Kythish phonemes
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Vowels
Kythish has 7 'short' vowels (a, e, i, o, u, w, and y) and 7 roughly equivalent 'long' vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú, ẃ, and ý). The terminology is based on the fact that long vowels, when stressed, have a longer duration than their short equivalents.
Vowel | IPA Equivalent | Notes |
---|---|---|
a | [æ] | Heightened to [ɛ] in a diverse number of dialects. |
á | [a] | [aː] when stressed. |
e | [ɛ] | |
é | [e] | [eː] when stressed. |
i | [ɪ] | |
í | [i] | [iː] when stressed. |
o | [ɔ] | Relaxed to [ɞ] in eastern dialects. |
ó | [o] | Relaxed to [ɵ] in the east; [oː] ([ɵː]) when stressed. |
u | see notes | Ranges from back open-mid ([ʌ]) in the north and west through back near-open, near-back near-open in the south and centre to central near-open ([ɐ]) in the east. Most lexicographers give it as [ʌ], as this is the pronunciation most often heard in and around hácei. |
ú | [ɑ] | [ɑː] when stressed. |
w | [ʊ] | |
ẃ | [u] | Relaxed to /ʉ/ in the east, or retained as /y/ or /ʏ/ in many rural areas; /uː/ (/ʉː/, /yː/, /ʏː/) when stressed. |
y | [ə] | In some dialects, [ɘ] when stressed. |
ý | [ɜ] | [ɜː] when stressed. |
In addition, the dialectal vowels ø and ǿ are pronounced thus:
Vowel | IPA Equivalent | Notes |
---|---|---|
ø | [œ] | |
ǿ | [ø] | [øː] when stressed. |
Consonants
Consonant | IPA Equivalent | Notes |
---|---|---|
b | [b] | [p] initially and medially for many speakers. |
bh | [β] | Considered allophonic with v. |
c | [kʰ] | Finally and in clusters, [k]. |
ch | [x] | |
ć | [x] | |
d | [d] | [t] initially and medially for many speakers. |
dh | [ð] or [z] | Depends on whether d is realised as dental or alveolar (usually the former). |
ð | [ð] | |
f | [f] | |
g | [g] | [k] initially and medially for many speakers. |
gh | [ɣ] | |
ǵ | [ɣ] | |
h | [h] | |
hƿ | [hʍ] | [ʍ] in a diverse number of dialects. |
j | [j] | |
l | [l] | |
ĺ | [ɬ] | |
m | [m] | |
n | [n] | |
ŋ | [ŋ] | |
p | [pʰ] | Finally and in clusters, [p]. |
ph | [ɸ] | Considered allophonic with f. |
r | see notes | Adjacent to a fricatives, [ɹ], otherwise, [r], and shortened to [ɾ] in quick speech. (Gutturalised as [xɹ] or [χɹ] in southern and some metropolitan dialects). |
ŕ | [ʀ̥] | |
s | [s] | |
ś | [ʃ] | |
t | [tʰ] | Finally and in clusters, [t]. |
th | [θ] or [s] | Depends on whether t is realised as dental or alveolar (usually the former). |
þ | [θ] | |
v | [v] | |
ƿ | [w] | Adjacent to voiceless consonants, [ʍ]. |
z | [z] | |
ź | [ʒ] |
In addition, the dialectal consonants ç and ḉ, and digraph çh, are pronounced thus:
Consonant | IPA Equivalent | Notes |
---|---|---|
ç | [cʰ] | Finally and in clusters, [c]. |
çh | [ç] | |
ḉ | [ç] |