| |
|
|
|
1.3.5. Laterals : |
|
1.3.5.1. /l/ is a voiced alveolar lateral occuring initially
and medially : |
| |
| lá |
[lá] |
‘she’ |
| |
|
|
| lima |
[lima] |
‘country’ |
| |
|
|
| lalù |
[lalù] |
‘waste’ |
| |
|
|
| táli |
[táli] |
‘more’ |
| |
|
|
| mulù |
[mulù] |
‘boil’ |
|
| |
1.3.5.2. / /
is a voiced retroflex lateral fricative 2.
It occurs in all the positions : |
| |
ó
|
[ ] |
‘boat’ |
| |
|
|
| ásà
|
[ás ]
|
‘explain’ |
| |
|
|
| aa
|
[aa]
|
‘war’ |
| |
|
|
| liu
|
[liu]
|
‘gesture’ |
| |
|
|
| pá
|
[pá]
|
‘his’ |
| |
|
|
| té
|
[t ]
|
‘ten’ |
|
| |
| 1.3.6.
Semi-Vowels : |
| 1.3.6.1. /w/
is a voiced bilabial semi-vowel or frictionless continuant. It
occurs in all the positions : |
| |
| waa
|
[waa]
|
‘plague’ |
| |
|
|
| wau
|
[wau]
|
‘crow’ |
| |
|
|
| puwa |
[puwa] |
‘bewitch’ |
| |
|
|
| awù
|
[awù]
|
‘ice’ |
| |
|
|
| àw |
[w]
|
‘softestbamboo’ |
|
|
| 1.3.6.2. /y/
is a voiced palatal semi-vowel or frictionless continuant. It
occurs in all the positions : |
|
|
______________ |
| In the
absence of the correct symbol
is used in this book for retroflex lateral fricative. |
| |
| yiu
|
[yiu]
|
‘wound’ |
| |
|
|
| yái
|
[yái]
|
‘here’ |
| |
|
|
| kayì |
[kayì] |
‘earthworm’ |
| |
|
|
| kèyi |
[kèyi] |
‘tiger’ |
| |
|
|
| táy |
[táy] |
‘wrong’ |
| |
|
|
| áy |
[áy] |
‘accuse’ |
|
|
| 1.4.
Tones : |
| Tones are
suprasegmental features which make pitch distinctive at word
level. Ao has three tones, which are contrastive, viz., Level
tone, Rising tone and Falling tone. Level tone is the same as
the pitch level of the normal speech. In the rising tone, the
pitch suddenly rises from the level. In the following tone there
is a sudden fall of the pitch from the level. |
| |
| 1.4.1. Level
tone unmarked |
| 1.4.2. Rising tone / |
| 1.4.3. Falling tone \ |
| |
| All of them
occur in all the positions : |
| |
|
Initial
Medial
Final |
| apu ‘blow’ pala ‘divorce’ puwa ‘bewitch’ |
| ápu ‘borrow’ tàpu ‘page’ pùwá ‘charm’ |
| àpu ‘bridge, tàpu ‘thin’ tapù ‘lean’ |
|
ladder’ |
| |
| 1.5.1.
The Syllable : |
| 1.5.1.1. Structure of the Ao Syllable :
|
| |
|
In Ao, as in many other languages, only the vowels make the
nucleus of the syllable. All the vowels in Ao make the nucleus
of the syllable. That is, there is no non-syllabic vowel in this
language. Hence, the number of syllables in a word is equal to
the number of vowels in it. |
| |
