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searchaux" style="display:none">Sounds and pronunciation of the Somali language</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><div class="side-box metadata side-box-right noprint selfref"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">This article contains <b><a href="/wiki/Phonetic_transcription" title="Phonetic transcription">phonetic transcriptions</a> in the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> (IPA)</b>. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA" title="Help:IPA">Help:IPA</a>. For the distinction between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ ]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ /</span> and ⟨<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"> </span>⟩, see <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Brackets_and_transcription_delimiters" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters</a>.</div></div> </div> <p>This article describes the <a href="/wiki/Phonology" title="Phonology">phonology</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Somali_language" title="Somali language">Somali language</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Consonants">Consonants</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Consonants"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Common Somali has 23 consonant <a href="/wiki/Phoneme" title="Phoneme">phonemes</a>. Its consonants cover every <a href="/wiki/Place_of_articulation" title="Place of articulation">place of articulation</a> on the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA</a> chart, though not all of these distinctions are <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_distinction" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic distinction">phonemic</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"> <caption>Somali consonant phonemes<sup id="cite_ref-s7-10_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-s7-10-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-g6_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-g6-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2"> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Bilabial_consonant" title="Bilabial consonant">Bilabial</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Coronal_consonant" title="Coronal consonant">Coronal</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Postalveolar_consonant" title="Postalveolar consonant">Post-<br />alveolar</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Velar_consonant" title="Velar consonant">Velar</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Uvular_consonant" title="Uvular consonant">Uvular</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Pharyngeal_consonant" title="Pharyngeal consonant">Pharyn-<br />geal</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Glottal_consonant" title="Glottal consonant">Glottal</a> </th></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Nasal_consonant" title="Nasal consonant">Nasal</a> </th> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_nasal" title="Voiced bilabial nasal">m</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨m⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_nasal" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced alveolar nasal">n</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨n⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Plosive" title="Plosive">Plosive</a> </th> <th><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Voicelessness" title="Voicelessness">voiceless</a></span> </th> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_dental_plosive" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiceless dental plosive">t̪</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨t⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_velar_plosive" title="Voiceless velar plosive">k</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨k⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_plosive" title="Voiceless uvular plosive">q</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨q⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Glottal_stop" title="Glottal stop">ʔ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨'⟩</span> </td></tr> <tr> <th><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Voice_(phonetics)" title="Voice (phonetics)">voiced</a></span> </th> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_plosive" title="Voiced bilabial plosive">b</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨b⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_plosive" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced dental plosive">d̪</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨d⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_retroflex_plosive" title="Voiced retroflex plosive">ɖ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨dh⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_velar_plosive" title="Voiced velar plosive">ɡ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨g⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Affricate" title="Affricate">Affricate</a> </th> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_postalveolar_affricate" title="Voiced postalveolar affricate">d͡ʒ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨j⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Fricative" title="Fricative">Fricative</a> </th> <th><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Voicelessness" title="Voicelessness">voiceless</a></span> </th> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_labiodental_fricative" title="Voiceless labiodental fricative">f</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨f⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiceless alveolar fricative">s</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨s⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_postalveolar_fricative" title="Voiceless postalveolar fricative">ʃ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨sh⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_velar_fricative" title="Voiceless velar fricative">x</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨kh⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative" title="Voiceless uvular fricative">χ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨kh⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_pharyngeal_fricative" title="Voiceless pharyngeal fricative">ħ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨x⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiceless_glottal_fricative" title="Voiceless glottal fricative">h</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨h⟩</span> </td></tr> <tr> <th><small><a href="/wiki/Voiced" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced">voiced</a></small> </th> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiced alveolar fricative">z</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨s/z⟩</span>* </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_pharyngeal_fricative" title="Voiced pharyngeal fricative">ʕ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨c⟩</span> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Trill_consonant" title="Trill