Appendix:Verbis Diabolo pronunciation

Verbis Diabolo Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Dialogue

The Verbis Diabolo language has 27 consonants, 6 short vowels, 6 long vowels and 2 glides.

Standard Romanization

Letter	IPA	Example	Notes
a	a	father.
aa	aː	father, but held slightly longer.
b	b	bother
ch	tʃ	each
d	d	dog
dh	ð	this
e	e	gate
ee	eː	gate, but held slightly longer.
f	f	fish
g	ɡ	good
gh	ɣ	Spanish fuego
h	h	hop
i	i	beet
ii	iː	beet, but held slightly longer.
j	dʒ	jam
k	k	skill
kh	x	Bach
l	l	left
m	m	man
n	n	no
ny	ɲ	Spanish señor
o	o	tote
oo	oː	tote, but held slightly longer.
p	p	span
q	q	No English equivalent	Like a k, but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula.
r	ɾ	Spanish pero
rr	r	Spanish perro
s	s	see
sh	ʃ	sheep
t	t	stop
th	θ	thin
u	u	futon
uu	uː	futon, but held slightly longer.
ü	y	German über	Like the i in machine, but with lips rounded.
üü	yː	German über	Like the i in machine, but held slightly longer with lips rounded.
v	v	voice
w	w	war
y	j	yes
z	z	zoo
zh	ʒ	azure
‘	ʕ/ʔ	No English equivalent	Between vowels, like the catch in one's throat in the middle of the word "uh-oh". Almost like gagging elsewhere.

Phonetics

Verbis Diabolo has a rather large consonant inventory contrasting 7 different places of articulation, as well as a length distinction in both its vowels and its consonants.

Consonants

		Labial	Coronal	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ny [ɲ]
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	ch [tʃ]	k	q		(' [ʔ])
	voiced	b	d	j [dʒ]	g
Fricative	voiceless	f	th [θ], s	sh [ʃ]	kh [x]			h
	voiced	v	dh [ð], z	zh [ʒ]	gh [ɣ]		' [ʕ]
Sonorant		w	l, r [ɾ], rr [r]	y [j]

Vowels

Verbis Diabolo has 6 phonetically distinct vowels qualities, all of them can be short or long:

	Front		Central	Back
	unrounded	rounded
Close	i, ii [iː]	ü [y], üü [yː]		u, uu [uː]
Mid	e, ee [eː]			o, oo [oː]
Open			a, aa [aː]

Stress

Stress is unpredictable in Verbis Diabolo, fitting the language's chaotic nature.