Nahuatl:Phonology
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Nahuatl Pages
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| Introduction · Phonology · Pronouns · Particles · Nouns · Verbs · Adjectives · Numbers · Loanwords · Dialects · Toponyms |
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Nahuatl |
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| Uto-Aztecan | Aztecan | Mexico |
Latin | |
Sounds
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p /p/ | t /t/ | c,qu /k/g/ | cu,uc /kw/ | h/ʔ/ | ||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | nc,nqu /ŋ/ | ||||
| Tap/Flap | *r /ɾ/ | ||||||
| Fricative | *f /ɸ/, *b /β/ | c,z /s/ | x /ʃ/ | uh /ʍ/ | h /h/ | ||
| Affricate | tl /t͡ɬ/, tz /t͡s/ | ch /t͡ʃ/ | |||||
| Approximant | l /l/ | y /j/ | hu /w/ |
* These letters are used only for loanwords
| Front | Near- front | Central | Near- back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ī /i/ | ||||
| Near-close | i /ɪ/ | ō /ʊ/ | |||
| Close-mid | ē /ɪe/ | o /o/ | |||
| Open-mid | e /ɛ/ | ā /ɔa/ | |||
| Open | a /a/ | a /α/ | |||
Alphabet
a ā p t c e ē h q i ī m n l o ō u x y z
| Letter | English |
|---|---|
| a | spa |
| ā | board |
| p | pack |
| t | tick |
| tl | badly |
| tz | cats |
| c | cat, cell |
| ch | beach |
| cu, uc | quit |
| e | bet |
| ē | play |
| h | uh-oh, house |
| hu | weep |
| qu | kiss |
| i | bit |
| ī | free |
| m | him |
| n | no |
| nc, nq | sing |
| l | let |
| o | come |
| ō | hook |
| uh | what |
| x | shoe |
| y | you |
| z | sand |
Allophony
In many dialects the voiced consonants are often devoiced in wordfinal position and in consonant clusters: /j/ devoices to a voiceless palatal sibilant /ʃ/, /ʍ/ devoices to a voiceless labialized velar approximant /w/, and /l/ devoices to voiceless alveolar lateral /ɬ/. In some dialects the first consonant in almost any consonant cluster becomes /h/. Some dialects have productive lenition of voiceless consonants into their voiced counterparts between vowels. The nasals are normally assimilated to the place of articulation of a following consonant. The voiceless alveolar lateral affricate /t͡ɬ/ is assimilated after /l/ and pronounced /l/.
Nahuatl Pages
Mexico
