Appendix:Övüsi pronunciation
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The Övüsi language has 19 consonants, 14 vowels and no glides.
Standard Romanization
| Letter | IPA | English example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | ɑ | father | |
| b | b | bad | |
| ch | tʃ | each | |
| d | d | dog | |
| e | e | bait | |
| ë | ɤ | cut | |
| f | f | food | |
| g | g | goat | |
| h | h | ham | |
| i | i | machine | |
| ï | ɯ | good | Pronounced like the oo in Southern Californian English good. Like an ordinary oo, as in "mood", but with the lips completely unrounded. |
| j | dʒ | jam | |
| k | k | skill | |
| l | l | left | |
| m | m | man | |
| n | n | no | Assimilates to a following velar consonant. |
| ng | ŋ | sing | |
| o | o | tote | |
| ö | ø | — | Like e pronounced with rounded lips, like German ö in Köln. |
| p | p | span | |
| r | ɾ~r | battle | Like Spanish r in pero. When doubled, like Spanish rr in perro. |
| s | s | see | |
| sh | ʃ | sheep | |
| t | t | stop | |
| th | θ | thin | |
| u | u | rude | |
| ü | y | — | Like i pronounced with rounded lips, like German ü in für. |
| v | v | voice |
Notes:
- Long Vowels: Long vowels are held for twice as long as ordinary vowels. Consider the "a" vowel in English "bat" and in English "bad". Notice how the "a" vowel in "bad" is considerably longer than the "a" vowel in "bat"? The same can be true of any vowel in Övüsi. Such vowels are written doubled (e.g. a is a short vowel and aa is a long vowel).
- Diphthongs: Aside from the two diphthongs ai and au, whenever a vowel occurs next to another vowel, both are pronounced fully. Some common vowel combinations you'll see in Övüsi are uo, ie, ou, and ei. In each instance, both vowels are pronounced (so u then o for uo). Neither vowel sound should be lost.
- Double Consonants: Doubled consonants, or geminates, occur frequently in Övüsi. To pronounce a doubled consonant, simply pronounce it twice. You might think of it as lingering over the consonant. Think of the "s" sound you pronounce in "Miss Sally". It's a longer "s" than if you pronounce the similar phrase "Miss Ally". The same goes for the doubled consonants of Övüsi. One important note about the romanization: If a digraph (e.g. sh, th, etc.) is doubled, only the first letter will be doubled (hence, nng not ngng). The consonant is pronounced like a doubled consonant, though, as actual combinations such as t followed by th are impossible.