/p t k/ /ɨ ɐ/
The way phonemes can be ordered is limited by these rules:
- There can not be more than two consonants or vowels in a row.
- Word final there can at most be one consonant in the coda.
Usually the ratio of consonants and vowels in a root words is limited by C = V */ 2. Exceptions are possible.
In general all allophony is optional, one might pronounce /tikap/ as [tikap], [tɨkɐp], [ʃɨɣäm] or anything in between.
In the "simple" register no allophony is used. The simple register occurs in dictating, teaching and talking to learners of the language and linguists or when talking about parts of the language.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Flap | [ɾ] | ||
| Fricative | [ɸ] [β] | [ʃ] [s] [ʒ] | [x] [ɣ] |
| Ø | t | k | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| /ɨ/ | [i] | [u] | |
| [ə] | |||
| /ɐ/ | [ɛ] | [ɔ] | |
| [ä] |
- At the beginning of a word consonants are pronounced as their basic form [p t k].
- Between vowels they turn into their voiced version [β ɾ ɣ]. Alternatively they might just be voiced stops [b d g].
- At the end of a word they turn into nasals [m n ŋ].
- Consonant clusters are realized voiceless as PF (Plosive, Fricative) word initial [ps px tɸ tx kɸ ks], and voiceless FP in between vowels [ɸp sp xp st ɸt xt xk ɸk sk].
- Two of the same consonants at the beginning of a word take the forms [ts pɸ kx].
- If /t/ is followed by /ɨ/ it becomes [ʒ] in between vowels. At the beginning and end of a word, preceding/following /ɨ/ it becomes [ʃ]. At the beginning of a word the cluster /tt/ becomes [tʃ] before /ɨ/.
- The vowels /ɨ ɐ/ get rounded to [u ɔ] in the environment of /p/.
- The vowels /ɨ ɐ/ get fronted to [i ɛ] in the environment of /t/.
- The vowels /ɨ ɐ/ get lowered to [ə ä] in the environment of /k/.
Vowels at most take only one of the features rounded, fronted, lowered. The phrase "in the environment of C" means either following C or preceding C with no other consonant overruling it. As in apai > [ɔβɔɨ].
Because of the wide free variation possible the language is often slurred and spoken with so little effort, that to an untrained listener it might not sound like a complex system of communication at all.
Romanized orthography has two forms.
Accurate spelling: In it's basic form consonants are written as they are /p t k/ always as < p t k >, vowels as < i a >. The basic form is always used when talking about unaltered roots. e.g. "tikap"
Colloquial spelling: This alternate form marks allophones. Voiced [β ɾ ɣ] as < b d g > and nasal [m n ŋ] as < m n g >. Unvoiced [ɸ ʃ x] can be written as < f s x >. Vowels are < u o > after /p/, < i e > after /t/ and < i a > after /k/ and anywhere else. This is used in every day writing to differentiate words more easily. e.g. "tigam"
Example:
taki tapai tikap (accurate)
tegi teboi sigam (colloquial)
[tɛɣə tɛβɔɨ ʃiɣäm]
talk 2.incl tikap