Consonants Chart
Consonant phonemes
/m/ is a bilabial nasal consonant, as in /kup/ ‘house‘ (cf /rup/ ‘eye’).
/p/ is voiceless bilabial plosive, as in /kyp/ ‘house’ (cf /kyb/ ‘roof’). It is represented by allophones [p] and voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ], the latter pronounced in an intervocalic position: /kypyɾ/ ‘house’ [ky’ɸyɾ] ‘referring to a house’.
/b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive, as in /kyb/ ‘roof’ (cf /Byb/ ‘child’). It is represented by allophones [b] and voiced bilabial fricative [β], the latter pronounced in an intervocalic position: /tɔ:b/ ‘water’ [tɔ:b], but /tɔ:byɾ/ ‘wet’ [tɔ: ‘βyɾ].
/ B/ is a bilabial trill, as in /Byb/ ‘child’ (cf /byb/ ‘seven’).
/ʘ/ is a bilabial click, as in /ʘuk/ ‘a click’ (cf /kuk/ ‘that’).
/ɱ/ is a labiodental nasal, as in /ɱu:t/ ‘to moo’ (cf. /mu:t/ ‘to walk with a dejected face’).
/n/ is an alveolar nasal, as in /nɶk/ - ‘inside’ (cf /mɶk/ ‘five’.
/t/ is a voiceless alveolar plosive, as in /unut/ ‘to wink’ (cf /unuk/ ‘a wink’). It has two allophones, [t] and voiceless alveolar fricative [s], which occurs in an intervocalic position: /kɨt/ ‘hand’ [kɨt], but /kɨtɨç/ ‘little hand’ [kɨ’sɨç].
/d/ is a voiced alveolar plosive, as in /unud/ ‘a tortoise’ (cf /unut/ ‘to wink’. It has two allophones, [d] and voiced alveolar fricative [z], which occurs in an intervocalic position: /unudyr/ ‘extremely slow’ [unu’zyr].
/ts/ is a voiceless alveolar affricate, as in /tsɶ/ - ‘hello’. It is represented by two allophones: [ts] and a voiceless alveolar fricative [s] in consonant clusters (as in /nɶktsɔp/ ‘in a group’ [‘nɶksɔp].
/dz/ is a voiced alveolar affricate, as in /dzɶ/ - ‘soon’. It is represented by two allophones: [dz] and a voiced alveolar fricative [z] in consonant clusters (as in /ɱɨBdzuk/ ‘with a friend’ [‘ɱɨBzuk]
/ɾ/ is an alveolar tap, as in /yɾu/ ‘above’ (cf /yhu/ ‘below’). It is presented by as many as three allophones, alveolar tap [ɾ], alveolar trill (pronounced usually with two to four short cycles) [r] and uvular [ʀ]. [ɾ] is the most frequent, occurring in all positions, except in the initial one, where it is replaced by [r] (/ɾɶj/ ‘nonsense’ [rɶ], but /yɾɶ/ ‘jokingly’ [ɘ’ɾɶ]) and after velar plosive consonants /k/and /g/, where it is replaced by [ʀ] (/ɾɨ:/ ‘sea’ [rɨ:], but /nɶk’ɾɨ:/ ‘in the sea’ [nɶk’ʀɨ:]).
/ç/ is a voiceless palatal fricative, as in /çy/ ‘top’.
/j/ is a voiced palatal fricative, as in /jy/ ‘clay’.
/is a velar nasalu:t ‘to boast’ (cf /ɱu:t/ ‘to moo’).
/k/ is a voiceless velar plosive, as in /kyp/ ‘house’ (cf /gyp/ ‘a bid of prey’). It is represented by two allophones: [k] and a voiceless velar fricative [x] in an intervocalic position: /ɔkyp/ ‘not far from the house’ [ɞ’xyp].
/g/ is a voiced velar plosive, as in /gyp/ ‘a bid of prey’ (cf / hyp/ ‘an old thing or person’). It is represented by two allophones, [g] and a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] in an intervocalic position: /gu/ ‘lies, untruth’ [gu], whereas /ugut/ ‘to tell lies’ [u’ɣut].
/ h/ is an epiglottal fricative, as in / hyp/ ‘an old thing or person’ (cf /kyp/ ‘house’).
Phonological rules: Consonants.
- Most importantly, all stops (plosives) in an intervocalic position are pronounced as corresponding fricatives. Thus, /kypyɾ/ ‘house’ [ky’ɸyɾ] ‘referring to a house’; /tɔ:byɾ/ ‘wet’ [tɔ: ‘βyɾ]; /kɨtɨç/ ‘little hand’ [kɨ’sɨç]; /mɨ:dyɾ/ ‘weak, cowardly’ [mɨ:’zy ɾ]; /ɔkyp/ ‘not far from the house’ [ɞ’xyp], /ugut/ ‘to tell lies’ [u’ɣut].
