Appendix:Kinuk'aaz pronunciation: Difference between revisions

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This appendix provides an overview of the phonology, phonotactics and romanization of the [[Kinuk'aaz language|Kinuk’aaz language]] spoken by the Omec. The language has undergone changes to its original form, with adjustments made to the phonetic inventory to make it more distinctive from the other Votan languages. The Kinuk'aaz language has 19 consonants, 16 vowels, and no glides.  
{{LangBar|Kinuk'aaz|Defiance|Zaduusel}}
 
This appendix provides an overview of the phonology, phonotactics and romanization of the [[Kinuk'aaz language|Kinuk’aaz language]] spoken by the Omec. The Kinuk'aaz language has 21 consonants, 7 short vowels, 4 long vowels, and no glides.  


==Standard Romanization==
==Standard Romanization==
Line 11: Line 13:
| '''’'''
| '''’'''
| ʔ
| ʔ
| —
| The sound in the middle of "uh-oh"
| The sound in the middle of "uh-oh".
| Not romanized word-initially, where it does not contrast with a null onset
|-
|-
| '''a'''
| '''a'''
| a
| a
| f'''a'''ther
| f'''a'''ther
|
|-
| '''aa'''
| aː
| like '''a''', but longer
|
|-
| '''ai'''
| ai
| t'''i'''me
|
|
|-
|-
Line 35: Line 47:
|-
|-
| '''e'''
| '''e'''
| e
| ɛ
| b'''ai'''t
| g'''e'''t
|
|
|-
|-
| '''g'''
| '''g'''
| ɡ
| g
| '''g'''ood
| '''g'''ood
|
|
Line 52: Line 64:
| i, ɨ
| i, ɨ
| mach'''i'''ne, chick'''e'''n
| mach'''i'''ne, chick'''e'''n
| [ɨ] is an allophone of /i/
|-
| '''ia'''
| ia
| '''ya'''rn
|
|-
| '''ii'''
| iː
| like '''i''', but longer
|
|
|-
|-
Line 59: Line 81:
|
|
|-
|-
| '''k’'''
| '''k''''
| k’
| k’
| —
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making '''k'''
|-
|-
| '''l'''
| '''l'''
Line 77: Line 99:
| n
| n
| '''n'''o
| '''n'''o
| Assimilates to a following velar or uvular consonant.
| Assimilates to a following velar or uvular consonant
|-
|-
| '''o'''
| '''o'''
Line 83: Line 105:
| m'''oa'''t
| m'''oa'''t
|
|
|-
| '''oü'''
| oy
| —
| Roughly like b'''oy''', but fully pronounced with rounded lips
|-
|-
| '''ö'''
| '''ö'''
| ø
| œ
| —
| —
| Like the '''ai''' in b'''ai'''t pronounced with rounded lips.
| Like '''e''', but pronounced with rounded lips
|-
| '''öü'''
| œy
| —
| Roughly like b'''ay''', but pronounced with rounded lips
|-
|-
| '''p'''
| '''p'''
Line 94: Line 126:
|
|
|-
|-
| '''q'''
| '''q''''
| q
| —
| Like a '''k''', but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula.
|-
| '''q’'''
| q’
| q’
| —
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making a sound similar to '''k''', but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula
|-
|-
| '''r'''
| '''r'''
| ʀ
| ʀ
| —
| —
| Pronounced roughly like the '''r''' in French '''rouge'''.
| Roughly like the '''r''' in French '''rouge'''
|-
|-
| '''s'''
| '''s'''
Line 119: Line 146:
|  
|  
|-
|-
| '''t’'''
| '''t''''
| t’
| t’
| —
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making '''t'''
|-
|-
| '''ts'''
| '''ts'''
Line 129: Line 156:
|  
|  
|-
|-
| '''ts’'''
| '''ts''''
| ts’
| ts’
| —
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making '''ts'''
|-
|-
| '''u'''
| '''u'''
| u
| u
| r'''u'''de
| r'''u'''de
|
|-
| '''uu'''
| uː
| like '''u''', but longer
|
|
|-
|-
Line 142: Line 174:
| y
| y
| —
| —
| Like the '''i''' in mach'''i'''ne pronounced with rounded lips.
| Like '''i''', but pronounced with rounded lips
|-
| '''üü'''
| yː
| —
| Like '''ü''', but longer
|-
|-
| '''v'''
| '''v'''
Line 157: Line 194:
==Phonetics==
==Phonetics==


