Oburax
Consonants
s | sʲ | ʃ | |
t̪ | tʲ | k | |
w- -b- |
d̪ | j- -dʲ- |
-g- |
mb | nd̪ | ndʲ | ŋg |
m | n̪ | nʲ | |
l | lʲ | r |
The somewhat backwards distribution of initial glides vs. medial voiced stops originates in that the voiced stops (except /d/) originate from medial voicing of voiceless stops; modern medial voiceless stops come from former consonant clusters of sibilant+stop.
/w-/ does not occur before difthongs ending in /w/.
Vowels
i | ɯ | u | ||
e | ø | |||
æ | ɑ | ɔ~ɒ |
Vowels are long in an initial syllable, except before a consonant cluster.
There are also the difthongs /ie iø iu eu au ou/. Before a consonant other than a velar or /ʃ/, /iu/ is realized as [y(ː)]. Distribution of the /iV/ difthongs and /ou/ is somewhat limited: they may only occur in monosyllables.
The Biru dialect has added a stop at the end of monosyllabic words ending in a high vowel, if no coda otherwise exists:
- /i/ → /idʲ/
- /ɯ/ → /ɯg/
- /u iu eu au ou/ → /ub ib eb ab ob/
Roots are either of the form (C)V(C) or (C)VC{ə, ɨ}C. In bisyllabic roots, the V2 arkiphonemes become /i e/ near palatals, and remain approximately [ɯ ə] otherwise; also, the coda must be either an obstruent or a liquid.