Editing Tlingit language (section)

===Vowels===

Tlingit has eight [[vowel]]s, four vowels further distinguished formally by [[vowel length|length]]. However, the length distinction is often in terms of [[tenseness]] rather than length, particularly in rapid speech. For the Northern dialect, the dominant spoken dialect of Tlingit and the standard for written Tlingit, every vowel may take either high or low [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]; in the orthography high tone is indicated by an [[acute accent]] (''áa'') and low tone is unmarked (''aa''). The Southern and Transitional dialects have a mid tone which is unmarked and additional low tone which is marked by a [[grave accent]] (''àa'').

The Inland Tlingit orthography does not use vowel digraphs. Instead, short high vowels are marked with an acute accent, long high vowels are marked with a [[circumflex]], and long low vowels are marked with a grave accent. Short low vowels are unmarked. Coastal Tlingit <áa> and <aa> are Inland <â> and <à> respectively. Coastal <éi> and <ei> are Inland <ê> and <è>, Coastal <ée> and <ee> are Inland <î> and <ì>, and Coastal <óo> and <oo> are Inland <û> and <ù>.

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! rowspan=2|
! colspan=3| [[Long vowel|Tense/Long]]
! colspan=3| [[Lax vowel|Lax/Short]]
|-
! <small>[[Front vowel|front]]</small> || <small>central</small> || <small>[[Back vowel|back]]</small>
! <small>[[Front vowel|front]]</small> || <small>[[Central vowel|central]]</small> || <small>[[Back vowel|back]]</small>
|-
! [[Close vowel|close]]
| {{IPA link|iː}} {{angbr|ee}}
| 
| {{IPA link|uː}} {{angbr|oo}}
| {{IPA link|ɪ}} {{angbr|i}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ʊ}} {{angbr|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|mid]]
| {{IPA link|eː}} {{angbr|ei}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} {{angbr|e}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ʌ}} {{angbr|a}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|open]]
| 
| {{IPA link|aː}} {{angbr|aa}}
| ({{IPA link|ɒː}} {{angbr|aa}}){{efn|Allophone of {{IPA|/aː/}} which is realized as {{IPA|[ɒː]}} under the influence of uvular consonants. However this is not consistent for all speakers. The backness influence arises from articulation with uvular consonants and so the word {{lang|tli|kháa}} "person" is often spoken as {{IPA|[qʰɒ́ː]}}, but the word {{lang|tli|(a) káa}} "on (its) surface" is said as {{IPA|[(ʔʌ) kʰáː]}} by the same speakers.}}
| 
| ({{IPA link|ɐ}} {{angbr|a}})
| 
|}
{{notelist}}

Word onset is always consonantal in Tlingit and so words never begin with a vowel. Where a vowel would theoretically have occurred, such as by prefixing or compounding, the vowel is always followed by either {{IPA|[ʔ]}} or {{IPA|[j]}}. The former is universal in single words, and both are found in word-medial position in compounds. The orthography does not reflect the {{IPA|[ʔ]}} in word-initial position, but either ''.'' or ''y'' may be seen in medial position. For example:

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top={{IPA|[qʰuːwʌtʼáː]}}{{br}}khoowat'áa
|khu- ÿu- ÿa- t'áa
|{{gcl|INDH|indefinite human}}.OBJ- PERF- {{gcl|(ø, -D, +I)|classifier}}- hot
|"the weather is hot"}}

But when the perfective prefix ''ÿu-'' is word-initial, the glottal stop appears to ensure that the word begins with a consonant.

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top={{IPA|[ʔʊwʌtʼáː]}}{{br}}uwat'áa
|∅- ÿu- ÿa- t'áa
|3.{{gcl|NEU|neutral}}.OBJ- PERF- {{gcl|(ø, -D, +I)|classifier}}- hot
|"it is hot"}}