===Consonants===
=== Consonants ===
The consonant inventory includes plain stops/affricates, glottal stops/affricates, fricatives, approximants, and nasals.
Unlike the other known Votan languages, Kinuk'aaz lacks palatal consonants. It is also the only Votan language known to have ejective consonants, and the only one that made it to the screen (the other being the unused [[Yanga Kayang language | Yanga Kayang]]) known to have uvular consonants.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" |
! Labial
! Coronal
! Velar
! Uvular
! Glottal
|-
! colspan="2" | Nasal
| m || colspan="3" |  n [n~ŋ~ɴ] ||
|-
! rowspan="3" | Plosive
! <small>voiceless</small>
| p || t || k || || ' [ʔ]
|-
! <small>ejective</small>
| || t' [t’] || k' [k’] || q' [q’] ||
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| b || d || g || colspan="2" |
|-
! rowspan="3" | Affricate
! <small>voiceless</small>
| rowspan="3" | || ts || rowspan="3" colspan="3" |
|-
! <small>ejective</small>
| ts' [ts’]
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| dz
|-
! rowspan="2" | Fricative
! <small>voiceless</small>
|  || s || rowspan="2" colspan="2" | || h
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| v || z
|-
! colspan="2" | Liquid
|  || l || || r [ʀ]
|}


: Plain Stops/Affricates: p/b, t/d, ts/dz, k/g
=== Vowels ===
: Glottal Stops/Affricates: t’, ts’, k’, q’, ʔ
Kinuk'aaz is the only Votan language known to have rounded front vowels and a vowel length distinction. Mid vowels lack long counterparts. Vowels are allophonically devoiced between ejectives and voiceless sounds.
: Fricatives: v, s/z, h
: Approximants: l, ʀ
: Nasals: m, n, ŋ*, ɴ*


Note that the above sounds are represented using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and the romanization used with actors is mostly identical. [ʀ] is written as ''r'', [ʔ] is represented by an apostrophe (’), and [ŋ] and [ɴ] are both written as ''n'' since they are predictable allophones of [n]. The limited phonemic inventory was deliberately chosen to differentiate Kinuk’aaz from other Votan languages, notably lacking any palatal sounds.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | Front
! rowspan="2" | Central
! rowspan="2" | Back
|-
! <small>unrounded</small>
! <small>rounded</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" | Close
! <small>short</small>
| i [i~ɨ]
| ü [y]
| rowspan="3"|
| u
|-
! <small>long</small>
| ii [iː]
| üü [yː]
| uu [uː]
|-
! colspan="2" | Mid
| e [ɛ]
| ö [œ]
| o
|-
! rowspan="2" | Open
! <small>short</small>
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
| a
| rowspan="2"|
|-
! <small>long</small>
| aa [aː]
|}


The most distinctive sounds in Kinuk’aaz are the ejectives and the trilled uvular ''r''. The ''q’'' sound is the rarest due to its difficulty for English speakers. Ejectives are voiceless obstruents pronounced while holding one's breath, giving them a distinct quality.
==Stress==
The last syllable of a root is generally stressed, which means that main stress often falls on a word's last syllable, although suffixation may result in stress falling elsewhere, especially in verbs, which rarely occur without a suffix. Some derivational suffixes are stressed whereas others never are.


===Vowels===
==Phonotactics==
The vowel inventory consists of high, mid, and low vowels, as well as diphthongs.
Kinuk'aaz's syllables may start but never end with consonant clusters, and may not end with voiced or ejective stops or affricates. Words starting with vowels underlyingly start with glottal stops, and glottal stops are also often added to break hiatuses, although the sequence /y.o/ ('''üo''') is permitted.