consonant">Trill</a> </th> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_trill" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced alveolar trill">r</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨r⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_retroflex_flap" title="Voiced retroflex flap">ɽ</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨dh⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Approximant" title="Approximant">Approximant</a> </th> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_lateral_approximant" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced alveolar lateral approximant">l</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨l⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_palatal_approximant" title="Voiced palatal approximant">j</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨y⟩</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Voiced_labial%E2%80%93velar_approximant" title="Voiced labial–velar approximant">w</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨w⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/b/</span> is often realized as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[β̞]</span> when in a stressed intervocalic position. As in “to<b>b</b>an” <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[toβ̞an]</span>, 'ten'.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> is often realized as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span> when in a stressed intervocalic position. As in “ma<b>d</b>ow” <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[maðow]</span>, 'black'. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɖ/</span> is a <a href="/wiki/Voiced_retroflex_stop" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced retroflex stop">voiced retroflex stop</a>. Some phoneticians say that it has an <a href="/wiki/Implosive_consonant" title="Implosive consonant">implosive</a> quality for some speakers. It is sometimes realized as a <a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_and_alveolar_taps_and_flaps" title="Voiced dental and alveolar taps and flaps">flap</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɾ]</span> between vowels. </p><p>Somali does not possess the phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/z/</span>, but when it comes from <a href="/wiki/Arabic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, the phone is retained in loanwords, as in (<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1177148991">.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}</style><span class="IPA-label IPA-label-small">Arabic pronunciation:</span> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="ar-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Arabic" title="Help:IPA/Arabic">[zamzam]</a></span>) and (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1177148991"><span class="IPA-label IPA-label-small">Arabic pronunciation:</span> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="ar-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Arabic" title="Help:IPA/Arabic">[ʕabdulʕaziːz]</a></span>). </p><p>The voiceless stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/k/</span> are always <a href="/wiki/Aspirated_consonant" title="Aspirated consonant">aspirated</a>. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʕ/</span>, the <a href="/wiki/Voiced_pharyngeal_fricative" title="Voiced pharyngeal fricative">voiced pharyngeal fricative</a>, may have <a href="/wiki/Creaky_voice" title="Creaky voice">creaky voice</a>. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> is often pronounced with <a href="/wiki/Breathy_voice" title="Breathy voice">breathy voice</a> and may be partially devoiced. Between vowels, it may be a single <a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_and_alveolar_taps_and_flaps" title="Voiced dental and alveolar taps and flaps">tap</a>. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/q/</span> can, in some dialects, be realized as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[x]</span>. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/q/</span> is sometimes <a href="/wiki/Epiglottal_plosive" title="Epiglottal plosive">epiglottalized</a>. </p><p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʍ/</span> is often realized as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ʍᶹ]</span> in the <a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Somalia" title="Geography of Somalia">Somali alluvial-plain</a> dialects. <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʍ/</span> is realized as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[w]</span> in word-final positions like <i>qaboo<b>w</b></i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Vowels">Vowels</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg/250px-Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="184" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg/375px-Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg/500px-Hebrew_vowel_chart.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="980" data-file-height="720" /></a><figcaption>from <a href="#CITEREFSaeed1993">Saeed (1993)</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Somali has five basic vowels, and each of them can be short or <a href="/wiki/Vowel_length" title="Vowel length">long</a>; the latter are represented orthographically as double vowels. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Vowels<sup id="cite_ref-ipu1982_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ipu1982-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Front_vowel" title="Front vowel">Front</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Central_vowel" title="Central vowel">Central</a> </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Back_vowel" title="Back vowel">Back</a> </th></tr> <tr> <th><a href="/wiki/Close_vowel" title="Close vowel">High</a> </th> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close front unrounded vowel">i</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨i⟩</span> <span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close front unrounded vowel">iː</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨ii⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close_back_rounded_vowel" title="Close back rounded vowel">u</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨u⟩</span> <span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close_back_rounded_vowel" title="Close back rounded vowel">uː</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨uu⟩</span> </td></tr> <tr> <th><a href="/wiki/Mid_vowel" title="Mid vowel">Mid</a> </th> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close-mid front unrounded vowel">e</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨e⟩</span> <span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close-mid front unrounded vowel">eː</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨ee⟩</span> </td> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel" title="Close-mid back rounded vowel">o</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨o⟩</span> <span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel" title="Close-mid