Kardii

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A random Kardii phrase:

Note: Unless stated otherwise, all pronunciations given are for southern Kardii. Some of the sounds are only approximately right. My IPA is a little shaky, but I'll try my best.

Consonants

There are 22 consonant sounds in Kardii.

Double Consonants

Some words, where their derivation involves putting two of the same consonants together, are spelled with double consonants, 'iteinna' (destruction) from 'itein' + 'na', or 'sassi' (half) from 'sas' + 'si'. Doubling a consonant does not alter its pronunciation.

The consonant 'ch' is never doubled. When 'ch' would become doubled (ie. when a suffix beginning with 'ch' is added a word ending in 'ch'), it is spelled single, 'paach' + 'che' becomes 'paache' (to touch).

Vowels

Southern Kardii has 6 basic vowel sounds.

Single Vowels

Diphthongs/Triphthongs

Long Vowels

Kardii also distinguishes long and short vowels. In the case of 'i' and 'u' ([ɪ] and [ʊ]), the long vowels are higher, becoming [i] and [u]. For the other vowels, the long versions are the same vowel, but with an extended duration.

In writing, long vowels can be represented in a few different ways. With 'a' and 'i', the vowels can be doubled (the only word where this occurs with another vowel is 'i'iuu' (onomatopoeia for a wolf's howl)). Long 'i' can also be written 'ei' or, in southern Kardii, 'ee' (this is a separate vowel in other dialects, see below). Other vowels are lengthened by placing 'h' or 'r' after them.

Adjacent Vowels (With the Same Value)

In writing, two identical vowels within the same word are separated by an apostrophe. In pronunciation, the two vowels are separated with a glottal stop;

e'e (ignoring) = ['ɛʔɛ]

When the adjacent vowels occur in different words, the above pronunciation is one option, and the one most often used in careful speech. Many people simply lengthen the vowel sound;

'ami i' (only (does)) = ['əmɪʔɪ] or ['əmi]

or even 'rreme ericha ami i' (the woman only lied):

['ɾɛmɛʔɛ'ɹɪtʃəʔ'əmɪʔɪ] or ['ɾɛmɛ:'ɹɪtʃ'ə:mi]

Stress

These are the stress rules for Kardii:

1) In a word with a suffix, the penultimate syllable is stressed.

2) In a two-syllable word with no final consonant sound, the first syllable is stressed.

3) In other cases, the second syllable is stressed.

Note: For purposes of stress, 'ia' counts as a single vowel at the end of a word and as two before the end of a word. The two vowels are always pronounced separately, wherever they occur.

Apostrophe

Excepting the i'i and m/n'i combinations (below), the apostrophe serves as a syllable barrier.

Apostrophe Between Consonants

The combinations 'j'C' and 'sh'C', eg. 'j'peri' (sane), 'sh'kisa' (dust), occur mostly at the beginning of a word. The 'j' or 'sh' has a slightly extended duration and there is no vowel sound afterwards, making the first two syllables sound like one. They are, however, two seperate syllables, which affects the stress of the word, j'taachiilas (magic) ('j' and 'sh', however, cannot carry stress and so words which would normally stress the first syllable will instead stress the second).

The consonants 'm' and 'n' behave in the same way as 'j' and 'sh' when the syllable consists of no other sound. 'k' and'p' tend to be followed by a faint 'a' sound. These syllables also cannot carry stress.

m'p'tii (give) = [m.pʰə̥.'tʰi]

If a word begins with a consonant followed by an apostrophe and the preceding word ends in a vowel, the consonant is pronounced as if it is at the end of the first word rather than the beginning of the second. Stress does not change when this occurs. The effect is more noticable in the southern dialect, where final stops lose their aspiration;

k'mi'ias (dark) = [kʰə̥.'mɪ.jəs]

vusa k'mi'ias (dark night) = ['vʊ.sək.'mɪ.jəs]

i'i

The 'y' sound in English 'yell' is written as either i'i or 'i. The 'i spelling comes after either m or n. If the i'i spelling comes after these letters, then the initial i is pronounced. E.g, 'den'iaan' (mountain), pronounced the way English would say 'denyahn' [dɛn.'jə:n], or 'mi'ia' (colour), pronounced the way English would say 'miya' ['mɪ.jə]. Everywhere else, this sound is written i'i. E.g, 'i'iin' (reply), pronounced the way English would say 'yin' [jɪn].

Consonants Followed by i'i

When consonants other than 'n' or 'm' are directly followed by i'i, eg. 'seveti'ia' (ceremonial dish), 'jaki'iin' (name), i'i can either be pronounced as normal (like 'y' in 'yes') or as Kardii 'ii'. This is a matter of choice. Any given Kardii speaker will use either one pronunciation or the other.

seveti'ia = [sɛ.'vɛt.jə] or [sɛ.'vɛ.tʰi.ə]

Dialect Differences

As previously mentioned, Kardii has three main dialects, however I have only really been concentrating on the southern one. I know a little about how the southern dialect differs from standard (West Nin) Kardii and will describe those differences here.

Two sounds that are pronounced differently are 'rr' (a trill [r] in standard Kardii and a flap [ɾ] in southern) and 'ee' (mid-high [e] in standard Kardii and high [i] in southern). The pronunciation of 'eeii' (found in the word 'theeii' (sea) and its derivatives), in standard Kardii, is Kardii 'ee' + 'ii' [e.i]. Southern Kardii pronounces it the same as 'ii' [i].

Also, in southern Kardii, final stops tend to be unaspirated. This feature is due to the influence of Tasa and is most prevailent among those of Tali descent.

t's- at the beginning of a word often comes from the word t'selin (bone). In standard Kardii, the 't' is treated in the same way as 'k' and'p' before an apostrophe (see above), becoming [tʰə̥.s]. In the southern dialect, the combination is pronounced 'ts' [ts]. 'ts' is also found in a few Tali names and Tasa loan words, eg. 'neeraka tsen' (the family name of the East Nin royal family). In standard Kardii, it has a tendancy to be pronounced [tʰə̥.s].