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]  
[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]  
[ç]  

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