2.2.0. The phonetic transcription used
here is relatively broad. The following kinds of phonetic details
have been ignored (unless otherwise indicated).
|
Fortis and
Lenis: In general, word-intial consonants are pronounced with
greater impedance of theair stream, increased tension of the
muscles of the articulators and heightend sub-glottal presure.
Word-medial and word-final consonants, when not doubled, are
pronounced with less impedance, decreased tension, and reduced
sub-glottal pressure. Such fortis and lenis variants are not
noted in the transcription.
|
The affricates,
labelled �stops, in the inventory function unambiguously as
unit consonants in Abujhmaria. We have dropped the notation
/ /
and / /
in favour of /c/ and /j/ respectively.
|
Word-initail
vowels are automatically pronounced with glottal catch onset.
This onset is omitted in the transcription.
|
The study
of transition features-juncture and clause termials-is not exhaustive.
They are explained here only for illustrative purposes.
|
2.3.0. Phonemic Contrasts
|
The phonemes
are established on the evidence of contrasts between phonetically
similar segments in analogous and identical environments. Eleven
types of contrasts are for given for consonant phonemes,
|
| They are: |
| (1) Voiced and voiceless stops, |
| (2) Voiceless retroflex and voiceless dental stops, |
| (3) Glottal fricative and voiceless velar stop, |
| (4) Alveolar fricative and glottal less stop, |
| (5) Alveolar fricative and glottal fricative, |
| (6) Lateral and trill, |
| (7) Trill and flap, |
| (8) Flap and voiced retroflex stop, |
| (9) Bilabial and dental nasal, |
| (10) Dental and palatal semi-vowels. |
(11) Bilabial and palatal semi-vowels.
|
|
| Following contrasts are given for vowels: |
| (1) Contrast between short vowels, |
| (2) Contrast between long vowels and |
(3) Contrast between short and long vowels.
|
|
| 2.3.1. Consonant Contrasts |
| Contrast between /b/ and /p/ |
|
/bi: o:/ |
�arrow with round head to hit birds� |
|
/pi:o:/ |
�song� |
|
/be:l/ |
�jaggery� |
|
/pe:l/ |
�human excrement� |
|
/kabu:r/ |
�news� |
|
/kapa:r/ |
�forehead� |
|