back rounded vowel">oː</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨oo⟩</span> </td></tr> <tr> <th><a href="/wiki/Open_vowel" title="Open vowel">Low</a> </th> <td> </td> <td><span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Open front unrounded vowel">a</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨a⟩</span> <span class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Open front unrounded vowel">aː</a></span> <span class="nowrap">⟨aa⟩</span> </td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Tone">Tone</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Tone"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Lexical prominence in Somali can be classified under a <a href="/wiki/Pitch_accent" class="mw-redirect" title="Pitch accent">pitch accent</a> system, in which there is one <a href="/wiki/Tone_(linguistics)" title="Tone (linguistics)">high-tone</a> mora per word. </p><p>The tone system distinguishes both grammatical and lexical differences. Differences include numbers singular and plural (a grammatical distinction), and masculine and feminine genders (a grammatical and sometimes also lexical distinction). One example is <i>inán</i> ('girl') versus <i>ínan</i> ('boy'). This reflects a tonal pattern that codes grammatical gender, such as <i>dameér</i> ('female donkey') versus <i>daméer</i> ('male donkey'). </p><p>The question of the tone system in Somali has been debated for decades. The modern consensus is as follows. </p><p>In Somali, the tone-bearing unit is the <a href="/wiki/Mora_(linguistics)" title="Mora (linguistics)">mora</a> rather than the vowel of the syllable. A long vowel or a diphthong consists of two morae and can bear two tones. Each mora is defined as being of high or low tone. Only one high tone occurs per word and this must be on the final or penultimate mora. Particles do not have a high tone. (These include prepositions, clitic pronouns for subject and object, impersonal subject pronouns and focus markers.) There are therefore three possible "accentual patterns" in word roots. </p><p>Phonetically there are three tones on long vowels: high, low and falling: </p> <ol><li>On a long vowel or diphthong, a sequence of high-low is realised as a falling tone.</li> <li>On a long vowel or diphthong, a sequence of low-high is realised as high-high. (Occasionally, it is a rising tone.)</li></ol> <p>This use of tone may be characterized as <a href="/wiki/Pitch_accent" class="mw-redirect" title="Pitch accent">pitch accent</a>. It is similar to that in <a href="/wiki/Oromo_language" title="Oromo language">Oromo</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Stress_(linguistics)" title="Stress (linguistics)">Stress</a> is connected with tone. The high tone has strong stress; the falling tone has less stress and the low tone has no stress. </p><p>When needed, the conventions for marking tone on written Somali are as follows: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Acute_accent" title="Acute accent">acute accent</a> - high tone</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grave_accent" title="Grave accent">grave accent</a> - low tone</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Circumflex" title="Circumflex">circumflex</a> - falling tone</li></ul> <p>Tones on long vowels are marked on the first vowel symbol.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Accuracy_dispute#Disputed_statement" title="Wikipedia:Accuracy dispute"><span title="The material near this tag is possibly inaccurate or nonfactual. (June 2015)">dubious</span></a> – <a href="/wiki/Talk:Somali_phonology#Dubious" title="Talk:Somali phonology">discuss</a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Phonotactics">Phonotactics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Phonotactics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The syllable structure of Somali is (C)V(C). </p><p>Root morphemes usually have a mono- or di-syllabic structure. </p><p>Clusters of two consonants do not occur word-initially or word-finally, i.e., they only occur at syllable boundaries. The following consonants can be geminate: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/b/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɖ/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɡ/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɢ/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/m/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/n/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span>. The following cannot be geminate: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/k/</span> and the fricatives. </p><p>Two vowels cannot occur together at syllable boundaries. Epenthetic consonants, e.g. <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[j]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ʔ]</span>, are therefore inserted. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Phonological_processes">Phonological processes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Phonological processes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Allophones">Allophones</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Allophones"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Self-contradictory plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Accuracy dispute"><img alt="Exclamation mark with arrows pointing at each other" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/38px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png" decoding="async" width="38" height="38" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/57px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ambox_contradict.svg/76px-Ambox_contradict.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="620" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>appears to contradict itself</b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please see the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Somali_phonology" title="Talk:Somali phonology">talk page</a> for more information.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">November 2015</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>The voiced stops (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/b/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɡ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɖ/</span>) are devoiced in word-initial and word-final position. Between two vowels they become fricatives.</li> <li>The voiceless stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/k/</span> are realised as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[d]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɡ]</span> in syllable-final position.</li> <li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/m/</span> is realised as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[n]</span> in syllable-final position.</li> <li>Between vowels, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/h/</span> is usually voiced to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɦ]</span>.</li> <li>All vowels are nasalised before or after a nasal consonant.