Phonology and Phonotactics
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 31 Mar 2024, 13:39.
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1. Determiners
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2. Noun Declension
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5. Roots and Stems
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6. Verb Conjugation
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7. Word Formation
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Sections under construction or revision are marked in blue.
The phonology of
Tsunem has a noticeably large number of allophones. Harmony exists between the consonants and vowels within syllables and across syllables, which necessitates sound changes. The basic building blocks of the syllable are consonants (C), vowels (V) and glides (G).The syllable structure is (C)(G)V(C).Consonants include both consonants proper and the four glides. Each consonant phoneme is identified on the basis of:
place: bilabial, alveolar, palatal and velar.
color or secondary articulation: labialization, palatalization and velarization, as well as lateral release.
manner: aspirated plosives, unaspirated plosives and approximants, are phonemic next to allphonic nasal and fricative consonants.
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m • mʲ • mˠ | n • nˡ • nˠ | ɲ • ɲˡ | ŋʷ • ŋ |
| Voiceless Plosive | p • pʲ • pˠ | t • tˡ • tˠ | c • cˡ | kʷ • k |
| Voiced Plosive | b • bʲ • bˠ | d • dˡ • dˠ | ɟ • ɟˡ | gʷ • g |
| Sibilant | s • sʷ • sˠ | ʃ | ||
| Fricative | f • fʲ • fˠ | θ • θˠ | ç | xʷ • x |
| Lateral Fricative | ɬ • ɮ | |||
| Lateral | l • ( lʷ • lˠ ) | |||
| Approximant | w | r • rʷ • rˠ | j | ɰ |
Consonant Allophones
Consonants do not generally have all three possible secondary articulations because some are replaced with allophones.
- Palatalized velars become palatals;
- Labialized /n/, /t/, /d/ and /θ/ become their labial counterparts /m/, /p/, /b/, /f/.
- Lateral-released voiceless fricatives /f/ and /θ/ become /ɬ/.
- Lateral-released /x/ becomes /ç͡ɬ/.
Note: some systems of analysis treat the secondary articulation hierarchical. At the first level, consonants are divided between palatalized and velarized. At the second level, a subset of the the palatalized consonants are lateral-released, and a subset of the velar consonants are labialized. Such analysis would account for /ç͡ɬ/ as allophone of */xˡ/ among other features.
Vowels
Vowels can be front, unround back, and round back. The vowels have little phonetic value and depend on the preceding and following consonants in a syllable. Long vowels exist but arise only through 'lengthening' depending on surrounding consonants.
| Front | Back | Back round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | ɛ | ʌ | ɔ |
| Open | æ | ɑ | ɒ |
Tsunem uses a logographic writing system. Each word is represented by at least one symbol for the consonant root (logoconsonantal). Each affix has its own symbol, which in addition determines the vowel pattern of the word.A transliteration, like any spelling convention, can go one of two ways: either aim at phonological precision or aim at morphological consistency. The system below aims keeping the root consonants visible. The consonant color can be predictably derived from the surrounding vowels, however inserted glides are fully transcribed.
Consonants
The following table gives the transcription for the primary fortis and lenis consonant phonemes.
| Letter | Phonemes | Root | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| mb b | /m/, /mʲ/, /mˠ/ /b/, /bʲ/, /bˠ/ | B | - |
| p ph | /pʰ/, /pʲ/, /pˠ/ /f/, /fʲ/, /fˠ/ | P | - |
| v | /w/ | V | - |
| nd d | /n/, /nˡ/, /nˠ/ /n/, /nˡ/, /nˠ/ | D | - |
| t th | /t/, /tˡ/, /tˠ/ /θ/, /θˠ/ | T | - |
| s r sh | /s/, /sʷ/, /ʃ/, /sˠ/ /ɾ/, /ɾʷ/, /ɹ/, /ɾˠ/ /∅/ | S | - |
| l | /l/, /lʷ/, /ɮ/, /lˠ/ | L | - |
| j | /j/ | J | - |
| ng g | /ŋʷ/, /ŋˡ/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/ /gʷ/, /gˡ/, /ɟ/, /g/ | G | - |
| c ch | /kʷ/, /kˡ/, /c/, /k/ /xʷ/, /ç/, /x/ | C | - |
| y | /ɰ/ | Y | - |
The following table gives the transcription for some derivative lenis allophones.
| mh bh | /w/ | B P | - |
| eth, thl, esh, shl ech, chl | /ɬ/ /çɬ/ | T, S C | - |
| nh dh gh | /j/, /ɰ/ | D, G T C | - |
Vowels
The following table gives the monophthongs corresponding to each consonant color.
