Phonology of Dhram Guô
- Main Article: Dhram Guô
Dhram Guô is a nearly isolating language ('nearly' because there is some minimal morphology). Most words are either monosyllabic or (usually, but not always, transparent) compounds of two (or sometimes more) syllables that in most cases are themselves monosyllabic words. Aside from a small set of particles (function words) that have a syllabic consonant as a nucleus, all syllables fit in the following phonotactical pattern (affixes in italics):
(P) - (I) - (M) - VT - (N) - (F) - (S)
P : (optional) prefix (or circumfix with S)
I : (optional) initial
M : (optional) medial
V : vowel
T : tone
N : (optional) infix
F : (optional) final
S : (optional) suffix (or circumfix with P)
phoneme inventory
vowels and diphthongs
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Note (*): /ø/ occurs in the diphthong /øi̯/ as a result of the J infix.
/y/ is usually written as ü, but y is used in some older spellings. /ǝ/ is written as ǝ (capital Ǝ) in modern orthography, and has alternative spellings ë and eo. The other vowels are written with the standard latin vowel letters. The diphthongs are written as au and ei.
The letters a, e, and o are pronounced as /a/, /e/, and /o/ if not followed by a final, otherwise as /ɑ/, /ɛ/, and /ɔ/.
tone
There are 3 (or 4) tones in two variants: unstressed and stressed. Stress has both syntactic and pragmatic functions and is only marked in writing if necessary (usually by means of a prefixed exclamation mark). The first (low) tone is normally unmarked, but can be marked with a grave if necessary. Second (high) and third (creaky) tone are marked with an acute and circumflex respectively. The fourth (neutral) tone, which is usually not counted as a (real) tone, is used only for a small set of words with the vowel /ǝ/ and for the even smaller set of particles with syllabic consonants (as 'vowels') and is unmarked.
unstressed (falling) | stressed (rising) | ||
1: low | a o u e ü i | ˧˩ (31): low-falling | ˧˨˦ (324): low-rising |
2: high | á ó ú é ű í | ˥˦ (54): high-falling/level | ˧˥ (35): high-rising |
3: creaky | â ô û ê ǔ î | ˧ (3): creaky-level | ˧˥ (35): creaky-rising |
neutral | ǝ ng rh | ˧˩ (31): low-falling | ˧˥ (35): high-rising |
In case no diacritics can be used, second (high) tone is marked with the letter W following the vowel or diphthong, and third (creaky) tone with the letter R.
consonants
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syllabic consonants and non-syllabic vowels
Syllabic consonants /ɻ̩/ and /ŋ̩/ occur as 'vowels' in a specific (and very small) subclass of words.
Non-syllabic vowels /i̯/ and /u̯/ occur as medials.
phonotactics and writing
There are 26 different initials, 3 medials, 13 nuclei (vowel plus tone), and 6 finals. Including zero initials, zero medials, and zero finals, and excluding impossible combinations, there are 7008 possible word roots. This number, however, excludes the aforementioned small number of function words with a syllabic consonant as nucleus.
initials
In alphabetic order, the 26 possible initials (with pronunciation if non-obvious) are:
- b
- c : /t͡s/
- ch : /ʈ͡ʂ/
- d
- dh : usually /θ/, sometimes /ð/; always /ð/ before medial r
- ɖ (capital: Ɖ, alternative spelling: dj) : /ɟ/ (this letter should not be confused with the Vietnamese Đ/đ (same capital, different lower case), pronounced /ʔd/)
- g
- h : /h/ unless preceded by a prefix or followed by an initial, then /ç/ (or /x/ before the medial r)
- k
- kh : /kʰ/ or /k͡x/
- l : /l/ or /ɺ /
- m
- n
- ŋ (alternative spelling: ng)
- p
- ph : /pʰ /
- q (alternative spelling: tj) : /c/
- qh : /ʈʰ/ or /tʰ/ or /ʈ/
- s
- sh : /ʂ/
- t
- th : /t̪ʰ/ or /t̪/
- x : /z/
- xh : /ʐ/
- z : /d͡z/
- zh : /ɖ͡ʐ/
All digraphs have the letter h in second position, but the effect of that addition differs. In case of c, z, s, and x it shifts those from alveolar to retroflex; in case of voiceless plosives it marks aspiration, but in most cases also slightly changes the place of articulation (in a rather irregular fashion); and in case of dh it represents a completely unrelated (to d) consonant.
medials
The three medials are:
- i : /i̯/ . Possible after all initials; becomes j (/j/) in case of zero initial and/or before i.
- u : /u̯/ . Possible after all initials; becomes w (/ɰʷ/) in case of zero initial and /or before u (in the latter case is is more often pronounced as a labialization of the preceding consonant).
- r : /ɹ/ or /ɾ/ . Possible after all non-digraph initials except l, q, ɖ and ŋ; and possible after dh (as in Dhram).
nuclei (vowel plus tone)
There are 13 possible nuclei (vowel/tone combinations) in word roots (hence, prior to any morphological effect):
- a
- á
- â
- au
- áu
- âu
- ǝ (capital Ǝ, alternative spellings: ë or eo)
- o
- ó
- ô
- u
- ú
- û
(See #vowels and diphthongs for pronunciation.)
finals
Except for the diphthong au, all vowels can be followed by one of six finals:
- m
- n
- ŋ (alternative spelling: ng)
- p
- t
- k
particles with syllabic consonant roots
Particles (function words) with syllabic consonant roots (either /ɻ̩/ or /ŋ̩/) consist of that root plus an optional initial or final. These are the same initials and finals as above. /ɻ̩/ is written rh (but in some alternative spellings as r or rr); /ŋ̩/ as ŋ. The most common of these particles, dhrh (/ðɻ̩/) is nearly always abbreviated to just d.