Chapter 7 The sound inventory
The ten single-letter consonants
Phi writes ten consonants with one roman letter each: m, n, p, t, k, l, r, s, h, w. The four consonant digraphs come on the next page. Keeping the groups separate matters for spelling, not for rank; sh is as much one consonant sound as s is.
| Consonant | Reference IPA | Type | Useful approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| m | /m/ | nasal | English "mother" |
| n | /n̪/ | dental nasal | tongue at the back of the upper teeth |
| p | /p/ | stop | English "spin", with little aspiration |
| t | /t̪/ | dental stop | tongue at the back of the upper teeth |
| k | /k/ | stop | English "skin", with little aspiration |
| l | /l/ | lateral | English "light" |
| r | /r/ or /ɾ/ | trill or tap | Spanish perro or pero |
| s | /s/ | fricative | English "see" |
| h | /h/ | fricative | English "hat" |
| w | /w/ | approximant | English "water" |
The stops: p, t, k
A stop briefly closes the vocal tract and then releases it. P /p/ closes at the lips. T /t̪/ places the tongue tip against the back of the upper teeth. K /k/ closes farther back, where the tongue meets the soft palate.
The careful reference stops are unaspirated. Put a hand near the mouth while comparing the p in English "pin" with the p in "spin"; the second has much less of a following puff. Light aspiration from a speaker's accent is accepted in conversational Phi because aspiration distinguishes no words.
wepu/ˈwe̞.pu/ (go)tomi/ˈt̪o̞.mi/ (pot)kati/ˈkä.t̪i/ (cut)
The nasals: m and n
For m /m/, close the lips while voice and air continue through the nose. For n /n̪/, make the same kind of nasal sound with the tongue at the back of the upper teeth. The dental placement is the careful target; alveolar [n], made on the ridge just behind the teeth, remains an accepted accent variant.
mia/ˈmi.ä/ (I)lumani/lu.ˈmä.n̪i/ (family)nulae/n̪u.ˈlä.e̞/ (sleep)
The liquids: l and r
For l /l/, touch the tongue to the ridge behind the upper teeth and let air pass along its sides. For the reference r, use either a trill /r/, with repeated contact at that ridge, or a tap /ɾ/, with one quick contact. Both belong to careful Phi. Conversational [ɹ], familiar from many English accents, is accepted as well.
lothea/lo̞.ˈθe̞.ä/ (love)shelira/ʃe̞.ˈli.rä/ (forest)shiro/ˈʃi.ro̞/ (tree)
The fricatives: s and h
For s /s/, direct air along a narrow groove toward the teeth. For h /h/, let unvoiced air pass through the open mouth as the following vowel takes shape.
sileta/si.ˈle̞.t̪ä/ (sun)haolu/hä.ˈo̞.lu/ (speak)
The approximant: w
For w /w/, round the lips and raise the back of the tongue, then move directly into the vowel. It is voiced, which will matter when the next page sets it beside wh.
welao/we̞.ˈlä.o̞/ (good)womu/ˈwo̞.mu/ (home)wepu/ˈwe̞.pu/ (go)