: High: i/iː, y/yː, ɨ, u/uː
Syllable-initial clusters consist of less sonorous consonants followed by more sonorous ones, with the exception of sibilants, which may be followed by less sonorous consonants. All clusters beginning with a nasal must be homorganic, and all obstruents in a cluster must agree in voicing, but /v/ behaves as a glide rather than a fricative and may form clusters with either voiced or voiceless consonants. Geminates commonly occur.
: Mid: e, ø, o
: Low: a/aː
: Diphthongs: ia, ai, øy, oy


Long vowels are indicated by doubling the vowel symbol, and most vowels are represented by their corresponding IPA symbol in the romanization. However, [y] is written as ''ü'', [ø] is written as ''ö'', and [ɨ] is considered a predictable variant of ''i''. The presence of front-rounded vowels and long vowels distinguishes Kinuk’aaz from other Votan languages.
==Mutations==
Kinuk'aaz's consonants undergo 2 kinds of mutation, mainly due to prefixation and compounding:
* '''m''', '''n''', '''t'''', '''ts'''', '''k'''' and '''dz''' do not mutate.
* V-mutation causes all non-glottal voiceless stops, affricates and fricatives to voice, turns '''q'''' into '''’''', '''g''' into '''h''' and, sometimes, '''b''' into '''v''' and '''d''' into '''z''' depending on etymology, as the former implosives '''*b'''' and '''*d'''' did not mutate.
* N-mutation deletes all glottals, causes all non-glottal voiceless stops and affricates to voice, turns all sibilants into '''dz''', '''v''' into '''b''', '''l''' into '''n''' and '''r''' into '''g'''.


==Phonotactics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
Here are some key points about Kinuk’aaz phonotactics:
|-
!
! V-mutation
! N-mutation
|-
! p
| colspan="2" | b
|-
! t
| colspan="2" | d
|-
! k
| colspan="2" | g
|-
! '
| no change
| deleted
|-
! q'
| '
| rowspan="4" | no change
|-
! b (only *b)
| v
|-
! d (only *d)
| z
|-
! g
| h
|-
! ts
| colspan="2" | dz
|-
! s
| z
| dz
|-
! h
| no change
| deleted
|-
! v
| rowspan="4" | no change
| b
|-
! z
| dz
|-
! l
| n
|-
! r
| g
|}


* Generally, the last syllable of a root is stressed, although verbs often exhibit penultimate or antepenultimate stress due to suffixation. Nouns usually have word-final stress, since they take fewer suffixes in general.
[[Category:Kinuk'aaz language|Pronunciation]]
* Voiced obstruents become voiceless word-finally and the preceding vowel is lengthened.
[[Category:Pronunciation by language]]
* Ejective stops and affricates become pulmonic (i.e. plain voiceless) word-finally.
** For instance, the word for "language" is ''nuk’aaz'', derived from the word for "tongue" (''nuk'') with an augmentative suffix.
* The old vowel ''*u'' regularly changes to ''v''.
* Obstruents undergo progressive voicing assimilation, resulting in word-internal clusters such as ''*sd'' becoming ''zd''.
* Syllables can begin with a consonant followed by an approximant or ''v'' at most. Syllables can only end with a single consonant, with ''ts'', ''ts’'', and ''dz'' considered as single consonants.
* High vowels lower to mid vowels after ''q’'' and the old implosive consonants ''*b’'' and ''*d’''.
* Some notable vowel changes:
** ''*ai'' > ''e''
** ''*ae'' > ''ai''
** ''*ee'' > ''ii''
** ''*uu'' > ''üü''
** ''*oo'' > ''uu''
** *ou > uu (except at the end of a word, where it becomes ''ov'')
* Consonants in Kinuk’aaz can occur as geminates (doubled consonants), and they undergo two types of mutation: N-mutation and V-mutation. Further details about these mutations will be discussed in the context of morphology, where their implications become clearer.

