Phonemes

Explanation of our orthography - Phonetic Equivalents

Consonants

m - Bilabial nasal.
n - Dental-alveolar nasal.
ng - Velar nasal.
ny - Alveo-palatal nasal.
p - Bilabial stop. There seems to be no difference between the voiced and voiceless.
b - Implosive p/b.
ph - p with aspiration.
t - Dental-alveolar stop. There seems to be no difference between the voiced and voiceless.
d - Implosive t/d.
th - Aspirated t.
k - Velar stop. There seems to be no difference between the voiced and voiceless.
kh - Aspirated k.
7 - Glottal stop.
c - Alveo-palatal affricate. There seems to be no difference between the voiced and voiceless.
ch - Aspirated c.
s - Dental-alveolar fricative.
sh - Voiceless alveo-palatal fricative. (Apparently only in loans from Burmese)
h - Laryngeal fricative.
l - Dental-alveolar lateral approximate.
r - Dental-alveolar central flap.

Plain Vowels



		|	-bk	|		+bk
		|	-rnd	|	-rnd	:	+rnd
------	------	---	------	---	------	---	--------
+hi	+tns-->	|	i	|		:	u
-lo		|		|		:
------	------	---	------	---	------	---	--------
-hi	+tns-->	|	e	|	u'*	:	o
-lo	-tns-->	|	e'	|	a'	:	o'
------	------	---	------	---	------	---	--------
-hi		|		|		:
+lo	-tns-->	|		|	a	:



* Pronounced more central than other mid-vowels.

The Orthography of Vowels

For the sake of aesthetics, schwa is written as a in the following situations:

1. /u'/ is written <a> in the context C__CV(C)
   Thus tu'kay ('sky') becomes <takay> under this rule.



2. /u'/ is written <a> in the context V__
   Under this rule, mòu' ('one') becomes <mòa>.




Minimal pairs

The following words show minimal pairs for various combinations of vowels and syllable final consonants. You can click on the words below to download a sound file and hear the words.

[Note: You have to set up your browser ahead of time to play sounds (generally in the Helper Applications menu). Some browsers, like Netscape 3.0, already have an application that will play the sounds. These sound files range from 18K to 40K, and the speed at which they download and play will be dependent on the speed of your connection and your computer.]

/V/ vs. /Vh/ vs. /V7/

The distinction between words ending with Ø, /h/, and glottal stop is subtle and somewhat difficult for English speakers to hear:

kla'	'dog'
kla'7	'to cross'
kla'h	'to understand'

Diphthongs

Predictable On-Glides

[u'i], [u'e], [u'u], [u'o], or simply u'V.

To see the accompanying rule, refer to "Established Phonological Rules." These will be written i, e, u, and o respectively.




Predictable Off-Glides

[ow], [o'w], [ey], [u'y]

Again, to see the supplemental rule, refer to "Established Phonological Rules." These will be written o, o', e, u' respectively.



Phonemic Diphthongs

/iu'/, /eu'/, /uu'/, /ou'/, /o'u'/ and... /aw/, /ay/


Once again, please refer to "Established Phonological Rules" to see the corresponding rules.



A word about breathiness

Breathiness will be indicated by the grave accent. Breathiness has no strong effect on tone. When investigated, all words (breathy and non) had a falling tone, even in sentences.
The following words show minimal pairs for breathiness

pu'ng	'rice'	plain vowel
pù'ng	'stomach, belly'	breathy vowel
klu'ng	'come'	plain vowel
klù'ng	'boat'	breathy vowel




The phonetics of breathiness

Mon has a two-way distinction between vowels of a sort usually called register tone.
Vowels in the first register are generally
• more tense
• high in pitch
• pronounced with ordinary to constricted/creaky phonation.

Vowels in the second register are generally
• more lax
• low in pitch
• pronounced with breathy phonation.

There has been some debate in the literature about which of these features is the most fundamental. Linguists familiar with the language have typically described the phonation type difference as the primary one.

However, Lee (1983) did an acoustic analysis of Mon speech samples and concluded that pitch, not phonation type, was the most reliable phonetic cue to the distinction between first and second register.

These results were disputed by Diffloth (1985), who noted some problems with dialect mixture in the samples Lee analysed. Diffloth also questioned whether Lee's failure to find acoustic evidence for differences in phonation type was the result of using the wrong sort of phonetic analysis.

Thongkum (1987) performed a more extensive phonetic analysis of Mon, and concluded "the significant differences between the first register (tense) vowels and second register (lax) vowels are: 1.) power spectra [an instrumental measurement relevant to phonation type; it consists of finding the difference in dB between the amplitude of the fundamental and the intensity of the second harmonic], 2.) fundamental frequency, and 3.) vowel duration (only in checked syllables)[2nd register (breathy) vowels are longer]. It can be concluded that vowel length in checked syllables and phonation type are as significant as pitch differences."


Established Phonological Rules


For simplicity's sake, I will be demonstrating the effects of each rule one at a time in the examples given.


1. V	-->	[+nas]	/	C	__
   				{[+nas]}
   				{[+low]}

   
   
   Vowels will become nasalized when following a nasal consonant and h. Thus, /ngoa/ ('sun') becomes [ngõa], and /hoa/ ('house') becomes [hõa].
   
   
   

2. Ø	-->	--syll	/	V	__
   		--cons		--low
   		ßback		+tense
   				ßback

   
   
   This rule determines the insertion of w or y after vowels-- the off-glides. Thus:
   
   /wi/ ('to treat') becomes [wiy],
   
   /dun/ ('to cook') becomes [duwn],
   
   /ke/ ('clear') becomes [key],
   
   /kè'/ ('to say') becomes [kè'y],
   /pròa/ ('rain') becomes [pròwa], and
   /mò'ng/ ('to exist/live') becomes [mò'wng].
   
   
   

3. Ø	-->	u'	/	__	V
   					--lo
   					+tns

   
   This determines the on-glides of i, u, e, e', o and o'. A schwa is inserted before them. Thus:
   
   /bi/ ('ocean') becomes [bu'i],
   /hui/ ('to mix/associate') becomes [hu'ui],
   /pè/ ('to look at') becomes [pu'è]
   /klè'ng/ ('canoe') becomes [klu'èng]
   /so/ ('hair') becomes [su'o], and
   /to'/ ('to be') becomes [tu'o'w].
   
   
4. u' --> I / c __ .
   
   Under this rule, the schwa following c in an open syllable becomes I (features: V [-bk] [-rnd] [+hi] [-lo] [-tns]). Thus /cu'kaw/ ('you') becomes [cIkaw]. Please note that this word will be transcribed <cakaw> in the orthography.
   



5. e'	-->	æ	/	__	C	#
   					[-cont]

   
   
   Under this rule, e' becomes æ (features: V [-bk] [-rnd] [-hi] [+lo] [-tns]) when followed by a glottal stop, nasal, oral stop, or affricate. Thus, /me'n/ ('wood') becomes [mæn].



Deanna Zandt