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Epenthesis">Epenthesis</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Epenthesis"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When a vowel occurs in word-initial position, a glottal stop (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ʔ]</span>) is inserted before it. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sandhi">Sandhi</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Sandhi"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Phonological changes occur at morpheme boundaries (<a href="/wiki/Sandhi" title="Sandhi">sandhi</a>) for specific grammatical morphemes. There may be assimilation or elision. One unusual change which can occur is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/lt/</span> to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ʃ]</span> (compare <a href="/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> <i>mucho</i> to <a href="/wiki/Latin_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin language">Latin</a> <i>multus</i>). </p><p><a href="/wiki/Coalescence_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Coalescence (linguistics)">Coalescence</a> also occurs. This is a kind of external <a href="/wiki/Sandhi" title="Sandhi">sandhi</a> in which words join, undergoing phonological processes such as elision. In Somali it is sometimes obligatory and sometimes it is dependent on the speech style. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Vowel_harmony">Vowel harmony</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Vowel harmony"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Roots have front-back <a href="/wiki/Vowel_harmony" title="Vowel harmony">vowel harmony</a>. There is also a process of vowel harmony in strings longer than a word, known as "harmonic groups". </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Prosody">Prosody</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Prosody"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Intonation_(linguistics)" title="Intonation (linguistics)">Intonation</a> (as opposed to <a href="/wiki/Tone_(linguistics)" title="Tone (linguistics)">tone</a>, see above) does not carry grammatical information, although it may convey the speaker's attitude or emotion. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-s7-10-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-s7-10_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSaeed1999">Saeed (1999</a>:7–10)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-g6-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-g6_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGabbard2010">Gabbard (2010</a>:6)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEdmondsonEslingHarris2004">Edmondson, Esling & Harris (2004)</a><span class="error harv-error" style="display: none; font-size:100%"> harvtxt error: no target: CITEREFEdmondsonEslingHarris2004 (<a href="/wiki/Category:Harv_and_Sfn_template_errors" title="Category:Harv and Sfn template errors">help</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Edmondson, J.A., Esling, J.H., & Harris, J.G. (2003). Supraglottal cavity shape, linguistic register, and other phonetic features of Somali.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ipu1982-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-ipu1982_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>ipu1982</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Somali_phonology&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Bibliography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFGabbard2010" class="citation thesis cs1">Gabbard, Kevin (2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/46639/gabbardsomalithesis2010.pdf?sequence=1"><i>A Phonological Analysis of Somali and the Guttural Consonants</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> (BA Linguistics Honors Thesis). <a href="/wiki/Hdl_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hdl (identifier)">hdl</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://hdl.handle.net/1811%2F46639">1811/46639</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adissertation&rft.title=A+Phonological+Analysis+of+Somali+and+the+Guttural+Consonants&rft.date=2010&rft_id=info%3Ahdl%2F1811%2F46639&rft.aulast=Gabbard&rft.aufirst=Kevin&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fkb.osu.edu%2Fdspace%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F1811%2F46639%2Fgabbardsomalithesis2010.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASomali+phonology" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li>Nilsson, Morgan, and Laura J. Downing. "Somali vowel qualities and vowel harmony domains." In North Atlantic Conference on Afroasiatic Linguistics (NACAL 47), Paris, France, June, pp. 24-26. 2019.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSaeed1993" class="citation book cs1">Saeed, John Ibrahim (1993). <i>Somali Reference Grammar</i>. Kensington, Maryland: Dunwoody Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0931745973" title="Special:BookSources/978-0931745973"><bdi>978-0931745973</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Somali+Reference+Grammar&rft.place=Kensington%2C+Maryland&rft.pub=Dunwoody+Press&rft.date=1993&rft.isbn=978-0931745973&rft.aulast=Saeed&rft.aufirst=John+Ibrahim&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASomali+phonology" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSaeed1999" class="citation book cs1">Saeed, John Ibrahim (1999). <i>Somali</i>. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, B.V. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/90-272-3810-3" title="Special:BookSources/90-272-3810-3"><bdi>90-272-3810-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Somali&rft.place=Amsterdam&rft.pub=John+Benjamins%2C+B.V.&rft.date=1999&rft.isbn=90-272-3810-3&rft.aulast=Saeed&rft.aufirst=John+Ibrahim&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASomali+phonology" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline 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href="/wiki/Template:Language_phonologies" title="Template:Language phonologies"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Language_phonologies" title="Template talk:Language phonologies"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Language_phonologies" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Language phonologies"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Phonologies_of_the_world&#039;s_languages" class="wraplinks" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Phonology" title="Phonology">Phonologies</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Lists_of_languages" title="Lists of languages">world's languages</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><b>Phonologies</b></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_orthographies" title="Template:Language orthographies">Orthographies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_grammars" title="Template:Language grammars">Grammars</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_adjectives" title="Template:Language adjectives">Adjectives</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_determiners" title="Template:Language