Inng
| Inng Inng-lan | |
|---|---|
| Pronounced: | [iŋː˩län˩] |
| Species: | Human |
| Writing system: | None. Romanization for conlanging purposes. |
| Credits | |
| Creator: | Qwynegold |
| Created: | 21/02/2013 |
Phonology
Inng has only 16 phonemic consonants, and four vowels. But allophones there are a lot more of because of Inng's extensive allophony.
Phoneme and allophone inventories
Both phonemes and allophones are represented in the following tables. Generally the phonemes are represented with a letter that is also used for one of its allophones. The only exception is /r/ which is not realized as [r] but as retroflexion or other changes of the previous vowel.
Consonant inventory
All of the phonemes except for /r/ have as an allophone the same sound as what the phoneme is transcribed with. So for example /p/ has the allophone [p]. /r/ however is never realized as [r].
| Consonants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Labiod. | Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveolo-palatal | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plain | Pal. | Plain | Pal. | Central | Lateral | Plain | Lab. | Plain | Lab. | Plain | Lab. | Pal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plain | Lab. | Plain | Lab. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nasal | /m/ [mː] | [mʲ] | /n/ [nː] | [nʷ] | [ɳ] | [n̠ʲ] | [n̠ᶣ] | /ŋ/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syllabic nasal | [m̩] [m̩ː] | [n̩] [n̩ː] | [ɳ̍ː] | [ŋ̍] [ŋ̍ː] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plosive | /p/ [pʰ] | /b/ | [pʰʲ] | [bʲ] | /t/ [tʰ] | /d/ | [tʰʷ] | [dʷ] | [ṯʰʲ] | [ḏʲ] | [t̠ʰᶣ] | [d̠ᶣ] | /k/ [kʰ] | /ɡ/ | [kʰʲ] | [ɡʲ] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Affricate | /t͡s/ [t͡sʰ] | /d͜z/ | [t͡sʰʷ] | [d͜zʷ] | [t͜ɬʰ] | [d͡ɮ] | [t͡ɕʰ] | [d͜ʑ] | [t͡ɕʰᶣ] | [d͜ʑᶣ] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syllabic affricate | [t͡ɬ̩ʰ] [t͡ɬ̩ːʰ] | [d͜ɮ̍] [d͜ɮ̍ː] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | [ɸ] | [ɸʲ] | /f/ | [fʲ] | /s/ | [sʷ] | [ɕ] | [ɕᶣ] | [ç] | [çᶣ] | [x] | /h/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Approximant | /l/ [lː] | [lʷ] | [ɭ] | [l̠ʲ] | [l̠ᶣ] | [j] | [ɥ] | [ɫ] | [ʍ] | [w] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syllabic approximant | [l̩] [l̩ː] | [ɭ̍ː] | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rhotic | /r/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The "syllabic affricates" are affricates with a syllabic release. From now on, all the affricates will be transcribed without the tiebar, as there is no ambiguity: Any plosive followed by any fricative in the same word stands for an affricate.
Vowel inventory
Just as with the consonant table above, all of the vowels have the same sound as an allophone as what the phoneme is transcribed with.
| Vowels | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
| Close | /i/ [iː] | [ʉː] | /u/ [uː] | |||
| Close-mid | [e] [eː] | [o] [oː] [o˞ː] | ||||
| Mid | /ə/ [əː] [ɚː] | |||||
| Open-mid | [ɛ] [ɛː] | [ɝː] | [ɔ] [ɔː] | |||
| Near-open | [ɐ˞ː] | |||||
| Open | /a/ [aː] | [ä] [äː] | [ɑ] [ɑː] | [ɒ] [ɒː] | ||
Tone inventory
Inng has a pitch accent system, where open syllables may have high or low pitch (which may be realized as [˥] respectively [˩]), or be unaccented. Closed syllables are all unaccented.
| Tones | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /˥/ | [˩˥] | [˩˩˥] | [˥˩˥] | [˥˩] | [˥˩˩] | /˩/ |
Syllable structure
The syllable structure for Inng is (O)N(N)(C), where O can be any consonant except for /ŋ, r/, N can be any vowel or /ŋ, l/, and C can be /m, n, ŋ, p, t, k, ts, l, r/. All words are monosyllabic, except of course for compound words, which are frequent.
Since /ŋ, l/ can be both consonants and vowels, it is important to distinguish between nucleuses and onsets/codas. Phonemes in nucleus may have non-syllabic realizations, so there are words that on the phonemic level are different with regard to syllable structure, but which are realized the same way. However, pitch may distinguish these words, as the tones are dependent on the surrounding consonants.
