The 10000 syllable phonology challenge! (kitchen sinks ahoy)

[MadBrain]

The challenge is really simple. Create a phonology that has 10000 different syllables. CV syllables only! Your phoneme inventory must have:

A) 60 consonants
B) 28 vowels
C) 6 tones

I'll go ahead and start to give an example:

60 consonants:

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p  pf  t  ts  tɬ  tʃ  k  kp  q  qp
pʰ pfʰ tʰ tsʰ tɬʰ tʃʰ kʰ kpʰ qʰ qpʰ
b  bv  d  dz  dɮ  dʒ  ɡ  ɡb  ɴɢ ɴɢb
ɸ  f      s   ɬ   ʃ   x  xf  χ  χf  h
β  v      z   ɮ   ʒ   ɣ  ɣv  ʁ  ʁv  ɦ
m  ɱ   n  ndz l   ndʒ ŋ  ŋm  ɴ  ɴm

28 vowels:

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i ɪ̃ y ʏ̃ ɨ ɨ̃ u ʊ̃
e ẽ ø ø̃     o õ
ɛ ɛ̃ œ œ̃     ɔ ɔ̃
æ æ̃ ɶ ɶ̃     ɑ ɑ̃
a ã

6 tones:

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a˥ a˧ a˩ aʰ˦˥ aʰ˦ aʰ˨

(yes I'm cheating, using phonation to pad the tone system :3)

A random example:

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ɸɨʰ˨ pʰɨʰ˨ tʃɪ̃ʰ˦ pfɔ̃˥ sɶʰ˨

Romanized: fhùuh phùuh chinh pfôn sàoeh

A tip: pack it with easy phonemes! 60 consonants is a LOT and you will need the easy ones. So I guess the challenge is finding the easiest 60 consonant system, 28 vowel system and 6 tone system for you :3

[Pabappa]

No diphthongs? Or long vowels? I can kind of stretch (no pun intended) the definitions of "vowel" or "consonant" if I want to cheat. e.g. Lao has phonemic /pl/, so maybe Khulls can have phonemic /kʷšl/. But no I wont do that. I will only say Im working on a conlang named Khulls that is not CV only, but does have ~40 consonants, 5 vowels, and 7 tones. While not nearly enough to meet the 10000 requirement, if I added diphthongs it would be. There's also nasalization, pharyngrealization, etc, .... see the phonologu of languages like !Xóõ and Sandawe where you can have more diacritics than letters because basically every vowel can have 20+ "tones" if nasalaization etc is counted as a tone. And dipthongs.

I find it lovely that the coinage "kitchen sink" is still being used around here after all these years, did other conlangers unrelated to the ZBB pick up on it? Or is it just such a generic term that it's widely used in general?

[Nortaneous]

/p t ts tɬ tʂ c k q ʔ/
/tʼ tsʼ tɬʼ tʂʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ/
/b d dʐ ɟ g/
/tʷ tsʷ tɬʷ tʂʷ kʷ qʷ ʔʷ/
/tʷʼ tsʷʼ tɬʷʼ tʂʷʼ kʷʼ qʷʼ/
/dʷ dʐʷ gʷ/
/f v s z ɬ l ʂ ʐ x ɣ h/
/sʷ zʷ ɬʷ lʷ xʷ/
/m n ŋ/
/nʷ ŋʷ/
/j w/

/a e ə o i ɨ u/
/aː eː əː oː iː ɨː uː/
/ã ẽ ə̃ õ ĩ ɨ̃ ũ/
/ãː ẽː ə̃ː õː ĩː ɨ̃ː ũː/

-o ʷo -u ʷu = [au̯ o iu̯ u]

/˦˥ ˧˩ ˧ ˩ ˨˧ ˨˧˨/

/tɬʷʼã˦˥jə˧ŋʷe˦˥ tʂʷʼə̃ː˨˧˨ɣɨ˧ɬʷĩ˧ ɟaː˩ ʂa˨˧˨kʼẽ˧nã˦˥ dʷe˧˩ qʼuː˨˧/
<łʼwą́yəngwé čʼwə̨̃ə̨̃nghɨłwį jàà šãkʼęną́ dwê qʼǔǔ>

Or:

