Phonemic inventory

Syllable structure

(C₁)V(C₂)

C₁: a consonant
V: a vowel
C₂: one of /m n nʷ nʲ nʷʲ c͡p k͡p g͡bˤ̟ g͡bˤ q͡p ɢ͡bˤ p bˤ pʲ t tʼ c cʼ k kʼ q qʼ t͡s t͡sʼ s ʕ h l j̥ j/

Allophony

• High vowels and semivowels [j̥ j i u] become non-high lax [ɛ̯̥ ɛ̯ ɛ ɔ] before a pharyngealised consonant.
• Non-front vowels [u ɔ a] become front [i ɛ æ] after a front consonant. Vowels other than [a] become unrounded.
• [a] become [ɑ] before a pharyngealised consonant.
• Non-front vowels [u ɔ a ɑ] persistently assimilate in backness to a preceding uvular consonant. After a mid-low semivowel, non-low vowels become unrounded.
• Consonants [m bˤ ɢˤ ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a following consonant other than an approximant. Before a voiceless consonant other than an approximant, nasals become non-nasal. Before a voiced consonant other than an approximant, ejective stops become non-ejective pharyngealised; [cʼ] become [gˤ̟]; [h] are deleted.
• Before a front high vowel or a high palatal semivowel, non-pharyngealised uvular stops become non-back non-front glottal fricatives; [q͡p] become [h].
• Non-ejective voiceless obstruents other than [s], i.e. [c͡p pˤ c ...], persistently become aspirated [c͡pʰ pˤʰ cʰ ...] after a glottal fricative.
• Voiced obstruents [ɟ͡b b gˤ̟ ...] become nasals [ɲ͡m m ŋˤ̟ ...] before a nasal. Affricates become non-sibilant coronal nasals; [z] become [l̃].
• Non-pharyngealised non-dorsal consonants [m tʰ t͡sʼ ...] persistently assimilate in palatalisation to a following consonant. Before a front consonant, [h] become [j̥].
• Non-front vowels [ɨ ɜ a ...] assimilate in backness to a following uvular consonant. Before an uvular stop or nasal, [ɨ ɜ] become [u ɔ]. Before a mid-low semivowel, rounded vowels become unrounded.
• Short non-affricate alveolar voiced stops or nasals [n nˤ d ...] become taps [ɾ̃ ɾ̃ˤ ɾ ...] between a vowel or an approximant and a vowel or semivowel. Palatalised stops or nasals become non-front.
• Mid-low vowels and semivowels [ɛ̯̥ ɛ̯ ɜ ...] persistently become low [æ̯̥ æ̯ a ...] before a pharyngealised consonant.
• Dorsal stops or nasals [ɲ͡m g͡b kʰ ...] persistently assimilate in uvularity to a following non-low non-affricate stop or nasal. Before an uvular stop or nasal, palatal stops or nasals become semivowels; non-back bilabial stops or nasals become non-bilabial; fronted pharyngealised stops become radicals; non-back aspirated stops become unaspirated; [ŋ͡mˤ̟ ŋˤ̟] become [ʕ ʕ]; [cʼ] become [e̯].
• Unrounded obstruents or nasals other than non-dorsal bilabial stops or nasals [ɲ͡m g͡bˤ kˤ̟ ...] assimilate in labiality and labiodentality to a following consonant other than one of [ħ ʕ h] and become non-bilabial word-finally. Before a bilabial consonant, non-dorsal obstruents or nasals become non-bilabial rounded.
• Tense vowels and semivowels [ẽ̯ j i ...] persistently become lax [ɛ̯̃ ɛ̯ ɛ ...] after a pharyngealised consonant. High vowels and semivowels become non-high.
