Phonemic inventory
Consonants
| | Bilabial | | Laminal alveolar | | Velar | | Glottal |
| Stop | | pʰ | p | pʼ | mb̤ | mb | | tʰ̻ | t̻ | tʼ̻ | nd̤̻ | nd̻ | | kʰ | k | kʼ | ŋg̤ | ŋg | | | | ʔ | | |
| Fricative | | | | | | | | | s̻ | | | | | | | | | | | h | | | ɦ | |
| Tap | | | | | | | | | | | | ɾ̻ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Approximant | | | | | | β̞ | | | | | | ɹ̻ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vowels
| | Front | | Central | | Back |
| High | | i | iː | | ɨ | ɨː | | u | uː |
| Mid-high | | e | eː | | ɘ | ɘː | | o | oː |
| Mid-low | | ɛ | ɛː | | ɜ | ɜː | | ɔ | ɔː |
| Low | | | | | a | aː | | | |
Syllable structure
(C1)V(C2)(C3)
C1: a consonant
V: a vowel
C2: one of /ʔ h ɦ/
C3: an alveolar consonant other than a stop; i.e. one of /s̻ ɾ̻ ɹ̻/
Allophony
- Consonants other than [s̻], i.e. [mb̤ p kʼ ...], persistently assimilate in voice to a preceding consonant other than a resonant. After a voiced consonant other than a resonant, ejective consonants become non-ejective implosives.
- Non-ejective unaspirated obstruents other than [s̻], i.e. [mp ŋk d̻ ...], become aspirated [mpʰ ŋkʰ d̤̻ ...] after a glottal fricative. Implosives become non-implosive.
- Non-ejective non-implosive obstruents other than [s̻], i.e. [mpʰ ŋkʰ tʰ̻ ...], persistently assimilate in aspiration to a preceding consonant other than a resonant.
- Alveolar resonants [ɾ̻̥ ɾ̻ ɹ̻̥ ɹ̻] assimilate in vibrancy to a following non-bilabial resonant.
- Prenasalised stops [mpʰ ntʰ̻ ŋkʰ ...] become non-prenasalised [pʰ tʰ̻ kʰ ...] after an obstruent.
- Non-ejective obstruents other than [mb nd̻ ŋg], i.e. [mpʰ ŋg̤ d̻ ...], become glottalised [mpʼ ŋg ɗ̻ ...] after a glottal stop. Non-implosive voiced stops become non-glottalised; aspirated stops become unaspirated; [b d̻] become [ɓ ɗ̻].
- Non-ejective unaspirated voiced vowels and non-glottal stop non-glottal fricative voiced consonants [mb ɹ̻ ɘː ...] become breathy-voiced [mb̤ ɹ̤̻ ɘ̤ː ...] after a breathy-voiced consonant. Implosives become non-implosive.
- Unaspirated stops [mp ŋkʼ d̻ ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a preceding consonant other than a resonant. After a voiceless consonant other than a resonant, implosives become non-implosive. After a voiced consonant other than a resonant, ejective stops become non-glottalised; [pʼ tʼ̻] become [ɓ ɗ̻].
- Consonants other than [s̻], i.e. [mpʰ pʰ ɓ ...], persistently assimilate in voice to a following obstruent and become voiceless word-finally. Before a voiced stop, ejective consonants become non-glottalised; [sʼ̻] become [s̻]; [pʼ tʼ̻] become [ɓ ɗ̻]. Before a voiceless obstruent or pause, implosives become non-implosive; breathy-voiced resonants become unaspirated.
- Aspirated stops [mpʰ ŋkʰ tʰ̻ ...] persistently become unaspirated [mp ŋk t̻ ...].
- Persistently between a vowel and a vowel, non-prenasalised voiced stops become short non-prenasalised non-nasal voiceless fricatives; implosives become short non-implosive non-prenasalised voiceless stops; [b̤ d̤̻] become [ɸ θ]; [g̤ g] become [h h].
- Non-glottalised unaspirated voiced stops [mb ŋg g ...] become breathy-voiced [mb̤ ŋg̤ g̤ ...] before a glottal fricative. Implosives become non-implosive.
Some words
| /s̻ɔɾ̻kah/ | [s̻ɔɾ̻̥kah] |
| /akʼe/ | [akʼe] |
| /nd̤̻a/ | [nd̤̻a̤] |
| /s̻ɛʔŋg̤ɛ/ | [s̻ɛʔŋkʼɛ] |
| /nd̻atʰ̻o/ | [nd̻atʰ̻o] |
| /tʰ̻ɔːtʼ̻aːʔ/ | [tʰ̻ɔːtʼ̻aːʔ] |
| /hɛtʰ̻ɛh/ | [hɛtʰ̻ɛh] |
| /akʼaː/ | [akʼaː] |
| /kes̻t̻iɾ̻/ | [kes̻t̻iɾ̻̥] |
| /kʼaɦa/ | [kʼaɦa̤] |
| /pʼɛʔnd̻ɜ/ | [pʼɛʔntʼ̻ɜ] |
| /t̻ɔ/ | [t̻ɔ] |
| /hand̻i/ | [hand̻i] |
| /mbaɹ̻uː/ | [mbaɹ̻uː] |
| /s̻ɔka/ | [s̻ɔka] |
| /mb̤and̤̻ɘː/ | [mb̤a̤nd̤̻ɘ̤ː] |
| /tʼ̻aːs̻eː/ | [tʼ̻aːs̻eː] |
| /kʰɜːs̻aː/ | [kʰɜːs̻aː] |
| /pɔhɛː/ | [pɔhɛː] |
| /nd̤̻ou/ | [nd̤̻o̤u] |
| /s̻ahŋgɔː/ | [s̻ahŋkʰɔː] |
| /s̻atʼ̻ɔː/ | [s̻atʼ̻ɔː] |
| /ɹ̻ao/ | [ɹ̻ao] |
| /mbaːh/ | [mbaːh] |
| /tʼ̻ɔːɹ̻iː/ | [tʼ̻ɔːɹ̻iː] |
| /nd̻ɛɹ̻ɔɾ̻/ | [nd̻ɛɹ̻ɔɾ̻̥] |
| /haŋgi/ | [haŋgi] |
| /s̻oŋga/ | [s̻oŋga] |
| /ŋgaːs̻nd̻ɔkʼɛʔ/ | [ŋgaːs̻t̻ɔkʼɛʔ] |
| /aːpʼaː/ | [aːpʼaː] |
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