It is also important to distinguish between words that have a single nucleus (N) and words that have a double nucleus (NN). Single and double nucleuses may both be realized as a long vowel, but with pitch distinguishing them from each other.
Allophony
Nucleuses
Vowels and syllabic nasals are realized as long when in an open syllable (word-final). /ə, əə, a, aa/ become [o, oː, ɑ, ɑː] when followed by a velar (effectively one of [ŋ, k, w]). [w] also adds rounding to /a, aa/, see the table below.
| /i/ [i] | /u/ [u] | /ə/ [ə] | /a/ [ä] | /l/ [l̩] | /ŋ/ [ŋ̍] |
| /ii/ [iː] | /ui/ [ɥi] | /əi/ [ej] | /ai/ [aj] | /li/ [l̠ʲi] | /ŋi/ [n̠ʲi] |
| /iu/ [ju] | /uu/ [uː] | /əu/ [ow] | /au/ [ɒw] | /lu/ [lʷu] | /ŋu/ [nʷu] |
| /iə/ [je] | /uə/ [wo] | /əə/ [əː] | /aə/ [ɛ] | /lə/ [lə] | /ŋə/ [nə] |
| /ia/ [ja] | /ua/ [wɒ] | /əa/ [ɔ] | /aa/ [äː] | /la/ [lä] | /ŋa/ [nä] |
| /il/ [il] | /ul/ [ul] | /əl/ [əl] | /al/ [äl] | /ll/ [l̩ː] | /ŋl/ [n̩l] |
| /iŋ/ [iŋ] | /uŋ/ [uŋ] | /əŋ/ [oŋ] | /aŋ/ [ɑŋ] | /lŋ/ [l̩m] | /ŋŋ/ [ŋ̍ː] |
When both the nucleus consists of two consonants, one will be syllabic and the other non-syllabic. Which one is which depends on the surrounding consonants. This table shows their realization in words with neither onset or coda. Also note that all word-final vowels and syllabic consonants are long.
Rimes
| /ir/ [ʉː] | /ur/ [o˞ː] | /ər/ [ɚː] | /ar/ [ɐ˞ː] | /lr/ [ɭ̍ː] | /ŋr/ [ɳ̍ː] |
| /iir/ [ʉː] | /uir/ [ɥʉː] | /əir/ [ʉː] | /air/ [ɚː] | /lir/ [lʉː] | /ŋir/ [nʉː] |
| /iur/ [jo˞ː] | /uur/ [o˞ː] | /əur/ [o˞ː] | /aur/ [ɚː] | /lur/ [lo˞ː] | /ŋur/ [no˞ː] |
| /iər/ [jɚː] | /uər/ [wɚː] | /əər/ [ɚː] | /aər/ [ɝː] | /lər/ [lɚː] | /ŋər/ [nɚː] |
| /iar/ [jɐ˞ː] | /uar/ [wɐ˞ː] | /əar/ [ɝː] | /aar/ [ɐ˞ː] | /lar/ [lɐ˞ː] | /ŋar/ [nɐ˞ː] |
| /ilr/ [iɭ] | /ulr/ [uɭ] | /əlr/ [əɭ] | /alr/ [äɭ] | /llr/ [ɭ̍ː] | /ŋlr/ [n̩ɭ] |
| /iŋr/ [iɳ] | /uŋr/ [uɳ] | /əŋr/ [əɳ] | /aŋr/ [äɳ] | /lŋr/ [l̩ɳ] | /ŋŋr/ [ɳ̍ː] |
/ir, iir, əir/, /ur, uur, əur/, /ər, əər, air, aur/, /əar, aər/, /ar, aar/, /lr, llr/, respectively /ŋr, ŋŋr/ are in complementary distribution. All of these form unaccented syllables.
