Vowels
The vowels of Burmese are:
| Monophthongs | Diphthongs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front offglide | Back offglide | |
| Close | i | u | ||
| Close-mid | e | o | ei | ou |
| Mid | ə | |||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Open | a | ai | au | |
The monophthongs /e/, /o/, /ə/, and /ɔ/ occur only in open syllables (those without a syllable coda); the diphthongs /ei/, /ou/, /ai/, and /au/ occur only in closed syllables (those with a syllable coda). /ə/ only occurs in a minor syllable, and is the only vowel that is permitted in a minor syllable (see below).
The close vowels /i/ and /u/ and the close portions of the diphthongs are slightly centered to and in closed syllables, i.e. before /ɴ/ and /ʔ/. Thus နှစ် /n̥iʔ/ "two" is phonetically and ကြောင် /tɕàuɴ/ "cat" is phonetically .
Read more about this topic: Burmese Language, Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“These equal syllables alone require,
Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“Playing “bop” is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)