Vowels
The vowels of Burmese are:
| Monophthongs | Diphthongs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front offglide | Back offglide | |
| Close | i | u | ||
| Close-mid | e | o | ei | ou |
| Mid | ə | |||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Open | a | ai | au | |
The monophthongs /e/, /o/, /ə/, and /ɔ/ occur only in open syllables (those without a syllable coda); the diphthongs /ei/, /ou/, /ai/, and /au/ occur only in closed syllables (those with a syllable coda). /ə/ only occurs in a minor syllable, and is the only vowel that is permitted in a minor syllable (see below).
The close vowels /i/ and /u/ and the close portions of the diphthongs are slightly centered to and in closed syllables, i.e. before /ɴ/ and /ʔ/. Thus နှစ် /n̥iʔ/ "two" is phonetically and ကြောင် /tɕàuɴ/ "cat" is phonetically .
Read more about this topic: Burmese Language, Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“These equal syllables alone require,
Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Playing “bop” is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)