Phonology
Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal-Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p | t | k | q | ʔ | |
Ejective plosive | pʼ | tʼ | kʼ | qʼ | ||
Affricate | ts | |||||
Ejective affricate | tsʼ | |||||
Fricative | f | s | x | χ | h | |
Lateral fricative | ɬ | |||||
Nasal | m | n | ||||
Approximant | w | j | ||||
Lateral approximant | l |
Velar consonants alternate with palatal consonants before /e/ and sometimes before /a/. Examples include /keɬejkup/ ~ "autumn" and /exeʔ/ ~ "stork". The palatal approximant /j/ alternates with the palatal fricative /ç/ before /i/, as in /inanjiʔ/ ~ .
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | u | |
Mid | e | o | |
Open | a |
Syllables in Maká may be of types V, VC, CV, CCV, and CCVC. When a consonant cluster appears at the beginning of a syllable, the second consonant must be /x/, /h/, /w/, or /y/.
Read more about this topic: Maká Language
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