Inuit Language Phonology

Inuit Language Phonology

Following standard notation, phonemes are written between two slashes, e.g. /p/; and phonetic transcriptions are written between square brackets, e.g. .

This article is about the phonology of the Inuit language. Unless otherwise noted, statements refer to Inuktitut dialects of Canada.

Most dialects have fifteen consonants and three vowel qualities (with phonemic length distinctions for each). While the Inupiatun and Qawiaraq dialects have retroflex consonants, retroflexes have otherwise disappeared in all the Canadian and Greenlandic dialects.