These
are central low vowels. Although both occur in all the three
positions, there is a considerable degree of variation between
them. In the final position too /a:/ alters with /a/ and
vice versa.
Initial
/àp/
‘fungus’
/á:rsá:/
‘chicken’
/àl/
‘salted’
/á:rtúi/
‘egg’
/ámà/
‘he/she’
/:nthe/
‘holy’
/ánnì/
‘they’
/à:t/
‘to cut’, ‘to harvest’
/à/
‘like’
/á:lkéi/
‘to cultivate’
Medial
/pàt/
‘cotton’
/bùfá:i/
‘rice’
/bàt/
‘due’,‘credit’
/pà:r/
‘flower’
/fàhm/
‘cucumber’
/dácá:r/
‘thirsty’
/fááhrél/
‘pestle’
/ìnsá:/
‘tall’
/dálàm/
‘different’
/kà:vá:r/
‘freshly
burnt jungle’
Final
/ka/
‘my’
/á:/
‘fish’
/lmnaÛ/
‘happiness’
/mànsá/
‘bag’
/thámnà/
‘bribe’
/thílhá:/
‘good things’
/hmá
àinaà/
‘love’
/b:sa:/
‘beef’
/dàmná/
‘cure’
/lá:iná:/
‘relatives’
Contrast
between /a/ and /a:/ could be seen in the following examples.
/fàk/
‘to praise’
/fa:k/
‘to eat’, eating’
/dàr/
‘to spread’
/dá:r/
/dà r/
‘bell’
‘shoulder’
/pár/
‘to be stretched’
/pà:r/
‘flower’
/vàk/
‘quickly’
/vá:k/
‘roam about’
/màk/
‘strange’
/ma:k/
‘divorce’
/àr/
‘bending out’
/á:r/
‘chicken’
/ka/
‘my’
/ká:/
‘open month’
2.3.4 /,:/
These
are lower mid back rounded vowels, their occurrences are
more frequent in middle position than in initial and final
positions. A few examples of their occurrences in the three
positions are shown below :
/
mnaÛ/
há:/
:
,
t/
