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The data in (1) show sample contrasts between the labial consonants in Mono.
(1) a. Labial consonants before = in word-initial position:
=(( =(( =(( =(( ‘at’
F F= F= ‘say’
> >=@= >=@= >=@= >=@= ‘rock’
> >=J= >=J= >=J= >=J= ‘stool’
B B= B=
‘become’
L L= L= ‘pour’
= = = = ‘show’
M M= M= ‘send’
b. Labial consonants before = in word-medial position:
= = = = ‘illness’
F =F=( =F=( ‘tsetse fly’
> (>= (>= (>= (>= ‘clothes’
> =>= =>= =>= =>= ‘knife’
B = = = = AB=
AB= ‘mid-wife’
L C=L= C=L= ‘panther’
CK= CK= CK= CK= ‘prepare’
M =M=( =M=( =M=( =M=( ‘gruel’
2.1.2 Alveolar consonants
Nine alveolar consonants are attested in Mono: , J, @, @ @, @ @ I, , , H, and . The
phoneme H is pronounced as a trill [H]. It is often lengthened in discourse, as in the word
[(H(] ‘until’. The phoneme l is pronounced as [l], with no velarization.
The implosive is rare, only occurring in seven lexical items in my corpus:
(2) AA AA AA AA ‘who’
C=A C=A C=A C=A ‘what’
=(=MK( =(=MK( =(=MK( =(=MK( ‘hiccough’
( ( ( ( ‘monkey’
K= K= K= K= ‘debt’
J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( ‘voice’
‘toe’
However, two of these words, AA AA AA AA ‘who’ and C=A C=A C=A C=A ‘what’, are common in discourse. In
some lexical items, varies freely with its plosive counterpart, e.g. J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( J5=(C(H( ~
J5=(@C(H( J5=(@C(H( J5=(@C(H( J5=(@C(H( ‘voice’. Also, it is not attested in word-initial position. Because of these
factors, I consider it to be a marginal phoneme.
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