| Letter | Phonemes | Consonant | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| i, ih ie, ieh ia, iah | /i/, /iː/ /ɛ/, /ɛː/ /æ/, /æː/ | palatal palatal to coronal ” ” | |
| e, eh ei, eih a, ea; ah, eah | /ɛ/, /ɛː/ /i/, /iː/ /æ/; /æː/ | coronal coronal to palatal ” ” | |
| u, uh uo, uoh ua, uah | /u/, /uː/ /ʌ/, /ʌː/ /ɑ/, /ɑː/ | labial labial to velar ” ” | |
| o ou a, oa | /ʌ/, /ʌː/ /u/, /uː/ /ɑ/, /ɑː/ | velar velar to labial ” ” |
Glides and diphthongs
| Letter | Phonemes | Color | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| checked vowel | |||
| ui, uih oi, oih | /wi/, /wiː/ /ɰi/, /ɰiː/ | labial to palatal velar to palatal | |
| ue, ueh oe, oeh oae | /wɛ/, /wɛː/ /ɰɛ/, /ɰɛː/ /ɰɑ/ | labial to coronal velar to coronal ” ” | |
| iu, iuh eu, euh | /ju/, /juː/ /lu/, /juː/ | palatal to labial coronal to labial | |
| io, ioh eo, eoh eao | /jʌ/, /jʌː/ /lʌ/, /lʌː/ /lɑ/ | palatal to velar coronal to velar ” ” | |
| free vowel | |||
| ui, uhi oi, ohi oai, oahi | /uj/, /u.wi/ /ʌj/, /ʌ.ɰi/ /ɑj/,/ɑ.i/ | labial to palatal velar to palatal ” ” | |
| ue, uhe oe, ohe oae; oahe, aha | /uæ̯/, /u.wæ/ /ʌæ̯/, /ʌ.ɰæ/ /ɑæ̯/; /ɑ.æ/ | labial to coronal velar to coronal ” ” | |
| iu, ihu eu, ehu eau, eahu | /iw/, /i.ju/ /ɛw/, /ɛ.lu/ /ɑw/,/ɑ.lu/ | palatal to labial coronal to labial ” ” | |
| io, iho eo, eho eao; eaho, aha | /iɑ̯/, /i.jɑ/ /ɛɑ̯/, /ɛ.lɑ̯/ /æɑ̯/; /æ.ɑ/ | palatal to velar coronal to velar ” ” |
A syllable in
Tsunem has four slots that can be occupied by phonemes. The initial (ι) is any consonant (including approximants) that opens the syllable. A following approximant takes the medial (μ) slot. The vowel or diphthong at the center of the syllable is called nucleus (ν). The coda (κ) is a final consonant. At minimum a syllable has a nucleus. If it has no onset, the final of a preceding syllable may take its place, in a process of syllabification.A hierarchy exists, which determines the degree of harmonization required between segments of the syllable. The initial and medial must have the same consonant color and together they form the onset (ω). The same holds for the nucleus and coda, which form the final (φ). Between the onset and final, lesser degree of harmony is required. See example of syllable trees, below.
The onset /ʃcj/ (ex. 1) has only palatal and palatalized consonants, the final /ʌnˠ/ has an mid back vowel and a velarized consonant. The onset /fw/ of (ex 2.) has only labial consonants, the final /ɛçɬ/ has a mid front vowel and a lateral.
(1) sciond /ʃcjʌnˠ/ "to hide"
(2) phuech /fwɛçɬ/ "(he) empowers"
The vowel in the final does not have to correspond to the consonant color of the inital.
- Consonants that are velar or velarized, must be followed by a back vowel.
- Consonants that are labial, labialized must be followed by a round back vowel.
- Consonants that are dental, lateral-released, palatal or palatalized, must be followed by front unround vowels.
- These rules do not apply to glides, which can be followed by any vowel.
If the consonant preceding a vowel is different from the consonant following it, a glide is inserted.
Example of a broken long vowel:
Prefixing na- to the root hpo would give *neahpo, instead the long vowel is broken to give neahapo "tradition".
3) /*næːpˠʌ/ → /næɑpˠʌ/
Examples
Examples of syllable hierarchy for the words:
phuech "empower", sciond "to hide oneself", cibri "rabbit", cioboch "equal", neahapo "tradition"
The restricted nature of syllables requires that consonants change depending on their environment. The two main mutations are lenition and ecpipse. A consonant becomes lenis when it becomes more sonorant. Voiced plosives become nasals, voiceless prosives become fricative, approximants become vowels etc. A consonant is eclipsed when it takes over features from neighboring phonemes, such as voicedness or color.
Lenition
Plosives in a cluster are lenited more heavily than otherwise. Normal lenition is called Ist Degree and stronger lenition of plosives is called IInd Degree.
Ist Degree Lenition
| fortis → lenis | fortis → lenis |
|---|---|
| ⟨b⟩ /b/ → ⟨mb⟩ /m/ ⟨d⟩ /d/ → ⟨nd⟩ /n/ ⟨g⟩ /ɟ/ → ⟨ng⟩ /ɲ/ ⟨g⟩ /g/ → ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨s⟩ /sʷ/ → ⟨sh⟩ /∅ʷ/* ⟨s⟩ /s/ → ⟨sh⟩ /∅/* ⟨s⟩ /ʃ/ → ⟨sh⟩ /∅ʲ/* /sˠ/ → ⟨sh⟩ /∅ˠ/* |
| ⟨p⟩ /p/ → ⟨ph⟩ /f/ ⟨t⟩ /t/ → ⟨th⟩ /θ/ ⟨c⟩ /c/ → ⟨ch⟩ /ç/ ⟨c⟩ /k/ → ⟨ch⟩ /x/ | ⟨w⟩ /w/ → ⟨u⟩ /u/ ⟨l⟩ /l/ → ⟨e⟩ /ɛ/ ⟨j⟩ /j/ → ⟨i⟩ /i/ ⟨y⟩ /ɰ/ → ⟨o⟩ /ʌ/ |
* Causes h-eclipse in addition.
