Upper Imstian Phonology

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This site describes the phonology of Upper Imstian tending to the local idiom of Imst (Iisch, adj. iischlorisch). As mentioned in the main article, there is no official orthography used for the language. Nevertheless here it is tried to establish one based partly on German.

Consonants

Consonants
Bilabial Labiod. Alveolar Post-alv. Palatal Velar Uvular
Nasal m n
Plosive p (b) t (d) k ġ (g) q (g, k)
Fricative f v (w) s ʃ (sch) χ (ch)
Affricate pf ʦ (tz) ʧ (tsch)
Approximants j
Trill r ʀ (rr)
Lateral Approximant l
  • [q] is an allophone of [k] and [ġ] and only appears in front of [ʀ]: krromo ['qʀɔmʌ] come (participle).
  • [ʀ] <rr> developed from Germanic *kw > Old Upper Imstian [χw] <chw>. It is not an allophone of original [r]: krroit ['qʀoɪt] had (participle) vs. krottzo ['krɔʦ:ʌ] to scratch.

Vowels

Vowels
Front Front Central Back-to-mid Back
Unround Rounded Unrounded Rounded Unround Rounded Unrounded Rounded
High i (i) u (u)
Near-close ɪ (i) ʊ (u)
Open-mid ɛ (e) ʌ (o) ɔ (o)
  • [ɪ] and [ʌ] are allophones of [i] and [ɔ] in unstressed syllables: progrom [prʌ'ġrɔm] program vs progromiero [prʌġrʌ'miɪ̯rʌ] to program
  • [ɛ] becomes [ɪ] if unstressed: telfo ['tɛlfʌ] phone vs. tilfoniero [tɪlfʌn'iɪrʌ] to phone

Diphthongs

Diphthongs only appear in stressed position.
uo [uɔ]: luo ['luɔ] wo watch
ou [ɔʊ]: lou ['lɔʊ] lamb
eu [ɛʊ]: leubi ['lɛʊḅɪ] lambs
ie [iɪ]: kostriero ['kʌ'ʃtriɪrʌ] to castrate