Phonology
The consonants are:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ | ʔ |
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||
| Prenasalised plosive | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | |
| Fricative | s | h | |||
| Approximant | l | j | w | ||
| Nasal approximant | w̃ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Trill | r |
The vowels are /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, /e/, /ə/, /a/, and /o/ as well as the diphthongs, /ja/ and wa; all except /ɨ/ can also be given contrastive length and nasalization. Complex vowel harmony, rather similar to that found in Laal, is observable.
There are three tone levels: low, mid, high. Any syllable must bear at least one tone; it may bear any combination of two tones, or one of three three-tone combinations: LML, MLH, or HLH.
Read more about this topic: Niellim Language