/p t ts tʂ c k q ʔ/
/pʼ tʼ tsʼ tʂʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ/
/b d dz dʒ ɟ g/
/ⁿpʰ ⁿtʰ ⁿtsʰ ⁿtʂʰ ⁿcʰ ⁿkʰ ⁿqʰ/
/ⁿb ⁿd ⁿdz ⁿdʐ ⁿɟ ⁿg ⁿɢ/
/f s ʂ x h/
/v z ʐ ɣ/
/ⁿf ⁿs ⁿʂ/
/ⁿv ⁿz ⁿʐ/
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/m̥ n̥ ɲ̥ ŋ̥/
/j w/

vowels: Hongyan Qiang + a:ˤʴ ə:ˤ

tones: same as above, stolen from Iu Mien (^:

/ⁿfə:ˤ˧ ŋ̥u˦˥ də˨˧˨ saʴ˩ ʐi˩ kʼuʴ˨˧ ma:˨˧˨ fa˧ ⁿzaˤ˧˩ ɣi˧˩ tʂʼiˤ˦˥/
<mfeeg hngut dev sarq zhiq kʼurz maav fa nzags ghis ch'igt>

Was that supposed to be hard?

[Nortaneous]

ps: 60 * 28 * 6 = 10080

[MadBrain]

Ok, here's a quite nice one from Darvince (who's also working on a conlang with over 200 phonemes!):

Consonants:
p t c k q ʔ
pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ qʰ
t' c' k' q'
ts tɬ
f s x χ h
ɬ
m n ɲ ŋ
w r j
l ʎ ʟ
k| k! kǂ kǁ
k|ʰ k!ʰ kǂʰ kǁʰ
k|ʷ k!ʷ kǂʷ kǁʷ
k|ˀ k!ˀ kǂˀ kǁˀ
g| g! gǂ gǁ
ŋ| ŋ! ŋǂ ŋǁ
ŋ|ʰ ŋ!ʰ ŋǂʰ ŋǁʰ

Vowels:
i iː ɨ u uː
ɪ ʊ
e eː o oː
ə
a aː
All of these contrast between:
- Breathy Voiced: ä
- Normal Voiced: a

Tones:
- a˦ a˨ a˧ (flat)
- a˦˨ a˨˦ a˦˨˦ (contour)

[MadBrain]

Was that supposed to be hard?

Well, my real goal here is to tease out which extra phonemic distinction tradeoffs people will go with, and generally how to make large phoneme inventories easier to pronounce.

No diphthongs? Or long vowels? I can kind of stretch (no pun intended) the definitions of "vowel" or "consonant" if I want to cheat. e.g. Lao has phonemic /pl/, so maybe Khulls can have phonemic /kʷšl/. But no I wont do that. I will only say Im working on a conlang named Khulls that is not CV only, but does have ~40 consonants, 5 vowels, and 7 tones. While not nearly enough to meet the 10000 requirement, if I added diphthongs it would be. There's also nasalization, pharyngrealization, etc, .... see the phonologu of languages like !Xóõ and Sandawe where you can have more diacritics than letters because basically every vowel can have 20+ "tones" if nasalaization etc is counted as a tone. And dipthongs.

I find it lovely that the coinage "kitchen sink" is still being used around here after all these years, did other conlangers unrelated to the ZBB pick up on it? Or is it just such a generic term that it's widely used in general?

I'm expecting poeple to cheat actually, like reinterpret long vowels as different vowels (as in Darvince's phonology) or as tones (which is partly real thing - for instance navajo has 2 tones on short vowels but 4 on long vowels, so you could say it has 2 short and 4 long tones). And yeah also with things like phonemic /pl/ (like in Hmong!). And pharyngealization can be exploited to multiply your vowels too - you have to do things like that because no language is going to have 28 plain vowels!

