User:Xenos melophilos/Khalaj phonology

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Vowels

 * Vowels can be long or short (long, half-long or short according to Doerfer), though in allegro speech they mayn't be differentiated. Even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.
 * Long vowels may diphthongize in many dialects (like in Yakut): for example →,  →  ~ ,  →  ~ ,  →  ~  (compare , , ). There are also rising diphthongs which come from long vowels (like falling ones).
 * Half-long vowels may also diphthongize, for example →  (also ).
 * may raise to.
 * , (including its central allophone), and  may alternate a lot.
 * In Khalaj, Proto-Turkic back ' and front ' merged into (though  can be found as an allophone, specially before uvular consonants).

Vowel harmony
Khalaj has front/back and rounded/unrounded vowels, but it has changed the original vowel harmony system due to Persian influence, resulting in this:
 * A = -
 * U = -

The Proto-Turkic "X" and "U" suffixes have merged in Khalaj as "U".

This vowel harmony has been confusing in the dialects, producing more changes and even making the system collapse.

Vowel
If the vowel is overly clear, it becomes more lengthened: short becomes (half-)long, and half-long becomes long.

Long may round ( → ) due to Persian influence, and in turn it may diphthongize. Short and half-long may round too ( and ), but is less frequent.

As and  round, they also become fronter ( and ) (Persian influence).

Again, in allegro speech, the length mayn't be differentiated, even long vowels may become short in a breve and abrupt pronunciation.

Vowel
may be more lowered. In some words (mainly Persian borrowings), front and its allophones may coexist with central  and its allophones.

Vowels and
They can unround due to Persian influence.

Consonants

 * , and  are phonetically post-palatal (,  and ). These sounds are also represented as,  and  (palatalization); or ,  and  (pre-velar).
 * and may alternate and even elide.
 * The group may palatalize, turn fortis ( ~ ) or turn lenis ( ~ ,  ~ ).
 * and occur as a transition between  -  and  -  respectively.
 * Before velars, becomes.
 * After, is voiced  (except for the locative suffix).
 * may be realized as.
 * and may be elided in aus- and inlaut.

Anlaut (beginning of a word)

 * 1) : In a weak prestissimo speech it can be lenited to  and, but in isolate position and at the beginning of a sentence it is.
 * 2) : It can be voiced  due to Persian and Oghuz influence. Also, in sandhi it can be lenited, , just like.
 * 3) : Rarely, it can be lenited  in sandhi position.
 * 4) : It can be devoiced  (Oghuz influence). In some words Proto-Turkic  changed to, for example , , and inflected forms of , though inflected forms coexist with the original ones beginning with . Also, in sandhi position it can be lenited.
 * 5) : It can be elided due to Oghuz influence. Sometimes it can alternate with initial . It can also become  (compare ).
 * 6)  and  may alternate. Also,  and  may alternate because of Oghuz influence.

Inlaut (middle of a word)

 * 1) : It is realized as,  and.
 * 2) : It may be realized as.
 * 3) : This consonant may be elided.
 * 4) :  may become an approximant  or elided.
 * 5) : Proto-Khalaj  turned in, , , etc., in Khalaj dialects.
 * 6) : Rarely,  may become.

Auslaut (end of a word)

 * 1) : Phonetically it can be aspirated or palatalized, even sometimes its palatalization is so strong that  becomes.
 * 2) : As, it can be aspirated. It also can affricatize  and fricatize.
 * 3) : It can undergo plosivization, , , or fortition ,.
 * 4) : It can undergo fortition,.
 * 5) :  may devoice.
 * 6) :  may turn fortis  ~ . It can also become just  and, in turn,.

Stress
Stress usually appears at the end of a word, but there are exceptions:


 * 1) Some Persial loanwords like  doesn't take final-word stress.
 * 2) The indefinite article, the ezafe and the conjunctions ,  and , are unaccented.
 * 3) Some native adverbs and imperatives take stress in another syllable.
 * 4) Some imperative suffixes, the negative suffix, and also the locative, instrumental and equative cases, are unaccented.
 * 5) The aorist 1st person plural suffix takes stress in the first syllable.
 * 6) The copula is unaccented, the same with the aorist suffix when joined to present suffix.
 * 7) The verbal suffix  is unaccented.

Strong emphasize in a word is created by stress shift.

Vocative is made by shifting the stress to the first syllable.