generally agreed to have six phonemic nasal vowels, {{IPA|/ã ɛ̃ ĩ ɔ̃ ũ ʌ̃/}}. {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} is often realised as {{IPA|/ẽ/}} in Southern dialects, while {{IPA|/ũ/}} is very commonly realised as {{IPA|[õw̃]}}, though many speakers in Chapsfield (''Shampsfeile'') still seem to retain the {{IPA|[ũ]}} pronunciation that today is otherwise considered archaic. {{IPA|/ʌ̃/}} only occurs in some words such as ''un'' "singular masculine indefinite article" and ''pron'''un'''cé'' "to pronounce", and may be variably realised as {{IPA|[ɨ̃]}}, {{IPA|[ə̃]}} or in the most divergent dialects as {{IPA|[ỹ]}}. {{IPA|/ĩ/}} is even rarer, mostly occurring in verb conjugations like ''v'''in''''' "he/she/it goes", and also has a tendency especially among younger speakers to morph into a combination of {{IPA|/i/}} and a nasal homorganic to the consonant after it, as in ''is vinte'' {{IPA|[is ˈvĩtə]}} "he went" pronounced as {{IPA|[is ˈvintə]}}. {{IPA|/ã/}} is pronounced firmly centrally. | ||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
Macambese nouns inflect on two [[w:Grammatical gender|genders]], masculine and feminine, and two [[w:Grammatical number|numbers]], singular and plural. | Macambese nouns inflect on two [[w:Grammatical gender|genders]], masculine and feminine, and two [[w:Grammatical number|numbers]], singular and plural. | ||