|
CVCCVCVC
|
/mėnsaru /
|
‘fox’
|
|
CVCCVCCVC
|
/b mlatnam/
|
‘bring back’
|
|
CVCCVCCVCVC
|
/bamlatkunam/
|
‘to bring to a particular place’
|
|
VC
|
/ėg/
|
‘pig’
|
|
VCV
|
/isi/
|
‘this’
|
|
VCVC
|
/ļtļl/
|
‘penis’
|
|
VCCV
|
/üdnė/
|
‘high’
|
|
VCCVC
|
/ansi/
|
‘cold’
|
|
VCVCCV
|
/azik/
|
‘child’
|
|
VCCVCV
|
|
‘where’
|
|
VCVCVCV
|
|
‘where’
|
|
VCVVCV
|
/arainė/
|
‘long’
|
|
VCCVV
|
/aNtua/
|
‘curtain’
|
|
VCCVCVC
|
/ļlmnam/
|
‘charm’
|
|
VCCVCCVC
|
/aksildum/
|
‘intestine’
|
|
|
|
1.6 Cluster formation |
| Vowels form clusters
in all three positions, viz., initial, medial and final positions
of the word. Only two-vowel clusters are available. Whenever three
vowels join together, there is always the insertion of a glide /y/
or /w/. Two -consonant clusters are found only in word-medial position
except /w/ which does not form a cluster with any of the consonants.
Only one example of a three-consonant cluster has been found in the
data collected, viz., /mistri/ ‘technician’, which is a loan word
from Assamese. |
| 1. Initial vowel clusters
(phonemic) |
|
aė-
|
/aė/
|
‘fruit’
|
|
ui-
|
/ui/
|
‘spirit’
|
|
au-
|
/aum/
|
‘three’
|
|
|
| 2. Medial
vowel clusters |
|
-ai-
|
/raģk/
|
‘demon’
|
|
-ia-
|
/yariąnam/
|
‘lightning’
|
|
-ua-
|
/gurua/
|
‘calf (part of the leg)’
|
|
-au-
|
/maur/
|
‘cholera’
|
-i-
|
/mida/
|
‘flour’
|
-a-
|
/ganą/
|
‘ornament’
|
|
|
/manąm/
|
‘charge’
|
-a-
|
/tįt/
|
‘top’
|
|
-ėi-
|
/kėig/
|
‘downward’
|
|
|
| 3. Final
vowel clusters |
|
-ua-
|
/dumua/
|
‘storm’
|
|
|
/atua/
|
‘curtain’
|
-i-
|
/hįbi/
|
‘father’s brother’
|
u
|
/t @u/
|
‘cooked rice’
|
|
-ai
|
/krai/
|
‘pan’
|
|
|
/bilai/
|
‘tomato’
|
|
-ėu
|
/tėu/
|
‘yet’
|
|
|
| 4. Geminated
and non-geminated consonant clusters |
|
1
|
-pp-
|
/appļ/
|
‘all’
|
|
|
|
/yappa/
|
‘weaver’
|
|
2
|
-pt-
|
/ąpta/
|
‘hunting’
|
|
3
|
-pk-
|
/apk/
|
‘shooting range’
|
|
4
|
-pn-
|
/apk/
|
‘shooting’
|
|
5
|
-pd-
|
/kapdu/
|
‘weeping’
|
|
6
|
-pl-
|
/mkaplamļnam/
|
‘to shut in’
|
|
7
|
-ps-
|
/napsi/
|
‘mucus’
|
|
8
|
-py-
|
/dpynam/
|
‘theft’
|
|
9
|
-tp-
|
/mtpi/
|
‘ashes’
|
|
|
