Phonology
Sound inventory and phonological rules
24 consonants
18 vowels
Consonant Inventory
| Manner | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | pb | · | td | · | · | kg | · | · | ||||||||
| Nasal | m | · | n | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||
| Fricative | · | fv | sz | ʃʒ | ç | x | ʁ | h | ||||||||
| Affricate | · | · | tsdz | tʃdʒ | · | · | · | · | ||||||||
| Approximant | · | · | · | · | j | · | · | · | ||||||||
| Lateral approximant | · | · | l | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||
Vowel Inventory
| Height | Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iy | ɨʉ | ɯu |
| Near-close | ɪ | · | ʊ |
| Close-mid | eø | · | o |
| Mid | · | ə | · |
| Open-mid | ɛ | · | ʌɔ |
| Open | a | ä | ɑ |
Syllable Structure
(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)Phonological Rules
Consonants palatalize before front vowels. s becomes z and sz becomes j between vowels.