Structure
As an abugida, a basic letter represents both a consonant and an inherent, or default, vowel. In Limbu, the inherent vowel is /ɔ/.
| Letter | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ᤁ | /kɔ/ | |
| ᤂ | /kʰɔ/ | |
| ᤃ | /ɡɔ/ | |
| ᤄ | /ɡʱɔ/ | |
| ᤅ | /ŋɔ/ | |
| ᤆ | /cɔ/ | |
| ᤇ | /cʰɔ/ | |
| ᤈ | /ɟɔ/ | |
| ᤉ | /ɟʱɔ/ | Obsolete in modern Limbu. |
| ᤊ | /ɲɔ/ | Obsolete in modern Limbu. |
| ᤋ | /tɔ/ | |
| ᤌ | /tʰɔ/ | |
| ᤍ | /dɔ/ | |
| ᤎ | /dʱɔ/ | |
| ᤏ | /nɔ/ | |
| ᤐ | /pɔ/ | |
| ᤑ | /pʰɔ/ | |
| ᤒ | /bɔ/ | |
| ᤓ | /bʱɔ/ | |
| ᤔ | /mɔ/ | |
| ᤕ | /jɔ/ | |
| ᤖ | /rɔ/ | |
| ᤗ | /lɔ/ | |
| ᤘ | /wɔ/ | |
| ᤙ | /ʃɔ/ | |
| ᤚ | /ʂɔ/ | Obsolete in modern Limbu. |
| ᤛ | /sɔ/ | |
| ᤜ | /hɔ/ |
To change the inherent vowel, a diacritic is added. Shown here on /k/ (ᤁ):
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁᤡ | /ki/ |
| ᤁᤣ | /ke/ |
| ᤁᤧ | /kɛ/ |
| ᤁᤠ | /ka/ |
| ᤁᤨ | /kɔ/ |
| ᤁᤥ | /ko/ |
| ᤁᤢ | /ku/ |
| ᤁᤤ | /kai/ |
| ᤁᤦ | /kau/ |
ᤁᤨ represents the same thing as ᤁ. Some writers avoid the diacritic, considering it redundant.
Initial consonant clusters are written with small marks following the main consonant:
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁᤩ | /kjɔ/ |
| ᤁᤪ | /krɔ/ |
| ᤁᤫ | /kwɔ/ |
Final consonants after short vowels are written with another set of marks, except for some final consonants occurring only in loanwords. They follow the marks for consonant clusters, if any.
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁᤰ | /kɔk/ |
| ᤁᤱ | /kɔŋ/ |
| ᤁᤳ | /kɔt/ |
| ᤁᤴ | /kɔn/ |
| ᤁᤵ | /kɔp/ |
| ᤁᤶ | /kɔm/ |
| ᤁᤷ | /kɔr/ |
| ᤁᤸ | /kɔl/ |
Long vowels without a following final consonant are written with a diacritic called kemphreng:
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁ᤺ | /kɔː/ |
| ᤁᤡ᤺ | /kiː/ |
| ᤁᤣ᤺ | /keː/ |
| ᤁᤧ᤺ | /kɛː/ |
| ᤁᤠ᤺ | /kaː/ |
| ᤁᤨ᤺ | /kɔː/ |
| ᤁᤥ᤺ | /koː/ |
| ᤁᤢ᤺ | /kuː/ |
There are two systems for writing long vowels with syllable-final consonants. One system is simply a combination of the kemphreng and final consonant marks:
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁ᤺ᤰ | /kɔːk/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤱ | /kɔːŋ/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤳ | /kɔːt/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤴ | /kɔːn/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤵ | /kɔːp/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤶ | /kɔːm/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤷ | /kɔːr/ |
| ᤁ᤺ᤸ | /kɔːl/ |
The other is to write the final consonant with the basic letter, and a diacritic that marks both that the consonant is final, and that the preceding vowel is lengthened:
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁᤁ᤻ | /kɔːk/ |
| ᤁᤅ᤻ | /kɔːŋ/ |
| ᤁᤋ᤻ | /kɔːt/ |
| ᤁᤏ᤻ | /kɔːn/ |
| ᤁᤐ᤻ | /kɔːp/ |
| ᤁᤔ᤻ | /kɔːm/ |
| ᤁᤖ᤻ | /kɔːr/ |
| ᤁᤗ᤻ | /kɔːl/ |
This same diacritic may be used to mark final consonants in loanwords that do not have final forms in Limbu, regardless of the length of the vowel.
Glottalization is marked by a sign called mukphreng.
| Appearance | IPA |
|---|---|
| ᤁ᤹ | /kɔʔ/ |
Read more about this topic: Limbu Alphabet
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