Phonemic inventory
Consonants
| | Labial | | Laminal alveolar | | Palatoalv. / palatal | | Velar |
| Nasal | | | | m | | | | n̻ | | | | ṉ | | | | |
| Stop | | pʰ | p | mb | | tʰ̻ | t̻ | nd̻ | | t͡ʃʰ | t͡ʃ | nd͡ʒ | | kʰ | k | |
| Fricative | | | f | | | | s̻ | | | | ʃ | | | | | |
| Approximant | | | | | | | | l̻ | | | | j | | | | |
Vowels
| | Front | | Central | | Back |
| High | | i | iː | | | | | u | uː |
| Low | | | | | a | aː | | | |
Syllable structure
(C1)V(C2)
C1: a consonant
V: a vowel
C2: a consonant
Allophony
- Coronal consonants [n̻ tʰ̻ t͡ʃ ...] assimilate in anteriority and retroflexion to a preceding coronal consonant. After a palatoalveolar obstruent or nasal, non-affricate stops become affricate sibilants; [l̻] become [j].
- Non-pharyngeal coronal consonants [n̻ t̻ t͡ʃʰ ...] become palatalised [n̻ʲ t̻ʲ t͡ɕʰ ...] before a front high vowel or a high palatal semivowel.
- Unaspirated voiceless stops [p t̻ʲ t͡s̻ʲ ...] become aspirated [pʰ tʰ̻ʲ t͡sʰ̻ʲ ...] before a voiceless fricative.
- Prenasalised stops [mb nd̻ʲ nd͡z̻ʲ ...] become nasals [m n̻ʲ n̻ʲ ...] before an obstruent or nasal. Affricate sibilants become non-sibilant coronal nasals.
- Non-pharyngeal consonants other than [j], i.e. [m t̻ t͡s̻ʲ ...], assimilate in palatalisation to a following consonant.
- Non-prenasalised obstruents [pʰ cʰ t͡ʃ ...] persistently become voiced [b d͡ʒ ...] after a non-nasal voiced consonant except an approximant. Aspirated stops become unaspirated; [c k] are deleted.
- Non-prenasalised obstruents [pʰ c t͡ɕ ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a following obstruent and become voiceless word-finally. Before a voiced obstruent, aspirated stops become unaspirated; [c k] are deleted.
- Non-nasal consonants other than prenasalised stops [pʰ kʰ f ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a preceding obstruent or nasal. After a voiced obstruent or nasal, aspirated stops become unaspirated; [c k] are deleted.
- Labial obstruents or nasals [m pʰ bʲ ...] assimilate in dorsality and uvularity and palatalisation and whether palatal or palatalised velar to a following obstruent or nasal and become non-palatal or velar word-finally. Before a palatal or velar stop, palatalised obstruents or nasals become non-velar non-palatal or velar.
- Coronal consonants [n̻ nd͡z̻ʲ t͡ɕ ...] assimilate in anteriority and retroflexion to a following obstruent sibilant. Before a palatoalveolar obstruent, non-sibilant coronal stops become affricate sibilants; approximant laterals become non-lateral non-coronal palatal or velar; [l̻̥ l̻] become [j̥ j].
- Voiceless stops [pʰ tʰ̻ʲ t͡s̻ ...] persistently assimilate in aspiration to a following obstruent or nasal.
- Nasals [m n̻ ṉ ...] persistently become nasals and assimilate in place of articulation to a following obstruent or nasal.
- Non-nasal consonants other than prenasalised stops [pʰ k fʲ ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a following obstruent or nasal. Before a voiced obstruent or nasal, aspirated stops become unaspirated; [c k] are deleted.
- Voiceless stops [pʰ tʰ̻ʲ t͡s̻ ...] persistently assimilate in aspiration to a preceding obstruent or nasal.
- High semivowels [j̥ j] become velar rounded [w̥ w] after a rounded vowel.
- Prenasalised stops [mb nd̻ nd͡z̻ʲ ...] become non-prenasalised [b d̻ d͡z̻ʲ ...] after an obstruent.
- Short non-glottal stop non-prenasalised voiced stops [b d̻ d͡z̻ʲ ...] become fricatives [β ð z̻ʲ ...] between a vowel or semivowel and a vowel or semivowel.
Some words
| /kʰiː/ | [kʰiː] |
| /t̻aka/ | [t̻aka] |
| /n̻uki/ | [n̻uki] |
| /t̻uːs̻pʰu/ | [t̻uːs̻pu] |
| /s̻is̻s̻is̻/ | [s̻ʲis̻ʲs̻ʲis̻] |
| /t̻it̻it̻/ | [t̻ʲit̻ʲit̻] |
| /kutʰ̻l̻uːtʰ̻/ | [kutʰ̻l̻̥uːtʰ̻] |
| /tʰ̻ipʰmiːt̻/ | [tʰ̻ʲibmiːt̻] |
| /jiːtʰ̻fil̻/ | [jiːt̻fil̻] |
| /kʰu/ | [kʰu] |
| /mbimu/ | [mbimu] |
| /l̻afiːf/ | [l̻afiːf] |
| /fiːs̻/ | [fiːs̻] |
| /ʃiʃ/ | [ɕiʃ] |
| /t͡ʃʰifa/ | [t͡ɕʰifa] |
| /fiːn̻/ | [fiːn̻] |
| /l̻aːfi/ | [l̻aːfi] |
| /jun̻und̻/ | [jun̻und̻] |
| /kiːl̻s̻u/ | [kiːl̻̥s̻u] |
| /iːt̻jupʰ/ | [iːt̻ʲj̥upʰ] |
| /kʰas̻fi/ | [kʰas̻fi] |
| /mbaːaʃ/ | [mbaːaʃ] |
| /s̻a/ | [s̻a] |
| /t͡ʃʰuːmbt̻i/ | [t͡ʃʰuːn̻ʲd̻ʲi] |
| /tʰ̻uːt̻is̻/ | [tʰ̻uːt̻ʲis̻] |
| /as̻t̻u/ | [as̻t̻u] |
| /t̻ut̻t͡ʃuːs̻/ | [t̻ut̻t͡s̻uːs̻] |
| /t͡ʃaːmb/ | [t͡ʃaːmb] |
| /l̻il̻t͡ʃaː/ | [l̻ʲil̻̥t͡s̻aː] |
| /t̻aːmbkiːʃ/ | [t̻aːmiːʃ] |
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