IInd Degree Lenition
| fortis → lenis | fortis → lenis |
|---|---|
| ⟨b⟩ /b/ → ⟨bh⟩ /w/ ⟨d⟩ /d/ → ⟨dh⟩ /l/ ⟨g⟩ /ɟ/ → ⟨gh⟩ /j/ ⟨g⟩ /g/ → ⟨gh⟩ /ɰ/ | ⟨p⟩ /p/ → ⟨h⟩ /∅/* ⟨t⟩ /t/ → ⟨h⟩ /∅/* ⟨c⟩ /c/ → ⟨h⟩ /∅/* ⟨c⟩ /k/ → ⟨h⟩ /∅/* |
* Causes h-eclipse in addition.
Eclipse
Eclipse occurs when features of a consonant flow into the adjacent consonants. This often happens in consonant cluster. It is mostly the first consonant that is lenited, influences the second and is then deleted.
| ⟨b⟩ /b/ | ⟨p⟩ /p/ | ⟨v⟩ /w/ | ⟨d⟩ /d/ | /t/ | /l/ | /s/ | /ɮ/ | /j/ | /g/ | /k/ | /ɰ/ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⟨b⟩ /b/ | ⟨mb⟩ /m/ | ⟨mp⟩ /b/ | ⟨bv⟩ /bw/ | ⟨nd⟩ /n/ | ⟨nt⟩ /d/ | ⟨bl⟩ /bl/ | ⟨br⟩ /br/ | ⟨blz⟩ /bɮ/ | ⟨bj⟩ /bj/ | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨nc⟩ /g/ | ⟨by⟩ /bɰ/ |
| ⟨p⟩ /p/ | ⟨bh⟩ /w/ | ⟨ph⟩ /f/ | ⟨pv⟩ /pw/ | ⟨dh⟩ /l/ | ⟨th⟩ /θ/ | ⟨plh⟩ /pɬ/ | ⟨ph⟩ /f/ | ⟨plh⟩ /pɬ/ | ⟨pj⟩ /pj/ | ⟨gh⟩ /ɰ/ | ⟨ch⟩ /x/ | ⟨py⟩ /pɰ/ |
| ⟨d⟩ /d/ | ⟨mb⟩ /m/ | ⟨mp⟩ /b/ | ⟨dv⟩ /dw/ | ⟨nd⟩ /n/ | ⟨nt⟩ /d/ | ⟨dl⟩ /dl/ | ⟨dr⟩ /dr/ | ⟨glz⟩ /gɮ/ | ⟨gj⟩ /ɟj/ | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨nc⟩ /g/ | ⟨dy⟩ /dɰ/ |
| ⟨t⟩ /t/ | ⟨bh⟩ /w/ | ⟨ph⟩ /f/ | ⟨tv⟩ /tw/ | ⟨dh⟩ /l/ | ⟨th⟩ /θ/ | ⟨tlh⟩ /tɬ/ | ⟨th⟩ /θ/ | ⟨tlh⟩ /tɬ/ | ⟨cj⟩ /cj/ | ⟨gh⟩ /ɰ/ | ⟨ch⟩ /x/ | ⟨ty⟩ /tɰ/ |
| ⟨g⟩ /g/ | ⟨mb⟩ /m/ | ⟨mp⟩ /b/ | ⟨gv⟩ /gw/ | ⟨nd⟩ /n/ | ⟨nt⟩ /d/ | ⟨gl⟩ /gl/ | ⟨gr⟩ /gr/ | ⟨glz⟩ /gɮ/ | ⟨gj⟩ /ɟj/ | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨nc⟩ /g/ | ⟨gy⟩ /gɰ/ |
| ⟨c⟩ /k/ | ⟨bh⟩ /w/ | ⟨ph⟩ /f/ | ⟨cv⟩ /kw/ | ⟨dh⟩ /l/ | ⟨th⟩ /θ/ | ⟨clh⟩ /cɬ/ | ⟨ch⟩ /x/ | ⟨clh⟩ /cɬ/ | ⟨cj⟩ /cj/ | ⟨gh⟩ /ɰ/ | ⟨ch⟩ /x/ | ⟨cy⟩ /kɰ/ |
Onset — ω
- A single initial is fortis by default.
- If the initial is a cluster, the first consonant is lenited. The second consonant is eclipsed.
- The underlying 'h' is not realized [∅] but will cause lenition of the initial consonant.
Final — φ
- The coda (κ) can be any lenited consonant.
- The final is lenited if the following syllable begins with ⟨h⟩, not realized [∅].
There is a independent phoneme, usually transcribed with <h> or <꞉> for the mute onset /∅/ and vowel-lengthening coda /ː/.
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