determiners">Determiners</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_nouns" title="Template:Language nouns">Nouns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_prepositions" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Language prepositions">Prepositions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_pronouns" title="Template:Language pronouns">Pronouns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_verbs" title="Template:Language verbs">Verbs</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">A–E</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abkhaz_phonology" title="Abkhaz phonology">Abkhaz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Acehnese_phonology" title="Acehnese phonology">Acehnese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adyghe_phonology" title="Adyghe phonology">Adyghe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Afrikaans_phonology" title="Afrikaans phonology">Afrikaans</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/American_Sign_Language_phonology" title="American Sign Language phonology">American Sign Language</a></li> <li>Arabic <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arabic_phonology" title="Arabic phonology">Modern Standard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Egyptian_Arabic_phonology" title="Egyptian Arabic phonology">Egyptian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hejazi_Arabic_phonology" title="Hejazi Arabic phonology">Hejazi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Levantine_Arabic_phonology" title="Levantine Arabic phonology">Levantine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moroccan_Arabic#Phonology" title="Moroccan Arabic">Moroccan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tunisian_Arabic_phonology" title="Tunisian Arabic phonology">Tunisian</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Avestan_phonology" title="Avestan phonology">Avestan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_phonology" title="Belarusian phonology">Belarusian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bengali_phonology" title="Bengali phonology">Bengali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_phonology" title="Bulgarian phonology">Bulgarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burmese_phonology" title="Burmese phonology">Burmese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Catalan_phonology" title="Catalan phonology">Catalan</a></li> <li>Chinese <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Standard_Chinese_phonology" title="Standard Chinese phonology">Mandarin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cantonese_phonology" title="Cantonese phonology">Cantonese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hokkien_phonology" title="Hokkien phonology">Hokkien</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Wu_phonology" title="Northern Wu phonology">Northern Wu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_Chinese_phonology" title="Old Chinese phonology">Old</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historical_Chinese_phonology" title="Historical Chinese phonology">Historical</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chukchi_phonology" title="Chukchi phonology">Chukchi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cornish_phonology" title="Cornish phonology">Cornish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Czech_phonology" title="Czech phonology">Czech</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danish_phonology" title="Danish phonology">Danish</a></li> <li>Dutch <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dutch_phonology" title="Dutch phonology">Standard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orsmaal-Gussenhoven_dialect_phonology" title="Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect phonology">Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_phonology" title="English phonology">English</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Australian_English_phonology" title="Australian English phonology">Australian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/General_American_English" title="General American English">General American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_English_phonology" title="New Zealand English phonology">New Zealand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Received_Pronunciation" title="Received Pronunciation">Received Pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_American_English_regional_phonology" title="North American English regional phonology">Regional North American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/White_South_African_English_phonology" title="White South African English phonology">White South African</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Standard_Canadian_English" title="Standard Canadian English">Standard Canadian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_English_phonology" title="Old English phonology">Old</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Esperanto_phonology" title="Esperanto phonology">Esperanto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Estonian_phonology" title="Estonian phonology">Estonian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">F–L</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Faroese_phonology" title="Faroese phonology">Faroese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finnish_phonology" title="Finnish phonology">Finnish</a></li> <li>French <ul><li><a href="/wiki/French_phonology" title="French phonology">Parisian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quebec_French_phonology" title="Quebec French phonology">Quebec</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Galician_phonology" title="Galician phonology">Galician</a></li> <li>German <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Standard_German_phonology" title="Standard German phonology">Standard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bernese_German_phonology" title="Bernese German phonology">Bernese</a></li></ul></li> <li>Greek <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Greek_phonology" title="Modern Greek phonology">Standard Modern</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greek_phonology" title="Ancient Greek phonology">Ancient</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Koine_Greek_phonology" title="Koine Greek phonology">Koine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greenlandic_phonology" title="Greenlandic phonology">Greenlandic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gujarati_phonology" title="Gujarati phonology">Gujarati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hawaiian_phonology" title="Hawaiian phonology">Hawaiian</a></li> <li>Hebrew <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Hebrew_phonology" title="Modern Hebrew phonology">Modern</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biblical_Hebrew#Phonology" title="Biblical Hebrew">Biblical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tiberian_Hebrew#Phonology" title="Tiberian Hebrew">Tiberian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Samaritan_Hebrew#Phonology" title="Samaritan