| /∅/ | /m/ | /n/ | /ŋ/ | /p/ | /t/ | /k/ | /ts/ | /l/ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /∅l/ | [l̩ː] | [l̩m] | [l̩n] | [l̩ŋ] | [l̩p] | [l̩t] | [l̩k] | [l̩ts] | [l̩ː] |
| /ml/ | [ml̩ː] | ||||||||
| /nl/ | [nl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /pl/ | [pʰl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /bl/ | [bl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /tl/ | [tɬ̩ʰː] | ||||||||
| /dl/ | [dɮ̍ː] | ||||||||
| /kl/ | [kʰl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /ɡl/ | [ɡl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /tsl/ | [tsl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /dzl/ | [dzl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /fl/ | [fl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /sl/ | [sl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /hl/ | [xl̩ː] | ||||||||
| /ll/ | [l̩ː] | ||||||||
| /∅lŋ/ | |||||||||
| /mlŋ/ | [] | ||||||||
| /nlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /plŋ/ | |||||||||
| /blŋ/ | |||||||||
| /tlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /dlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /klŋ/ | |||||||||
| /ɡlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /tslŋ/ | |||||||||
| /dzlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /flŋ/ | |||||||||
| /slŋ/ | |||||||||
| /hlŋ/ | |||||||||
| /llŋ/ | |||||||||
| /∅ŋ/ | [ŋ̍ː] | [ŋ̍m] | [m̩n] | [ŋ̍ː] | [m̩p] | [n̩t] | [[ŋ̍k] | [n̩ts] | [n̩l] |
| /mŋ/ | [mn̩ː] | ||||||||
| /nŋ/ | [ŋ̩ː] | ||||||||
| /pŋ/ | [pʰn̩ː] | ||||||||
| /bŋ/ | [bn̩ː] | ||||||||
| /tŋ/ | [tʰm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /dŋ/ | [dm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /kŋ/ | [kʰm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /ɡŋ/ | [ɡm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /tsŋ/ | [tsʰm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /dzŋ/ | [dzm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /fŋ/ | [fn̩ː] | ||||||||
| /sŋ/ | [sm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /hŋ/ | [xm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /lŋ/ | [lm̩ː] | ||||||||
| /∅ŋl/ | |||||||||
| /mŋl/ | [] | ||||||||
| /nŋl/ | |||||||||
| /pŋl/ | |||||||||
| /bŋl/ | |||||||||
| /tŋl/ | |||||||||
| /dŋl/ | |||||||||
| /kŋl/ | |||||||||
| /ɡŋl/ | |||||||||
| /tsŋl/ | |||||||||
| /dzŋl/ | |||||||||
| /fŋl/ | |||||||||
| /sŋl/ | |||||||||
| /hŋl/ | |||||||||
| /lŋl/ |
Consonants
| Consonant | +[i] | +[j] | +[u] | +[w] | +[ɥ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /m/ | [mʲi] | [mj] | [mu] | [mw] | [mɥ] |
| /n/ | [n̠ʲi] | [n̠ʲ] | [nʷu] | [nʷ] | [n̠ᶣ] |
| /p/ | [pʲʰi] | [pʰj] | [pʰu] | [pʰw] | [pʰɥ] |
| /b/ | [bʲi] | [bj] | [bu] | [bw] | [bɥ] |
| /t/ | [t̠ʲʰi] | [t̠ʲʰ] | [tʷʰu] | [tʷʰ] | [t̠ᶣʰ] |
| /d/ | [d̠ʲi] | [d̠ʲ] | [dʷu] | [dʷ] | [d̠ᶣ] |
| /k/ | [kʲʰi] | [kj] | [kʰu] | [kʰw] | [kʰɥ] |
| /ɡ/ | [ɡʲi] | [ɡj] | [ɡu] | [ɡw] | [ɡɥ] |
| /ts/ | [tɕʰi] | [tɕʰ] | [tsʷʰu] | [tsʷʰ] | [tɕᶣʰ] |
| /dz/ | [dʑi] | [dʑ] | [dzʷu] | [dzʷ] | [dʑᶣ] |
| /f/ | [fʲi] | [fj] | [fu] | [ɸ] | [ɸɥ] |
| /s/ | [ɕi] | [ɕ] | [sʷu] | [sʷ] | [ɕᶣ] |
| /h/ | [çi] | [ç] | [ʍu] | [ʍ] | [çᶣ] |
| /l/ | [l̠ʲi] | [l̠ʲ] | [lʷu] | [lʷ] | [l̠ᶣ] |
The above table shows the realizations of consonants followed by [i, j, u, w, ɥ]. [j] is the realization of /i/ before another vowel, [w] is the realization of /u/ before a vowel other than /i/, and [ɥ] is the realization of /u/ before [i]. So for example the words /fing, fia˥, ful, fue˩, fui/ (fetch, feast, fort, foil (V.), foe) are pronunced [fʲiŋ˥˩, fjaː˥˩˥, ful˥˩, ɸoː˥˩˩, ɸɥiː˥˩˩].
There are some patterns to the realization of the consonants. Labials and velars become palatalized before [i] but form a cluster with [j], while alveolars become alveolo-palatal before [i, j], deleting the [j]. Labials and velars are not affected by [u, w, ɥ], with the exception of /f/ which become a bilabial when clustering with [w, ɥ]. Alveolars become labialized before [u, w], deleting the [w]. When followed by [ɥ] they become rounded alveolopalatals, deleting the [ɥ]. /h/ simply changes its point of articulation before all of these phones.