Latest revision as of 15:58, 31 December 2024

Kinuk'aaz Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Orthography, Dialogue

This appendix provides an overview of the phonology, phonotactics and romanization of the Kinuk’aaz language spoken by the Omec. The Kinuk'aaz language has 21 consonants, 7 short vowels, 4 long vowels, and no glides.

Standard Romanization

Letter IPA English example Notes
’ ʔ The sound in the middle of "uh-oh" Not romanized word-initially, where it does not contrast with a null onset
a a father
aa aː like a, but longer
ai ai time
b b bother
d d dog
dz dz adze
e ɛ get
g g good
h h ham
i i, ɨ machine, chicken [ɨ] is an allophone of /i/
ia ia yarn
ii iː like i, but longer
k k skill
k' k’ — Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making k
l l left
m m man
n n no Assimilates to a following velar or uvular consonant
o o moat
oü oy — Roughly like boy, but fully pronounced with rounded lips
ö œ — Like e, but pronounced with rounded lips
öü œy — Roughly like bay, but pronounced with rounded lips
p p span
q' q’ — Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making a sound similar to k, but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula
r ʀ — Roughly like the r in French rouge
s s see
t t stop
t' t’ — Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making t
ts ts pits
ts' ts’ — Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making ts
u u rude
uu uː like u, but longer
ü y — Like i, but pronounced with rounded lips
üü yː — Like ü, but longer
v v voice
z z zoo

Phonetics

Consonants

Unlike the other known Votan languages, Kinuk'aaz lacks palatal consonants. It is also the only Votan language known to have ejective consonants, and the only one that made it to the screen (the other being the unused Yanga Kayang) known to have uvular consonants.

Labial Coronal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n [n~ŋ~ɴ]
Plosive voiceless p t k ' [ʔ]
ejective t' [t’] k' [k’] q' [q’]
voiced b d g
Affricate voiceless ts
ejective ts' [ts’]
voiced dz
Fricative voiceless s h
voiced v z
Liquid l r [ʀ]

Vowels

Kinuk'aaz is the only Votan language known to have rounded front vowels and a vowel length distinction. Mid vowels lack long counterparts. Vowels are allophonically devoiced between ejectives and voiceless sounds.

Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
Close short i [i~ɨ] ü [y] u
long ii [iː] üü [yː] uu [uː]
Mid e [ɛ] ö [œ] o
Open short a
long aa [aː]

Stress

The last syllable of a root is generally stressed, which means that main stress often falls on a word's last syllable, although suffixation may result in stress falling elsewhere, especially in verbs, which rarely occur without a suffix. Some derivational suffixes are stressed whereas others never are.

Phonotactics

Kinuk'aaz's syllables may start but never end with consonant clusters, and may not end with voiced or ejective stops or affricates. Words starting with vowels underlyingly start with glottal stops, and glottal stops are also often added to break hiatuses, although the sequence /y.o/ (üo) is permitted.

Syllable-initial clusters consist of less sonorous consonants followed by more sonorous ones, with the exception of sibilants, which may be followed by less sonorous consonants. All clusters beginning with a nasal must be homorganic, and all obstruents in a cluster must agree in voicing, but /v/ behaves as a glide rather than a fricative and may form clusters with either voiced or voiceless consonants. Geminates commonly occur.

Mutations

Kinuk'aaz's consonants undergo 2 kinds of mutation, mainly due to prefixation and compounding:

  • m, n, t', ts', k' and dz do not mutate.
  • V-mutation causes all non-glottal voiceless stops, affricates and fricatives to voice, turns q' into ’, g into h and, sometimes, b into v and d into z depending on etymology, as the former implosives *b' and *d' did not mutate.
  • N-mutation deletes all glottals, causes all non-glottal voiceless stops and affricates to voice, turns all sibilants into dz, v into b, l into n and r into g.
V-mutation N-mutation
p b
t d
k g
' no change deleted
q' ' no change
b (only *b) v
d (only *d) z
g h
ts dz
s z dz
h no change deleted
v no change b
z dz
l n
r g
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