User:Xenos melophilos/Khalaj phonology
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS
Vowels
[edit]Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | unrounded | rounded | unrounded | rounded | |
Close | i | y | (ɨ) | u | ||
Mid | e | ø | o | |||
Open | æ | a |
- Vowels can be long or short (long, half-long or short according to Doerfer), though in allegro speech they mayn't be differentiated. Even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.
- Long vowels may diphthongize in many dialects (like in Yakut): for example /aː/ → [ɑːɑ̯], /eː/ → [eːe̯] ~ [iːe̯], /oː/ → [oːo̯] ~ [uːo̯], /øː/ → [øːø̯] ~ [yːø̯] (compare Yakut киэһэ (kiehe, “evening”), күөл (küöl, “lake”), уот (uot, “fire”)). There are also rising diphthongs which come from long vowels (like falling ones).
- Half-long vowels may also diphthongize, for example [oˑ] → [uo̯] (also [ʊ̞]).
- [oˑ] may raise to [ʊ̞].
- /y/, /i/ (including its central allophone), and /u/ may alternate a lot.
- In Khalaj, Proto-Turkic back /ɨ/ and front /i/ merged into [i] (though [ɨ] can be found as an allophone, specially before uvular consonants).
Vowel harmony
[edit]Khalaj has front/back and rounded/unrounded vowels, but it has changed the original vowel harmony system due to Persian influence, resulting in this:
- A = /a/ - /æ/
- U = /u/ - /y/
- /i/
The Proto-Turkic "X" and "U" suffixes have merged in Khalaj as "U".
This vowel harmony has been confusing in the dialects, producing more changes and even making the system collapse.
Vowel /a/
[edit]If the vowel is overly clear, it becomes more lengthened: short becomes (half-)long, and half-long becomes long.
Long /aː/ may round ([ɒː] → [oː]) due to Persian influence, and in turn it may diphthongize [ɒːɒ̯]. Short and half-long /a/ may round too ([ɒ] and [ɒˑ]), but is less frequent.
As [a] and [aˑ] round, they also become fronter ([æ̞] and [æː]) (Persian influence).
Again, in allegro speech, the length mayn't be differentiated, even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.
Vowel /æ/
[edit]/æ/ may be more lowered [æ̞]. In some words (mainly Persian borrowings), front /æ/ and its allophones may coexist with central /a/ and its allophones.
Vowels /ø/ and /y/
[edit]They can unround due to Persian influence.
Consonants
[edit]Labial | Dental | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | (ŋ) | ||||
Stop/Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k | q | ||
voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ | (ɢ) | |||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | (ç) | χ | h | |
voiced | v | z | ʒ | (ʝ) | ʁ | |||
Approximant | l | j | (w) | |||||
Rhotic | ɾ |
- /ç/, /ʝ/ and /ɲ/ are phonetically post-palatal ([ç̠], [ʝ̠] and [ɲ̠]). These sounds are also represented as [xʲ], [ɣʲ] and [ŋʲ] (palatalization); or [x̟], [ɣ̟] and [ŋ̟] (pre-velar).
- /j/ and /ɡ/ may alternate and even elide.
- The group /iɡ/ may palatalize [iɡʲ], turn fortis ([iɡ̊] ~ [ik]) or turn lenis ([iʝ̠] ~ [iç̠], [ij] ~ [iː]).
- /ç/ and /ʝ/ occur as a transition between [k] - [j] and [ɡ] - [j] respectively.
- Before velars, /n/ becomes [ŋ].
- After /n/, /t͡ʃ/ is voiced [d͡ʒ] (except for the locative suffix).
- /v/ may be realized as [w].
- /ɾ/ and /l/ may be elided in aus- and inlaut.
Anlaut (beginning of a word)
[edit]- /k/: In a weak prestissimo speech it can be lenited to [ɡ̊] and [ɡ], but in isolate position and at the beginning of a sentence it is [k].
- /q/: It can be voiced [ɢ] due to Persian and Oghuz influence. Also, in sandhi it can be lenited [ʁ], [χ], just like /k/.
- /t/: Rarely, it can be lenited [d] in sandhi position.
- /b/: It can be devoiced [p] (Oghuz influence). In some words Proto-Turkic /b/ changed to [m], for example mən, ming, and inflected forms of bô, though inflected forms coexist with the original ones beginning with [b]. Also, in sandhi position it can be lenited [v].
- /j/: It can be elided due to Oghuz influence. Sometimes it can alternate with initial /i/. It can also become [n] (compare Northern Altai ньымыртка (nʹïmïrtka, “egg”)).
- /ji/ and /ɡi/ may alternate. Also, /ji/ and /hi/ may alternate because of Oghuz influence.
Inlaut (middle of a word)
[edit]- /q/: It is realized as [q], [χ] and [ʁ].
- /ʁ/: It may be realized as [v].
- /j/: This consonant may be elided.
- /v/: /v/ may become an approximant [w] or elided.
- /ɲ/: Proto-Khalaj /ɲ/ turned in [n], [j], [ŋ], etc., in Khalaj dialects.
- /ŋ/: Rarely, /ŋɡ/ may become [n].
Auslaut (end of a word)
[edit]- /k/: Phonetically it can be aspirated or palatalized, even sometimes its palatalization is so strong that [kʲ] becomes [c].
- /q/: As /k/, it can be aspirated. It also can affricatize [q͡χ] and fricatize [χ].
- /ʁ/: It can undergo plosivization [ɢ], [ɢ̥], [qʰ], or fortition [ʁ̥], [χ].
- /d/: It can undergo fortition [d̥], [t].
- /z/: /z/ may devoice [z̥].
- /ŋ/: /ŋɡ/ may turn fortis [ŋɡ̊] ~ [ŋk]. It can also become just [ŋ] and, in turn, [n].
Stress
[edit]Stress usually appears at the end of a word, but there are exceptions:
- Some Persial loanwords like bəlî (“yes”) doesn't take final-word stress.
- The indefinite article -î, the ezafe and the conjunctions ki, u and tə, are unaccented.
- Some native adverbs and imperatives take stress in another syllable.
- Some imperative suffixes, the negative suffix, and also the locative, instrumental and equative cases, are unaccented.
- The aorist 1st person plural suffix takes stress in the first syllable.
- The copula is unaccented, the same with the aorist suffix when joined to present suffix.
- The verbal suffix -in is unaccented.
Strong emphasize in a word is created by stress shift.
Vocative is made by shifting the stress to the first syllable.
References
[edit]- Doerfer, Gerhard (1988) Grammatik des Chaladsch [Grammar of Khalaj] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, →OCLC