Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

12 fetJREAtJ OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99
Vowels—Oral—Continued.
Voiceless
—
—
—
: —
A, I, u, —
Voiceless vowels, as they are paradoxically called, are phonems produced by
Nasalized
lips and tongue taking the position to pronounce a vowel (a, i, u, or o, as
the case may be) ; there may be—and there usually is—a strong emission
of breath, but as the vocal cords are not brought in action, the phonem
is voiceless.
9, St, but more commonly with less pronounced nasalization, thus: a°, a°.
9', (usually long) as in Fr. bon; as in Engl, don, but longer and nasalized,
f ,
:
(usually long) as in Fr. pain, dessin.
Q', (usually long) as in Fr. un.
5°, (very short) as in Engl, bird, Gm. Gotter, Fr. boeuf, but always short and
nasalized.
When only a slight degree of nasalization is heard, this is shown by writing
a small -» after the vowel, instead of writing a hook under it, as is done in
cases where nasalization is more pronounced.
Semiconsonants
y, w, may be strongly aspirated, when they are written y', w'; may also be
voiceless, when they are rendered y, w. The w is often preceded by a barely
audible u sound; in this case the phonem is written "w.
Consonants
Stops
Dental
d, voiced, as in Engl. dawn.
D, intermediate sound between voiced and unvoiced dental,
t, unvoiced, as in Engl. hit.
t*, unvoiced and aspirated, as in Engl, tin, tan, but with aspiration more
emphatic.
Velar
g, voiced, as in Engl, go, dog.
G, intermediate sound between voiced and unvoiced velar,
k, unvoiced, as in Engl. back.
k, unvoiced, but pronounced farther back than previous sound,
k', unvoiced and aspirated, as in Engl, come, can, but with more emphatic
aspiration.
Nasals
Dental
n, voiced nasal, as in Engl, can, near.
^n, the same nasal, but preceded by a hardly audible d. The tongue
takes the dental position as if about to pronounce d (implosion), but
immediately the uvula is lowered and the breath escapes by the nose
passage, without having occasioned the explosion usually accompanying
the d phonem.
N, voiceless nasal; always followed by a strong nasal aspiration
Bilabial
m, voiced as in Engl, mother.
Velar
q, voiced, as in Engl, sing, rang.
Spirants
Dental
s, unvoiced fricative as in Engl, race, sing,
z, voiced fricative as in Engl, gaze, doze.