[Pabappa]

Soryr, I dont know why I wrote Lao even though I knew it was Hmong. Anyway here's my entry:

Gaġʷîi is a language spoken along the south coast of Nama by humans and penguins. Although evolved from a language with heavy consonant clusters, its interspecies nature requires a simpler phonological structure so that it is easier to tell where each syllable begins and ends. As such, although it is descended from Khulls, it does not have the sorts of sound changes one would expect to occur over 4000 years. Rather it is mostly unchanged from Khulls apart from the subsitutions and insertions of extra vowels. A large number of loans from the penguins' own parent language, Tapakunyatantatoma, also do exist. The modern form of the langiuage, and its phonology, was defined by an agreement by the human leader Ṗ and the penguin emperor Hamabib Iplabe Dabondi-Yabedap Yuyabhoybakopa III:

Consonants:
Essentially the same as Khulls. p ṗ b m n ŋ l s š z pʷ ṗʷ bʷ kʷ ḳʷ ġʷ xʷ gʷ hʷ ʕʷ t ṭ d ž k ḳ x g ġ h ʕ č ǯ r c ʒ y. /ṗ ṭ ḳ/ are the glottalized stops; ġ is a plain velar stop, with the dot used to distinguish it from the far more common fricative /g/.

Vowels:
Also mostly the same as Khulls: a e i o u. The key difference is that final consonants in Khulls changed into glides in Gaġʷîi, In Khulls, the permissible final consonants were /p ṗ b m n ŋ l s š z pʷ ṗʷ bʷ kʷ ḳʷ ġʷ xʷ gʷ hʷ ʕʷ/ (now you know why I used that order up above?). These are replaced respectively with offglides /-e -e -e -u -i -a -i -i -i -i -u -u -u -o -o -o -o -o -o -o/. In addition, the nasal finals cause the preceding vowel to be nasalized, and the ejective ones cause it to be glottalized. Thus the offglides are actually /-a -e -i -o -u -ã -ĩ -ũ -eʔ -uʔ -oʔ/.

Tones:
The seven tones of Khulls are reduced to just five:
ă: Plain, short, medium tone. Usually left unmarked. Thus "a", not "ă".
à: Short high tone. Not glottalized, as it was in Khulls, unless followed by a glottalic offglide.
ā: The merger of the old ā and á tones. High, long. clear, not glottalized.
â: Low, long, pharyngealized.
ä: The only truly new tone, this is the result of a former ā or á tone being lowered to long and medium by the loss of a preceding consonant (e.g. ḳʷsō > hʷö).

Thus Gaġʷîi has 36 consonants, 5 plain vowels, 55 diphthongs (for a total of 60 vowel nuclei), and 5 tones. Even though all syllables are (C)V, the language has such a large inventory that it has a total of 11,100 syllables (37 * 60 * 5, where the 37th row is the null consonant onset). Thus humans and penguins were able to communicate quickly enough that both of their old languages seemed clumsy by comparison.

edit: OK I misread the initial post both times. I guess you wanted a phonology with a minimum of 60 consonants, not just any phonology with >10000 CV syllables. But even so, I want to use this as my answer because I derived it from a preexisting conlang of mine without much change, and might even want to use it in my conworld (perhaps slightly modified). If I really wanted to, I could create palatalized versions of all the non-labialized consonants (from elided initial š- and ž-), and re-split the á and ā tones, to meet the minimums above.

edit2: actually, -a does not belong in the list of offglides above. Even without it, it's still over 10000 sylalbles. But I forgot about final -ŋk and -ŋḳ, which should actually give two new offglides: -a and -aʔ, because nasalization is weak and is overriden by the other featues. Even so, I assume the penguins forgot about -aʔ because it was rare.

[kusuri]

m̥ m n̥ n nʲ
t tʰ d tʲ tʲʰ dʲ k kʰ g kʲ kʲʰ gʲ
pf pʰf bv bl ts tʰs dz tʃ tʰʃ dʒ tɕ tʰɕ dʑ ks kʰs gz kl
v s ʃ ɕ z ʒ ʑ (t)ɬ (d)ɮ
ɾ ɾʲ ʀ
w l̥ l lʲ r̥ ɹ ɹʲ j
ʘ ʘʰ ʘ̥ ǀ ǀʰ ǀ̥

æ æɛˑ æɪˑ æɔˑ æʊˑ ã aː ɑː ɛ ɛɪˑ ẽ ei eː ɪ ĩ iː yː ɔ ɔʊˑ õ oː ʊ ũ uː ɚ əɪˑ əʊˑ əː ɚː


a˧ a˦ a˦˥ a˩˥ a̤˦ a˦˥̤


???

