Editing Alyutor language (section)

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Alyutor has six vowels, five of which may be long or short. The [[schwa]] {{IPA|/ə/}} cannot be long.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}} {{IPAlink|iː}}
|
| {{IPAlink|u}} {{IPAlink|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e}} {{IPAlink|eː}}
| {{IPAlink|ə}}
| {{IPAlink|o}} {{IPAlink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPAlink|a}} {{IPAlink|aː}}
|
|}

=== Consonants ===
There are 18 consonants in Alyutor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagayama |first=Yukari |title=Ocherk grammatiki aljutorskogo jazyka |publisher=Osaka: Osaka Gakuin University. |year=2003}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! {{Small|plain}}
! {{Small|palatalized}}
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| {{IPAlink|nʲ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
|
|
|
|-
! [[Plosive]]
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Fricative]]
| {{IPAlink|v}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʕ}}
|
|-
! [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}}
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| {{IPAlink|lʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Stress ===
Stress generally falls on the second syllable of polysyllabic words, and on the first syllable of disyllabic words, e.g.:
 
*{{IPA|/ˈmi.məl/}} 'water', {{IPA|/ˈɣəl.ɣən/}} 'skin', {{IPA|/ˈta.wə.ja.tək/}} 'to feed', {{IPA|/qə.ˈla.vul/}} 'husband', {{IPA|/pə.ˈla.kəl.ŋən/}} '[[mukluk]]'.

An [[syllable#Open and closed|open syllable]] containing schwa cannot be stressed. As a consequence, if a disyllabic term begins with such a syllable, the stress is shifted to the last syllable and thereafter a new, epenthetic syllable is added at the end, e.g.:

*<nowiki>*</nowiki>{{IPA|/ˈmə.tan/}} -> {{IPA|/məˈtan.'''nə'''/}} 'mosquito'.

The final syllable of a word is never stressed.<ref>Nedoluzhko, Anja (2016). Variability of languages in time and space: Linguistic typology - phonology</ref>

=== Syllable structure ===
All Alyutor syllables begin with a single consonant. If the vowel is short, including a schwa, they may also close with a single consonant. Consonant clusters are not permitted in the word initial or word final positions. The schwa is used to break up disallowed clusters.

Examples are {{IPA|/ˈvi.tak/}} 'to work', {{IPA|/ˈtil.mə.til/}} 'eagle', {{IPA|/ˈʔitʔən/}} 'parka'.

Alyutor word boundaries always coincide with syllable boundaries.