Editing Alsatian dialect (section)

==Phonology==

===Consonants===
Alsatian has a set of 19 consonants:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! !! [[Labial consonant|Labial]] !! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] !! [[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]] !! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] !! [[Velar consonant|Velar]] !! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]] !! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} || ||
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA|b̥}} || {{IPA|d̥}} || || || {{IPA|ɡ̊}}, {{IPA|kʰ}} || ||
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| {{IPA|pf}} || {{IPA|ts}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || || || ||
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA|f, v}}||{{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|ç}} || ({{IPA|x}}) || rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ʁ}}||{{IPA|h}}
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPA|ʋ}}||{{IPA|l}} || || {{IPA|j}} || ||
|}

Three consonants are restricted in their distribution: {{IPA|/kʰ/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} only occur at the beginning of a word or morpheme, and then only if followed immediately by a vowel; {{IPA|/ŋ/}} never occurs at the beginning of a word or morpheme.

Alsatian, like some German dialects, has [[lenition|lenited]] all [[obstruent]]s but {{IPA|[k]}}. Its [[lenis|lenes]] are, however, [[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]] as in all Southern German varieties. Therefore, they are here transcribed {{IPA|/b̥/}}, {{IPA|/d̥/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ̊/}}. Speakers of French tend to hear them as their {{IPA|/p, t, k/}}, which also are voiceless and unaspirated.

The phoneme {{IPA|/ç/}} has a velar allophone {{IPA|[x]}} after back vowels ({{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, and {{IPA|/a/}} in those speakers who do not pronounce this as {{IPA|[æ]}}), and palatal {{IPA|[ç]}} elsewhere. In southern dialects, there is a tendency to pronounce it {{IPA|/x/}} in all positions, and in Strasbourg the palatal allophone tends to conflate with the phoneme {{IPA|/ʃ/}}. A labiodental voiced fricative {{IPA|/v/}} sound is also present as well as an approximant {{IPA|/ʋ/}} sound. {{IPA|/ʁ/}} may have phonetic realizations as {{IPA|[ʁ]}}, {{IPA|[ʁ̞]}}, and {{IPA|[ʀ]}}.

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA|i}}
|{{IPA|y}}
| 
|{{IPA|u}}
|-
![[Near-close vowel|Near-close]]
|{{IPA|ɪ}}
|{{IPA|ʏ}}
|
|{{IPA|ʊ}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPA|e}}
|{{IPA|ø}}
|({{IPA|ə}})
|{{IPA|o}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA|ɛ}}
|{{IPA|œ}}
|
|{{IPA|ɔ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|æ}}
|{{IPA|a}}
|{{IPA|ɑ ~ ɒ}}
|}

Short vowels: {{IPA|/ʊ/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, {{IPA|/a/}} ({{IPA|[æ]}} in Strasbourg), {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/y/}}.

Long vowels: {{IPA|/ʊː/}}, {{IPA|/oː/}}, {{IPA|/ɒː/}}, {{IPA|/aː/}}, {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}}, {{IPA|/iː/}}, {{IPA|/yː/}}

===Diphthongs===
{{Empty section|date=January 2011}}