[Birdlang]

I have a language that uses the whole IPA and ExtIPA, unpronounceable sounds, and entirely new sounds in mode and place of action no human could ever pronounce (subsubsubsubsubapicoapicoapical pharyngeoepiglottal)

[Nortaneous]

Shit Khoisan
/p t ts c k q ʔ/
/b d dz ɟ g ɢ/
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ cʰ kʰ qʰ/
/tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ kʟ̥’ qχʼ/
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/mˀ nˀ ɲˀ ŋˀ/
/s χ h/
/w j l/

Clicks: /ǀ ǁ ǃ/ * /ǃ gǃ !ʰ !ˀ ᵑ! ᵑ!ʰ ᵑ!ˀ/

Vowels:
a e ə o i u
ã ẽ õ
aˤ oˤ
aˀ eˀ əˀ oˀ iˀ uˀ
ãˀ ẽˀ õˀ
aˤˀ oˤˀ
aʰ eʰ əʰ oʰ iʰ uʰ

Tones: high, medium, low, high falling, low falling, low rising

[communistplot]

Consonantes

/m mʲ mˤ n nʲ nˤ ɲ ŋ ɴ/ <m my mh n ny nh ñ ng ň>
/p pʲ pˤ pʼ t tʲ tˤ tʼ c k kʼ q ʔ/ <p py ph p' t ty th t' ky k k' q ɂ>
/b bʲ ⁿb d dʲ ⁿd ɡ ɡʲ ⁿɡ/ <b by mb d dy nd g gy ng>
/ts tsʲ tsˤ tsʼ tɕ tɕˤ tɕʼ qχ/ <c cy ch c' č čh č' qw>
/dz dzʲ dʑ/ <đ đy j>
/f fʲ fˤ θ θʲ θˤ s sʲ sˤ ɕ ɕˤ ç x χ h/ <f fy fh þ þy þh s sy sh š šh xy x w h>
/w ʍ ð̞ ɥ/ <v hv r y>

Vocales

/i y ɯ u/ <i ü ï u>
/iː yː ɯː uː/ <ii üü ïï uu>
/iːː yːː ɯːː uːː/ <iie üüe ïïu uuu>
/e ø ɜ ɤ o/ <e ö ȇ ë o>
/eː øː ɤː oː/ <ee öö ëë oo>
/eːː øːː ɤːː oːː/ <eee ööe ëëu oou>
/a aː aːː/ <a aa aaa>

Tonos

/a˩ a˧ a˥ a̰˩ a̰˧ a̰˥/

Ejemplos
/fʲi˩ do̰ːː˩ qχaː˥ ð̞a˧ miːː˩/ <Fyì dòouh qwáa ra mìie.>

[Yaali Annar]

All pulmonic, no voice distinction:

Consonants:
/p t ʈ c ɬ kp ʔ/
/f s ɬ ʂ ɬ˞ ç x xf h/
/pf ts tɬ ʈʂ ʈɬ˞ cç kx kpxf ʔh/
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk ŋmkp/
/mf ns nɬ ɳʂ ɳɬ˞ ɲç ŋx ŋmxf/
/mpf nts ntɬ ɳʈʂ ɳʈɬ˞ ɲcç ŋkx ŋmkpxf/
/m n ɳ ɲ ŋ ŋm/
/ɹ l ɻ ɭ y ɰ w/

Vowel:
/i ɯ u/
/ɛ ʌ ɔ/
/a ɒ/
/iː ɯː uː/
/ɛː ʌː ɔː/
/aː ɒː/
/ai ɑɯ ɒu/
/ɛi ʌɯ ɔu/
/aːi ɑːɯ ɒːu/
/ɛːi ʌːɯ ɔːu/