• Non-pharyngealised non-sibilant coronal alveolar stops or nasals [n tʼ tʲ ...] persistently become non-affricate and assimilate in place of articulation to a following obstruent.
• Consonants [ɲ͡m bˤ d͡z ...] persistently assimilate in voice to a preceding consonant other than a resonant. After a voiced consonant other than a resonant, aspirated consonants become unaspirated; ejective stops become non-ejective pharyngealised; ejective front stops become non-front. After a voiceless consonant other than a resonant, nasals become non-nasal.
• Mid-low vowels [ɛ ɜ ɔ] become tense [e ɘ o] before a palatal or velar voiced consonant.
• Vowels and semivowels [ẽ̯̥ ɛ̯̥ ɘ ...] assimilate in frontness or palatalisation to a following uvular consonant. Before an uvular semivowel, rounded vowels become unrounded. Before an uvular stop or nasal, semivowels become glottal fricatives; [ẽ̯̥ ɛ̯̥̃] become [h h].
• Front vowels and semivowels [ẽ̯̥ j æ̯̥ ...] become non-front [h h ...] before an uvular stop or nasal. Semivowels become glottal fricatives; [ẽ̯̥ ɛ̯̥̃] become [h h].
• Vowels and semivowels [ẽ̯̥ ɛ̯̥ ɘ ...] assimilate in frontness or palatalisation to a following uvular consonant. Before an uvular semivowel, rounded vowels become unrounded. Before an uvular stop or nasal, semivowels become glottal fricatives; [ẽ̯̥ ɛ̯̥̃] become [h h].
• [n nˤ nʲ ɲ ŋ̟ ŋ ŋˤ̟ ŋˤ ɴ ɴˤ tʰ t tʼ d tˤʰ tˤ dˤ tʲʰ tʲ tʲʼ dʲ cʰ c cʼ ɟ kʰ̟ k̟ k̟ʼ g̟ kʰ k kʼ g kˤʰ̟ kˤ̟ gˤ̟ kˤʰ kˤ gˤ qʰ q qʼ ɢ qˤʰ qˤ ɢˤ t͡sʰ t͡s t͡sʼ d͡z t͡sˤʰ t͡sˤ d͡zˤ t͡sʲʰ t͡sʲ t͡sʲʼ d͡zʲ s z sʲ zʲ ħ ʕ h ɾ̥̃ ɾ̃ ɾ̃ˤ̥ ɾ̃ˤ l̥̃ l̃ l̃ʲ̥ l̃ʲ ɾ̥ ɾ ɾˤ̥ ɾˤ β̞̥ β̞ β̞ʲ̥ β̞ʲ l̥ l lʲ̥ lʲ] become rounded before a rounded consonant. Velar fronted stops or nasals become back; palatal stops or nasals become velar or uvular back; bilabial approximants become non-bilabial velar or uvular back; [β̞ʲ̥ β̞ʲ] become [w̥ w]; [ħ ʕ] become [ɔˤ̯̥ ɔˤ̯]; [h] become [w̥].
• Vowels [i ɘ ɔ ...] become nasal [ĩ ɘ̃ ɔ̃ ...] before a radical.
• Obstruents [c͡pʰ tʷʼ q ...] persistently assimilate in glottalisation to a following non-nasal consonant other than a resonant. Before an ejective stop, aspirated stops become unaspirated; non-pharyngealised voiced stops other than [gʷ ɢʷ] become non-glottalised pharyngealised; voiced front stops become non-front.
• Creaky-voiced stops [g͡b̰ˤ̟ d̰ʷˤ ɢ̰ʷ ...] persistently become ejective [k͡pˤ̟ʼ tʷˤʼ qʷʼ ...].
• Creaky-voiced obstruents [g͡b̰ˤ̟ g̰ʷ ɢ̰ʷˤ ...] persistently become non-glottalised non-nasal implosives [g͡bˤ̟ gʷ ɢʷˤ ...]. Velar or uvular stops become non-implosive; obstruents other than stops become nasal resonant laterals; affricates become nasal resonant laterals.
• Non-pharyngealised mid-low semivowels [ɛ̯̥̃ ɛ̯̃ ɛ̯̥ ɛ̯] become tense [ẽ̯̥ ẽ̯ e̯̥ e̯] after a high vowel or semivowel.

Some words

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