Romani Language - Phonology

Phonology

The Romani sound system is not highly unusual among European languages. Its most marked features are a three-way contrast between unvoiced, voiced, and aspirated stops: p t k č, b d g dž, and ph th kh čh, and the presence in some dialects of a second rhotic ř, realized as uvular, a long trill, or retroflex or .

The following is the core sound inventory of Romani. Phonemes in parentheses are only found in some dialects:

Eastern and Southeastern European Romani dialects commonly have palatalized consonants, either distinctive or allophonic. Some dialects add the central vowel ə or ɨ. Vowel length is often distinctive in Western European Romani dialects. Loans from contact languages often allow other non-native phonemes.

Conservative dialects of Romani have final stress, with the exception of some unstressed affixes (e.g. the vocative ending, the case endings added on to the accusative noun, and the remoteness tense marker). Central and western European dialects often have shifted stress earlier in the word.