- /ɾ/ is pronounced as uvular [ʀ] after velar plosive consonants. /gɾu:/ ‘rat’ [gʀu:]. This process occurs even in borrowd words: /kɾɨ:tɨɶn/ ‘Christian’ [kʀɨ:tɨ’ɶn]. In the initial position (beginning of the word) it is pronounced as a trill rather than a tap: /ɾɨ:/ ‘sea’ [rɨ:], but /ɔɾɨ:/ ‘on the seashore’ [ɔɾɨ:].
- Deletion of /j/ occurs at the end of the word. Thus, /ɾɶj/ ‘nonsense, stupid talk’ is pronounced as [rɶ].
- Both affricates, /ts/ and /dz/ are pronounced as mere corresponding fricatives [s] and [z] at the end of consonant clusters: /tsɔp/ ‘group/ but /nɶktsɔp/ ‘in a group’ [‘nɶksɔp], /dzuk/ ‘friend’ [dzuk], but /ɱɨBdzuk/ ‘with a friend’ [‘ɱɨBzuk].
Vowels Chart
/y/ - a front close unrounded short vowel as in /kyp/ ‘house’ (cf /kɨp/ ‘four’). It is represented by three allophones: [y], a closed mid central [ɘ] and a front close unrounded short nasal [].
/y:/ - a front close unrounded long vowel as in /ky:p/ ‘houses’ (cf /kyp/ ‘house’). It is represented by two allophones: [y:] and a front close unrounded short [y] (after the stressed syllable).
/ɶ/ - a near front open rounded short vowel as in /kɶp/ - ‘bird’ (cf. /kɔp/ ‘a large box or basket). It is represented by two allophones: [ɶ] and open mid central [ɞ] (in the initial position).
/ɶ:/ - a near front open rounded long vowel as in /kɶ:p/ - ‘birds’ (cf /kɶp/ - ‘bird’). It is represented by two allophones: [ɶ:] and near front open rounded short [ɶ] (after the stressed syllable).
/ɨ/ - a central close unrounded short vowel as in /kɨt/ - ‘hand’ (cf /kyt/ ‘please’). It is represented by two allophones, [ɨ] and a closed mid central [ɘ] in the initial unstressed position.
/ɨ:/ - a central close unrounded long vowel as in /kɨ:t/ - ‘hands’ (cf /kɨt/ - ‘hand’). It is represented by two allophones: [ɨ:] and a central close unrounded short [ɨ] (after the stressed syllable).
/u/ - a back close rounded short vowel as in /tut/ - ‘she’ (cf. /tɔt/ ‘heavy rain’). It is represented by three allophones: [u], a closed mid central [ɘ] (in the initial position) and a back close rounded short nasal [].
/u:/ - a back close rounded long vowel as in /tu:t/ - ‘they’ (plural of ‘she’, cf /tut/ - ‘she’). It is represented by two allophones: [u:] and a back close rounded short [u] (after the stressed syllable).
/ɔ/ - a back open mid rounded short vowel as in /tsɔp/ - ‘group’ (cf /tsɶp/ ‘wonder’. It is represented by two allophones, [ɔ] and open mid central [ɞ] (in the initial unstressed position).
/ɔ:/ - a back open mid rounded long vowel as in /tsɔ:p/ - ‘groups’ (cf /tsɔp/ - ‘group’). It is represented by two allophones: [ɔ:] and a back open mid rounded short [ɔ] (after the stressed syllable).
Thus, both [ɘ] and [ɞ] are non-phonemic. The former is an allophone of close short vowels in an unstressed position of the beginning of a word as in /yɾu/ - [ɘ’ɾu] ‘above’. The latter is an allophone of open and mid open short vowels in the same position as in /ɶmusy/ - [ɞmu’sy] ‘hardly ever’.
Phonological rules: Vowels.
- Nasalization. If the word ends with a nasal consonant, deletion occurs with the obligatory nasalization of the preceding short vowels /y/ and /u/. Thus, /kum/ ‘summer‘ is pronounced as [], whereas in /kumyɾ/ [ku’myɾ] (‘referring to summer’) the consonant is retained and the nasalization does not take place. Likewise, /myn/ ‘moon’ – [m], but /mynyɾ/ [my’nyɾ] (‘lunar’). The rule does not apply to long /y:/ and /u:/: /my:n/ ‘moons, satellites’ [my:n], /ku:m/ ‘summers’ [ku:m].
- Quantitative reduction of vowels takes place only after the stressed syllable. Long vowels are reduced to short vowels, like in /nɶkky:p/ ‘in the houses’ [‘nɶkkyp].
- Qualitative reduction takes place in the initial unstressed position (beginning of the word). Short close vowels /y/, /u/, /ɨ/ are reduced to [ɘ]. The examples are: /yɾu/ - [ɘ’ɾu] ‘above’, /unut/ - [ɘ’nut] ‘to wink’, /ɨkkut/ - [ɘ’kkut] ‘to hobble’. Short open vowels /ɶ/ and /ɔ/ in the same position are reduced to [ɞ]: /ɶɾkut/ - [ɞɾ’kut] ‘to hit’, /ɔtut/ - [ɞ’sut] – ‘to beg’.
