Editing Igbo language (section)

===Consonants===

Igbo does not have a contrast among voiced occlusives (between voiced stops and nasals): stops precede oral vowels, and nasals precede nasal vowels. Only a limited number of other consonants occur before nasal vowels, including {{IPA|/f, z, s/}}.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center"
|+caption | Consonants of Standard Igbo (with nasal vowels)
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |
! rowspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2| [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br/>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Postalveolar|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Labial–velar consonant|Labial–<br/>velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[labialization|lab.]]</small>
|- 
!rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]/<br/>[[Affricate]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}}
| {{IPA link|k͡p}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|b}}~{{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| 
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}~{{IPA link|ŋ}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɡʷ}}~{{IPA link|ŋʷ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ͡b}}
| 
|- 
! colspan="2" | [[Sonorant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}~{{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|j}}~{{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| 
|
| 
| 
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|z}}
|
| 
| {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɦ}}~{{IPA link|ɦ̃}}
|- 
!colspan=2| [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɹ}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

In some dialects, such as Enu-Onitsha Igbo, the doubly articulated {{IPA|/ɡ͡b/}} and {{IPA|/k͡p/}} are realized as a voiced/devoiced labial–velar [[implosive]]. The approximant {{IPA|/ɹ/}} is realized as an [[alveolar tap]] {{IPAblink|ɾ}} between vowels as in ''árá''. The Enu-Onitsha Igbo dialect is very much similar to Enuani spoken among the Igbo-Anioma people in Delta State.

To illustrate the effect of phonological analysis, the following inventory of a typical Central dialect is taken from Clark (1990). Nasality has been analyzed as a feature of consonants, rather than vowels, avoiding the problem of why so few consonants occur before nasal vowels; {{IPA|[CjV]}} has also been analyzed as {{IPA|/CʲV/}}.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mary M. |last=Clark |year=1990 |title=The Tonal System of Igbo |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110869095 |isbn=9783110130416}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center"
|+caption | Consonants of Central Igbo (no nasal vowels)
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |
! colspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2| [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Alveolo-palatal|Alveolo-<br />palatal]]
! colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Labial–velar consonant|Labial–<br />velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[labialization|lab.]]</small>
|- 
!colspan=3 |[[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| 
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
| 
| 
| 
|- 
!rowspan=4 |[[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|pʲ}}
| {{IPA link|t}}; {{IPA link|ƭ}}
| {{IPA link|t͜ɕ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}}
| rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ɠ̊͡ɓ̥|k͜ƥ}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʰ}}
| {{IPA link|pʲʰ}}
| {{IPA link|tʰ}}
| {{IPA link|t͜ɕʰ}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}}
| {{IPA link|kʷʰ}}
| 
|- 
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|bʲ}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|d͜ʑ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʷ}}
| rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ɠ͡ɓ|ɡ͜ɓ}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|bʱ}}
| {{IPA link|bʲʱ}}
| {{IPA link|dʱ}}
| {{IPA link|d͜ʑʱ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʱ}}
| 
| 
|- 
! rowspan=4| [[Fricative]]
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| 
| {{IPA link|s}}
| 
| 
| 
|
|
|-
! <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|s̃}}
| 
| 
| 
|
|
|- 
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|v}}
| 
| {{IPA link|z}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| {{IPA link|ɣʷ}}
| 
|
|- 
! <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| {{IPA link|ṽ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|z̃}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
|- 
!rowspan=2| [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
!colspan=2| <small>plain</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɾ̃}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|- 
!rowspan=3| [[Approximant]]
!colspan=2| <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j̊}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w̥}}
| 
| {{IPA link|h}}
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]] [[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j̊̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w̥̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|h̃}}
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|}

Syllables are of the form {{Not a typo|(C)V}} (optional consonant, vowel) or N (a [[syllabic nasal]]). CV is the most common syllable type. Every syllable bears a tone. Consonant clusters do not occur. The semivowels {{IPAslink|j}} and {{IPAslink|w}} can occur between consonant and vowel in some syllables. The semi-vowel in {{IPA|/CjV/}} is analyzed as an underlying vowel "ị", so that ''-bịa'' is the phonemic form of ''bjá'' 'come'. On the other hand, "w" in {{IPA|/CwV/}} is analyzed as an instance of labialization; so the phonemic form of the verb ''-gwá'' "tell" is {{IPA|/-ɡʷá/}}.