User:Xenos melophilos/Khalaj phonology

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Vowels

Khalaj vowel phonemes

	Front		Central		Back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
Close	i	y	(ɨ)			u
Mid	e	ø				o
Open	æ		a

• Vowels can be long or short (long, half-long or short according to Doerfer), though in allegro speech they mayn't be differentiated. Even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.
• Long vowels may diphthongize in many dialects (like in Yakut): for example /aː/ → [ɑːɑ̯], /eː/ → [eːe̯] ~ [iːe̯], /oː/ → [oːo̯] ~ [uːo̯], /øː/ → [øːø̯] ~ [yːø̯] (compare Yakut киэһэ (kiehe, “evening”), күөл (küöl, “lake”), уот (uot, “fire”)). There are also rising diphthongs which come from long vowels (like falling ones).
• Half-long vowels may also diphthongize, for example [oˑ] → [uo̯] (also [ʊ̞]).
• [oˑ] may raise to [ʊ̞].
• /y/, /i/ (including its central allophone), and /u/ may alternate a lot.
• In Khalaj, Proto-Turkic back /ɨ/ and front /i/ merged into [i] (though [ɨ] can be found as an allophone, specially before uvular consonants).

Vowel harmony

Khalaj has front/back and rounded/unrounded vowels, but it has changed the original vowel harmony system due to Persian influence, resulting in this:

• A = /a/ - /æ/
• U = /u/ - /y/
• /i/

The Proto-Turkic "X" and "U" suffixes have merged in Khalaj as "U".

This vowel harmony has been confusing in the dialects, producing more changes and even making the system collapse.

Vowel /a/

If the vowel is overly clear, it becomes more lengthened: short becomes (half-)long, and half-long becomes long.

Long /aː/ may round ([ɒː] → [oː]) due to Persian influence, and in turn it may diphthongize [ɒːɒ̯]. Short and half-long /a/ may round too ([ɒ] and [ɒˑ]), but is less frequent.

As [a] and [aˑ] round, they also become fronter ([æ̞] and [æː]) (Persian influence).

Again, in allegro speech, the length mayn't be differentiated, even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.

Vowel /æ/

/æ/ may be more lowered [æ̞]. In some words (mainly Persian borrowings), front /æ/ and its allophones may coexist with central /a/ and its allophones.

Vowels /ø/ and /y/

They can unround due to Persian influence.

Consonants

Khalaj consonant phonemes

		Labial	Dental	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	(ŋ)
Stop/Affricate	voiceless	p	t	t͡ʃ		k	q
	voiced	b	d	d͡ʒ		ɡ	(ɢ)
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	ʃ	(ç)		χ	h
	voiced	v	z	ʒ	(ʝ)		ʁ
Approximant			l		j	(w)
Rhotic			ɾ

• /ç/, /ʝ/ and /ɲ/ are phonetically post-palatal ([ç̠], [ʝ̠] and [ɲ̠]). These sounds are also represented as [xʲ], [ɣʲ] and [ŋʲ] (palatalization); or [x̟], [ɣ̟] and [ŋ̟] (pre-velar).
• /j/ and /ɡ/ may alternate and even elide.
• The group /iɡ/ may palatalize [iɡʲ], turn fortis ([iɡ̊] ~ [ik]) or turn lenis ([iʝ̠] ~ [iç̠], [ij] ~ [iː]).
• /ç/ and /ʝ/ occur as a transition between [k] - [j] and [ɡ] - [j] respectively.
• Before velars, /n/ becomes [ŋ].
• After /n/, /t͡ʃ/ is voiced [d͡ʒ] (except for the locative suffix).
• /v/ may be realized as [w].
• /ɾ/ and /l/ may be elided in aus- and inlaut.

Anlaut (beginning of a word)

1. /k/: In a weak prestissimo speech it can be lenited to [ɡ̊] and [ɡ], but in isolate position and at the beginning of a sentence it is [k].
2. /q/: It can be voiced [ɢ] due to Persian and Oghuz influence. Also, in sandhi it can be lenited [ʁ], [χ], just like /k/.
3. /t/: Rarely, it can be lenited [d] in sandhi position.
4. /b/: It can be devoiced [p] (Oghuz influence). In some words Proto-Turkic /b/ changed to [m], for example mən, ming, and inflected forms of bô, though inflected forms coexist with the original ones beginning with [b]. Also, in sandhi position it can be lenited [v].
5. /j/: It can be elided due to Oghuz influence. Sometimes it can alternate with initial /i/. It can also become [n] (compare Northern Altai ньымыртка (nʹïmïrtka, “egg”)).
6. /ji/ and /ɡi/ may alternate. Also, /ji/ and /hi/ may alternate because of Oghuz influence.

Inlaut (middle of a word)

1. /q/: It is realized as [q], [χ] and [ʁ].
2. /ʁ/: It may be realized as [v].
3. /j/: This consonant may be elided.
4. /v/: /v/ may become an approximant [w] or elided.
5. /ɲ/: Proto-Khalaj /ɲ/ turned in [n], [j], [ŋ], etc., in Khalaj dialects.
6. /ŋ/: Rarely, /ŋɡ/ may become [n].

Auslaut (end of a word)

1. /k/: Phonetically it can be aspirated or palatalized, even sometimes its palatalization is so strong that [kʲ] becomes [c].
2. /q/: As /k/, it can be aspirated. It also can affricatize [q͡χ] and fricatize [χ].
3. /ʁ/: It can undergo plosivization [ɢ], [ɢ̥], [qʰ], or fortition [ʁ̥], [χ].
4. /d/: It can undergo fortition [d̥], [t].
5. /z/: /z/ may devoice [z̥].
6. /ŋ/: /ŋɡ/ may turn fortis [ŋɡ̊] ~ [ŋk]. It can also become just [ŋ] and, in turn, [n].

Stress

Stress usually appears at the end of a word, but there are exceptions:

1. Some Persial loanwords like bəlî (“yes”) doesn't take final-word stress.
2. The indefinite article -î, the ezafe and the conjunctions ki, u and tə, are unaccented.
3. Some native adverbs and imperatives take stress in another syllable.
4. Some imperative suffixes, the negative suffix, and also the locative, instrumental and equative cases, are unaccented.
5. The aorist 1st person plural suffix takes stress in the first syllable.
6. The copula is unaccented, the same with the aorist suffix when joined to present suffix.
7. The verbal suffix -in is unaccented.

Strong emphasize in a word is created by stress shift.

Vocative is made by shifting the stress to the first syllable.

References

• Doerfer, Gerhard (1988) Grammatik des Chaladsch [Grammar of Khalaj] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, →OCLC