Editing Laal language (section)

===Vowels===
The vowel system for non-initial syllables is {{IPA|/i/, /y/, /ɨ/, /u/, /e/, /ə/, /o/, /a/}} and the [[diphthong]] {{IPA|/ua/}}, with no length distinction. {{IPA|/y/}} is heard as a glide {{IPA|[ɥ]}} in the vowel sequences {{IPA|/yo, ya/}} as {{IPA|[ɥo, ɥa]}}. For initial syllables, however, it is much more complicated, allowing length distinctions and distinguishing the following additional diphthongs:  {{IPA|/ia/, /yo/, /ya/}} (but the latter two appear only as morphologically conditioned forms of {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/ia/}} and so are perhaps better seen as allophonic).

In addition, {{IPA|/y/}} may occur very occasionally; Boyeldieu quotes the example of ''mỳlùg'' "red (pl.)".

There are three level tones: high (á), middle (a), low (à). Combinations may occur on a single vowel, resulting in phonetic rising and falling tone, and which are phonemically sequences of level tones. Such cases are transcribed here by repeating the vowel (e.g. àá); long vowels are indicated only by a colon (e.g. a:).

Suffixes may force any of four kinds of [[ablaut]] on the vowels of preceding words: raising (takes {{IPA|/ia/, /a/, /ua/}} to {{IPA|[ɛ], [ə], [ɔ]}}), lowering (takes {{IPA|/e/, /ə/, /o/}} to {{IPA|[ia], [a], [ua]}}), low rounding (takes {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/ɨ/}} to {{IPA|[u]}}; {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/ia/}} to {{IPA|[ɥo]}}; {{IPA|/ə/, /a/}}, and {{IPA|/ua/}} to {{IPA|[o]}}), and high rounding (takes {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/ɨ/}} to {{IPA|[u]}}; {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/ia/}} to {{IPA|[ɥa]}}; {{IPA|/ə/, /a/}}, and {{IPA|/o/}} to {{IPA|[ua]}}). They are transcribed in the suffix section as ↑, ↓, ↗, ↘ respectively. In some verbs, a/ə is "raised" to {{IPA|[e]}} rather than, as expected, to {{IPA|[ə]}}.

In suffixes, ə and o undergo [[vowel harmony]]: they become {{IPA|ɨ}} and u respectively if the preceding vowel is one of {i, {{IPA|ɨ}}, u}. Likewise, r undergoes consonant harmony, becoming l after words containing l.  Suffixes with a neutral tone copy the final tone of the word to which they are suffixed.[https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/42030562/African_linguistic_isolates.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1526872805&Signature=QykLYKQ%2BZ0SaMXcREtVAyBJD0rI%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DAfrican_language_isolates.pdf]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Vowels
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}} {{IPA link|y}}
| {{IPAlink|ɨ}}
| {{IPAlink|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e}}
| {{IPAlink|ə}}
| {{IPAlink|o}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPAlink|a}}
|
|}