Phonological Rules

  • Voiceless stops (p,t,k) become aspirated when stressed and in syllable initial  

    • [ʰ] 

  • Voiceless stops become unaspirated after /s/ at beginning of the syllable  

    • No diacritic symbol  

  • Approximants (w,r,l,j) become partially devoiced after (p,t,k) voiceless aspirated stops  

    • [ ̥] (little circle underneath approximant)   

  • Stops are unreleased before stops  

    • [ ˺]  

  • Vowels are proceeded by glottal stops at the start of an utterance  

    • [ʔ] 

  • Voiceless stops (p,t,k) and affricates (tʃ) are preceded by a glottal stop after a vowel AND at the end of a word  

    • [ʔ] 

  • Voiceless alveolar stops (t) become glottal stops before a nasal in the same word  

    • [ʔ] 

  • Alveolar (oral) stops (t or d) become a voiced flap between a stressed vowel and an unstressed vowel 

    • [ɾ] 

  • Nasals become syllabic at the end of a word and after an obstruent (fricatives, stops, affricates)  

    • [,] 

  • Liquids become syllabic at the end of a word and after a consonant  

    • [,] 

  • Alveolars (t,d,n,l,r,s,z) become dentalized before dentals  

    • (little teeth underneath alveolars) [ turned on its side  

  • Laterals (l) become velarized after a vowel and before a consonant or at the end of a word

    • (dark l) tilde through the middle of the l  

  • Vowels become nasalized before nasals 

    • Squiggle (tilde) above the vowel