Hebrew">Samaritan</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindustani_phonology" title="Hindustani phonology">Hindustani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hungarian_phonology" title="Hungarian phonology">Hungarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icelandic_phonology" title="Icelandic phonology">Icelandic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ingrian_phonology" title="Ingrian phonology">Ingrian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inuit_phonology" title="Inuit phonology">Inuit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Irish_phonology" title="Irish phonology">Irish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_phonology" title="Italian phonology">Italian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_phonology" title="Japanese phonology">Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kiowa_phonology" title="Kiowa phonology">Kiowa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Konkani_phonology" title="Konkani phonology">Konkani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Korean_phonology" title="Korean phonology">Korean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kurdish_phonology" title="Kurdish phonology">Kurdish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kyrgyz_phonology" title="Kyrgyz phonology">Kyrgyz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latgalian_phonology" title="Latgalian phonology">Latgalian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latin_phonology_and_orthography" title="Latin phonology and orthography">Latin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_phonology" title="Latvian phonology">Latvian</a></li> <li>Limburgish <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maastrichtian_dialect_phonology" title="Maastrichtian dialect phonology">Maastrichtian</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_phonology" title="Lithuanian phonology">Lithuanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Luxembourgish_phonology" title="Luxembourgish phonology">Luxembourgish</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">M–S</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Macedonian_phonology" title="Macedonian phonology">Macedonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malay_phonology" title="Malay phonology">Malay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maldivian_phonology" title="Maldivian phonology">Maldivian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/M%C4%81ori_phonology" title="Māori phonology">Māori</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marathi_phonology" title="Marathi phonology">Marathi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Massachusett_phonology" title="Massachusett phonology">Massachusett</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medumba_phonology" title="Medumba phonology">Medumba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Navajo_phonology" title="Navajo phonology">Navajo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nepali_phonology" title="Nepali phonology">Nepali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norwegian_phonology" title="Norwegian phonology">Norwegian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occitan_phonology" title="Occitan phonology">Occitan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ojibwe_phonology" title="Ojibwe phonology">Ojibwe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_Saxon_phonology" title="Old Saxon phonology">Old Saxon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oromo_phonology" title="Oromo phonology">Oromo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottawa_phonology" title="Ottawa phonology">Ottawa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pashto_phonology" title="Pashto phonology">Pashto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persian_phonology" title="Persian phonology">Persian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish_phonology" title="Polish phonology">Polish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portuguese_phonology" title="Portuguese phonology">Portuguese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_phonology" title="Proto-Indo-European phonology">Proto-Indo-European</a></li> <li>Ripuarian <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Colognian_phonology" title="Colognian phonology">Colognian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kerkrade_dialect_phonology" title="Kerkrade dialect phonology">Kerkrade dialect</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romanian_phonology" title="Romanian phonology">Romanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_phonology" title="Russian phonology">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sardinian_phonology" title="Sardinian phonology">Sardinian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Scots" title="Phonological history of Scots">Scots</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_phonology_and_orthography" title="Scottish Gaelic phonology and orthography">Scottish Gaelic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serbo-Croatian_phonology" title="Serbo-Croatian phonology">Serbo-Croatian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovak_phonology" title="Slovak phonology">Slovak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovene_phonology" title="Slovene phonology">Slovene</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Somali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sotho_phonology" title="Sotho phonology">Sotho</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_phonology" title="Spanish phonology">Spanish</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_dialects_and_varieties" title="Spanish dialects and varieties">Dialects and varieties</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swedish_phonology" title="Swedish phonology">Swedish</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">T–Z</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tagalog_phonology" title="Tagalog phonology">Tagalog</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_phonology" title="Tamil phonology">Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taos_phonology" title="Taos phonology">Taos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkish_phonology" title="Turkish phonology">Turkish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ubykh_phonology" title="Ubykh phonology">Ubykh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_phonology" title="Ukrainian phonology">Ukrainian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uyghur_phonology" title="Uyghur phonology">Uyghur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_phonology" title="Vietnamese phonology">Vietnamese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_phonology" title="Welsh phonology">Welsh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Frisian_phonology" title="West Frisian phonology">West Frisian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yiddish_phonology" title="Yiddish phonology">Yiddish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zuni_phonology" 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