--- title: Lántas phonology backname: Lántas backlink: . lang: lántas ... # Vowels **TODO vowel diagrams** There are three basic vowels `/i a u/`, diphthongs `/ai au iə uə/`, and syllabic consonants `/m̩ n̩ r̩ l̩/`. Neither of these last two sets have a length distinction, and have the same duration as a long vowel. Note that `/u uː/` are substantially more central than `/i iː/`, and the initial place of `/uə/` is further back than pure `/uː/`. Long vowels, and syllabic consonants other than `{l}`, are spelt with a acute accent: `{í á ú ḿ ń ŕ}`. A syllabic `{l}`, because of its height, replaces the acute with a stroke: `{ł}`. The diphthongs are spelt `{ai au ia ua}`. ## Allophony **TODO other diagrams** * After a velar consonant, including `/ɫ w/`, the vowels `/a aː ai i iː iə u uː uə/` are backed and lowered to the forms labelled `[ɑ ɑː ɑe ɛ eː eə ɔ oː ɔə]`, respectively, in the figures above. * After `/j/`, `/i iː iə/` become `[e eː eə]`. * After `/tʃ dʒ ʃ j/`, `/u uː/` is fronted to `[y ʉː]`. * Before a syllabic consonant, a small schwa may be inserted if necessary to make pronunciation easier. This is most common between `/ln̩ nl̩/` and two copies of a single sound. For example, `{!kalń}` 'cat': `/kaln̩/` → `[kɐlᵊn]`. * `/r̩ l̩/` are pronounced as `[ɻː ɫ̩ː]`. * Syllabic `/n̩/` assimilates to `[ŋ̍]` before a velar consonant; no other assimilation for syllabic nasals occurs, though. (It does for *non*-syllabic nasals, though; see below.) * Unstressed short vowels are somewhat reduced, `/a/` more than the others. # Consonants Where unspecified, consonants are spelt the same way as in IPA. :::figure   Labial Dental Postalveolar Velar ------------ ------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------- Plosive `/p b/` `/t d/` `/tʃ dʒ/` `{č ǧ}` `/k ɡ/` Fricative `/f/` `/θ s/` `{ƶ, s}` `/ʃ/` `{š}` `/x/` `{h}` Nasal `/m/` `/n/` Flap `/ɾ/` `{r}` Approximant `/w/` `/l/` `/j/` ::: The phonemes `/p t tʃ k s ʃ m n ɾ l x/` can be geminated. For the purposes of syllable structure, geminated consonants are counted the same as two separate ones. Geminate versions of most consonants are spelt by doubling the letter: `{pp}`, `{tt}`, `{kk}`, etc. In places I have forgotten to update, `/θ/` might be written `{þ}` or `{ð}`. ## Allophony - Before `/i iː iə/`, `/ɾ/` becomes `[ʑ̞]`. - A nasal followed by a plosive assimilates to the same place of articulation (but for compound words this is not reflected in the spelling), for example `{!rabanpa}` `[ravampa]` 'what book?'. - The sequences `/tʃs/` is pronounced as `[tʃː]`, and `/ʃs sʃ ʃj sj/` are all `[ʃː]`. - Nasals before `/s x/` decay to a nasalisation of the previous vowel, or are dropped entirely if that vowel is a syllabic consonant. - Voiced plosives `/b d dʒ ɡ/` become fricatives `[v ð ʒ ɣ]` between proper vowels. The allophone `[v]` is pronounced `[β]` by some speakers. - The velar fricative `/x/` becomes `[h]` before `/r̩/`, and is palatalised to `[ç]` before `/i iː iə/`. - Long `/tʃː/` is pronounced as `[ṯːʃ]` (distinct from the `[tʃː]` coming from `/tʃs tʃʃ/`). Long `/ɾ l/` become `[ʐː ɫː]`. - Non-final `/l/` is velarized `[ɫ]` after a back vowel (including the allophones `[ɑ ɑː]`). After other vowels, it is palatalised. - Non-syllabic `/l/` is pronounced as `[ɬʲ]` at the end of words, even after a back vowel. After `/t/` it is `[ɬ]`. The phoneme `/ɾ/` is also devoiced `[ɾ̥]` word-finally. The sequence `/lθ/` is realised as `[ɬʲː]`. - In many dialects, the long obstruents `/pː tː tʃː kː sː ʃː/` are pronounced as ejectives `[pʼ tʼ tʃʼ kʼ sʼ ʃʼ]`, and the long sonorants `/mː nː lː/` as `[bᵐ dⁿ ɮˠː]`. # Syllable structure The allowed shape of a syllable is usually *CV*(*C*), where *V* is any vowel and *C* any consonant. Clusters take one of the following forms: - *KC*, where *K* can be any of `/m n l r θ s ʃ t/` _(coda consonants)_; - *FN*, where *F* can be `/f θ s ʃ x/` _(fricatives)_ and *N* can be `/m n/` _(nasals)_; - *P*`/s/`, where *P* can be `/p t tʃ k/` _(voiceless plosives)_; - `/pj bj lj rj/`; - geminate consonants. The exceptions to the normal pattern are that a vowel or syllabic consonant can also occur at the start of a word, or after another syllabic consonant (but not a proper vowel). At the end of a word, the consonants from *K* are allowed. A syllabic consonant cannot be next to the non-syllabic form of the same consonant---for example, the sequences `/ll̩/` and `/l̩l/` are not possible. # Stress Words are stressed on the first long vowel, if there is one. If there are no long vowels, _or_ the only one is in the final syllable of a multi-syllabic word, then the stress is on the first syllable. For the purposes of deciding stress placement, neither diphthongs nor syllabic consonants are counted as long.