Consonants

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Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Stops V'less p t c~ʧ k q ʔ
Voiced b d ɟ~ʤ g    
Implosive ɓ ɗ ʄ      
Voiceless Implosive ƥ ƭ ƈ      
Prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ⁿɟ ⁿg    
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ    
Fricative f s     χ~h  
Tap/Trill   ɾ~r        
Liquid   l        
Implosive lateral   ɗl        
Glide ʋ~β̞~w   j      

Notes:

  • The modal voice palatal stops tend to be pronounced as affricates word initially, and stops elsewhere. The implosive palatal stops do not exhibit this alternation.
  • /r/ can be pronounced as either a tap/flap, or a trill. In slower or more careful speech, the trill is more likely to surface.
  • The labial glide is not exactly [w], but there may in fact be velar co-articulation. Note that in certain morpho-phonological alternations, /w/ and /k/ pattern together, as well as /w/, /b/ and /p/.
  • The back fricative /χ/ is alternately pronounced as [χ] or [h]. In quicker speech, [h] is more likely to surface, with [χ] being the more common allophone in slower or more careful speech.
  • In quick speech, the prenasalized stop /nɟ/ is often pronounced as [nj].
  • /k/ sometime has a backed allophone [q] in the presence of the vowels /a/ or /o/. It is not yet clear whether every instance of [q] is an allophone of /k/, or if there is a phonemic contrast in some environments.
  • The voiceless (non-implosive) stops are pronounced as alternately aspirated, unaspirated, or lightly ejective. The conditioning environments for this allophony are not yet completely clear.
  • Initially (and of course medially), the voiced stops are fully voiced, with voicing and closure being essentially simultaneous.
  • Voiced stops (implosive, modal, and prenasalized) undergo some degree of word- or phrase-final devoicing in quick speech. Tentatively, this does not seem to cause complete devoicing, avoiding neutralization with the voiceless stops.

Minimal Pairs