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Something more readable: wip-phonology-2012-03-23.pdf (version 4)

1. Vowels

1.1. Short vowels

1.2. Long vowels

^notea dash is used to differentiate unrounded–rounded vowels

^noteallophones are coloured red

^noteparentheses are used to mark uncertain vowels

¹allophone of [œ]; occurs word-finally, before [ɹ], [l], and their allophones, and in central vowel groups

^{2, 3}vowel groups usually do not change vowel quality, but high-low groups might make low vowels more fronted — [ɐ] and [ɑ] > [æ] and [a]

⁴merging of vowels groups [ɪɛ], [ʏœ], and [ʊɔ] before a vowel; may either be plain or lowered — [ɪ̞ː], [ʏ̞ː], and [ʊ̞ː]

⁵merging of linked vowel group [ɪ_ɪ] or the suffix copula [-ɪ]

2. Consonants

2.1. Short consonants

2.2. Long consonants

2.3. Additional sounds

Like in many languages, the [ɦ]-sound does not have a true place of articulation, and is actually bare phonation. Its manner of articulation is primarily voiced approximant (though it might have a fricative or voiceless allophone), and is traditionally treated as glottal. There is also a nonphonemic glottal stop [ʔ], however, due to the linking — words, and even sentences, are pronounced without any word-medial pauses — and elisive — omission of sounds to make pronounciation easier or more aesthetic — nature, the glottal stop is relatively rare. An uninterrupted flow with few stops or pauses is favoured. It can, however, be found at the start of sentences that begin with a vowel, or any other place in a larger text where there is a natural pause before a vowel — although even here it can be ommitted in favour of a soft onset — or also sometimes when using emphasis. The most common occurence is when speaking very clearly to emphasise the words and their spelling, e.g. when helping a non-native speaker. The [ɦ]-sound can be long, but the glottal stop is always short.

2.4. Palatal fricatives/affricatives

^notea dash is used to differentiate voiceless–voiced consonants

^noteallophones are coloured red

^noteparentheses are used to mark uncertain consonants

⁶allophone of [ʋ]; occurs in consonant groups — [Cv] and [vC]

⁷allophone of [ɕ]; occurs only in the voiced affricatives [dʑ] and [dʑː]

^{8, 9}allophone of [ɕ]; cerebro-palatal fricatives; ⁸occurs naturally in primary retroflection; ⁹uncertain; would have to be a retroflexed variant of [dʑ] or [dʑː]

¹⁰uncertain; possibly an allophone of [ɦ]

¹¹allophone of [j]; occurs in consonants groups — [Cʝ]; — as an allophone of [j] it cannot be long

¹²nonphonemic; occurs in syllables containing [ʊᵝː] before a vowel

¹³allophone of [ɹ]; occurs only in secondary retroflection

¹⁴cannot be long; *[jː] and its allophones are always replaced with a long approximated vowel, e.g. *[jː] > [ɪʲːj], *[ɥː] > [ʏᶣːj] or [ʏᶣːɥ] (see ¹⁶)

^{15, 16}uncertain; ¹⁵possibly as an allophone of [g]; ¹⁶possibly as an allophone of [j] in syllables containing [ʏᶣː] before a vowel; as an allophone of [j] it cannot be long

¹⁷allophone of [ɹ]; occurs in consonant groups — [Cɾ] and [ɾC]; — cannot be long

¹⁸allophone of [l]; occurs independently and in consonant groups — [Cɽ] and [ɽC]; — can also be an allophone of [ɖ]; cannot be long

¹⁹allophone of [l]; occurs only in secondary retroflection

²⁰uncertain; would have to be a retroflexed variant of [tɕ] or [tɕː]

²¹uncertain; would have to be a retroflexed variant of [dʑ] or [dʑː]

2.5. Phonomorphemic words

Phonomorphemic words — similar to English wow and shh — use several sounds not otherwise found in native speech, such as clicks, ingressive phonation (inhaled), and bilabial fricatives.