Phonology
Some sounds are approximate. Some of the vowels like "e, â, o, u" and "i" show variations.
| Monophthongs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound (IPA) | Notes | Romanization | Example(s) |
| ɒ | generally a somewhat rounded /ɔ/ | â | âynakâ |
| æ | - | a | tar |
| e | - | e | âme |
| o | has a wide range between /u/ and /ɔ/. It could be an allophone of /ɒ/ or /u/. | o | xorâk |
| u | - | u | buri |
| y | probably not a separate phoneme. The palatalization may be a Turkic influence. | ü | dü, mü, lüt |
| œ | a phoneme or an allophone of /o/ or /u/ | ö | höröm, čöröl |
| i | - | i | pir |
The consonants are: p, b, t, d, č, j, k, g, x(xw), q, f, m, n, r, l, s, z, ž, š, h, v, w, y.
| Notes about some Consonants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound (IPA) | Notes | Romanization | Example(s) |
| k | Final /k/, following a vowel is mostly pronounced as /g/ and as in the 3rd. person singular suffix, begins as a half-voiced stop and ends as a fricative /x/. | k | xorâk, nedârek |
| ʒ | is a rare sound | ž | žani, gužd |
| m,n | Final /m/ and /n/ after a vowel (particularly /ɒ/ )are tending to merely nasalize the preceding vowel. For example in the 1st person plural person suffix: -ɒm/-ɒ̆̆ / | m, n | merdân |
| w | is infrequent. After some vowels it can be considered as diphthong. Generally in most of the cases it is dropped or can be considered as a buffer or a semivowel. | w | wâ (consonant), wuj-, uwâ |
| j | can appear in all parts of the words | y | yem |
| x | In a number of words it is followed by a weak /w/ or /u/ without making any changes in the syllabic count of the word. Whether xu should be counted as a separate consonant or should be considered in such words as xuan a contraction of xua is moot. | x | xuan (or xwan), xalâw. |
| ʋ | - | v | vel |
In Xoini, vowel harmony, gemination and lengthening more or less occurs.
Read more about this topic: Kho'ini Dialect