Sampul:
/ɲçɛɬʌcçɒː ʈʂɯːtsɛːiɳɛ ŋmxfiːɲɔu çɔuɰʌː tɬɑːɯntɬɔu ŋmkpɑɯɲçɔː mpɔːʈɔː yitsuː ʔʌɯŋmkpxfɔu nsɯa nɛtsɑɯ ɲçʌɯtɛintɬi nʌŋkxɒ mfʌɲcɯ ɲçɒɹaːiɳʈai ɳʈɬ˞ɔːɳʈɬ˞ɒː ɳɬ˞aːintʌɯ ɳɬ˞ɑɯʈɬ˞ɔ ɰʌntʌː aɳʈɑːɯɳʈɬ˞ɛi hɛːiɔu tɬʌɯʂʌɯhɔːu ɲçinɔu ʔɛiɲɛɛː ɬɒupʌ wʌlɛ ɲcaimfɔːxfɛ ɳʂiɬɛi ɹiɹaː ŋmɑːɯmpɔu yɛːɬ˞ʌːna ɬ˞aiɻʌɹɛː pfɛʈɬ˞ɔː ɭɛiɲcçai ŋɯːai ʔɛːɯʈɬ˞i ɲcʌɯtʌːɯ ʔuːnɬaːŋɒu mpfɔːpɒː tsuɳʈɬ˞ɛi ɰɔŋmɛː tɬʌːɯɳɯː ɬɛːikxɛi xfɔuŋmiɲcaː ɬ˞ʌːɯcçɒːu tɬɛiɛː çaːiʈɔpa ɳʈɒːui ɬ˞ɛitɒːucçʌ xɯɬ˞ɒː mpuŋxɒːuçɛːi ɳaːiŋmkpxfɔːu ɳɬ˞ɑːɯtɬai ʔʌːʔɒu ɰɛːni wɯːntɑɯsɛ hʌɯcɯːɒ wiçɔː ɲçɯtɬɔːu fʌɲcʌːɯ kpxfɔŋɛ wʌːŋxaːisɯ miːɳʈʂɔu mpʌmfa wɔuʔɛːi ɲcçiːŋmkpʌɯ wɛːiʈɬ˞ɛiɑɯ ɲɯŋmkpxfu nɬɛimɔ xfukpɛː ʈɬ˞ɒucçɒː yɛːixfɒːɬɑːɯ maiɳʈʂʌːɯ ʔiʈiŋmkpaːi kpɛːixfɛːi nʌʔhai mfuːɰɛ ɳʂɒːntɬɛi nsʌʔɑɯ hɛa ɳʈɒuɲçʌ ŋmkpxfɒːuŋkxai wɯntʌɹʌːɯ yɛːtaː cɔuɰɛiɭi ŋmkpɑːɯlɒu çɔuʔhɛːi fampa ɭɔuwɒ ŋmkpɒːuŋmxfɒnsɒu mpɒːuyɔu kxuŋʌɲçiː ɹɔuɳʂiːɰʌɯ ɬaːiɭɒu ntɬiːɳʈuːŋkiː tɬɔːuʔɔɲçɯː xukxʌːmfɒː ɳʈʂʌːkxɛ ɳʈʂikpxfɯ ɳʂaiɹɑːɯ /

It's terrible.

[gufferdk]

Decided to try doing it without a tone system. The result is may be a little bit crazy.
Let's get started with some consonants...

Plosives and Affricates (68 in total):

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p pʰ p' p͡ɸ b ɓ b͡β
p̪ p̪ʰ p̪' p̪͡f b̪ ɓ̪ b̪͡v
t̻ t̻ʰ t̻' t̻͡s̻ d ɗ d͡z̻
t̺ t̺ʰ t̺' t̺͡s̺     d͡z̺
        t͡ɕ     d͡ʑ
        t͡ʃ     d͡ʒ
ʈ ʈʰ ʈ' ʈ͡ʂ ɖ ᶑ ɖ͡ʐ
c cʰ c' c͡ç ɟ ʄ ɟ͡ʝ
k kʰ k' k͡x g ɠ g͡ɣ
q qʰ q' q͡χ ɢ ʛ ɢ͡ʁ
ʡ       ʡ͡ʜ     ʡ͡ʢ
ʔ       ʔ͡h
k͡p k͡pʰ k͡p͡ʍ g͡b g͡b͡w̝

Fricatives and approximants (46 in total):

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ɸ ɸʰ β
f fʰ v ʋ
θ θʰ ð
s̻ s̻ʰ z̻ ɹ
s̺ s̺ʰ z̺
ʃ ʃʰ ʒ
ɕ    ʑ
ʂ ʂʰ ʐ ɻ
ç çʰ ʝ j
x xʰ ɣ ɰ
χ χʰ ʁ
ħ    ʕ
ʜ    ʢ
h    ɦ
ʍ    w̝ w

Taps and thrills (11 in total):

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ʙ ʙ̥
r r̥ ɾ
    ɺ
    ɽ
ʀ ʀ̥ ɢ̆
ʀ̠

Nasals and laterals (the # represents a sublaminal-subapical percussive) (13 in total):

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m
n l ɬ ɮ l͡# 
ɳ ɭ ꞎ(retroflex unvoiced lateral fricative)
ɲ ʎ
ŋ
ɴ
ŋ͡m

Additionally all the fricatives, approximants, nasals, /r/, /ʀ/ and laterals except /l͡#/ can be geminates which gives us a glittering total of 200 consonant phonemes which means that I "only" need 50 vowel phonemes...

Base vowels (stolen directly from Breton):

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i y  u
e ø  o
ɛ œ  ɔ
   a

All of these can either be short and modal, short and creaky, short and nasalized, long and modal or long and creaky.
In total, 50 vowels * 200 consonants = 10000 possible CV syllables exactly.
(If anyone wants a challenge, try romanizing it using only things that are availble from a standard keyboard of your choise...)

[Nortaneous]

Plosives and Affricates (68 in total):

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p pʰ p' p͡ɸ b ɓ b͡β <p ph p' pf b b' bv>
p̪ p̪ʰ p̪' p̪͡f b̪ ɓ̪ b̪͡v <pt pth pt' ptf bd bd' bdv>
t̻ t̻ʰ t̻' t̻͡s̻ d ɗ d͡z̻ <t th t' ts d d' dz>
t̺ t̺ʰ t̺' t̺͡s̺     d͡z̺ <dt dth dt' dts dtz>
        t͡ɕ     d͡ʑ <ty dy>
        t͡ʃ     d͡ʒ <dty tdy>
ʈ ʈʰ ʈ' ʈ͡ʂ ɖ ᶑ ɖ͡ʐ <tr trh tr' tsr dr dr' dzr>
c cʰ c' c͡ç ɟ ʄ ɟ͡ʝ <ky khy k'y khhy gy g'y ghhy>
k kʰ k' k͡x g ɠ g͡ɣ <k kh k' khh g g' ghh>
q qʰ q' q͡χ ɢ ʛ ɢ͡ʁ <q qh q' qhh gq gq' gqhh>
ʡ       ʡ͡ʜ     ʡ͡ʢ <'x 'xh 'xhh>
ʔ       ʔ͡h <' 'h>
k͡p k͡pʰ k͡p͡ʍ g͡b g͡b͡w̝ <kp kph kpf gb gbv

Fricatives and approximants (46 in total):

Code: Select all

ɸ ɸʰ β <fw fwh vw>
f fʰ v ʋ <f fh v vr>
θ θʰ ð <fth fthh fdh>
s̻ s̻ʰ z̻ ɹ <s sh z zr>
s̺ s̺ʰ z̺ <st sth zd>
ʃ ʃʰ ʒ <sty sthy zdy>
ɕ    ʑ <sy zy>
ʂ ʂʰ ʐ ɻ <sr shr zr rr>
ç çʰ ʝ j <chy chhy ghy y>
x xʰ ɣ ɰ <ch chh gh ghr>
χ χʰ ʁ <qch qchh gqch>
ħ    ʕ <chl ghl>
ʜ    ʢ <chx ghx>
h    ɦ <h vh>
ʍ    w̝ w <wh wv w>

Taps and trills (11 in total):

Code: Select all

ʙ ʙ̥ <br pr>
r r̥ ɾ <r rh rd>
    ɺ <rdl>
    ɽ <dlr>
ʀ ʀ̥ ɢ̆ <gqr qr gqrd>
ʀ̠ <rhr>

Nasals and laterals (the # represents a sublaminal-subapical percussive) (13 in total):

Code: Select all

m <m>
n l ɬ ɮ l͡# <n l sl zl lg>
ɳ ɭ ꞎ <nr lr slr>
ɲ ʎ <ny ly>
ŋ <ng>
ɴ <ngq>
ŋ͡m <ngm> 

Additionally all the fricatives, approximants, nasals, /r/, /ʀ/ and laterals except /l͡#/ can be geminates which gives us a glittering total of 200 consonant phonemes which means that I "only" need 50 vowel phonemes...

Base vowels (stolen directly from Breton):

Code: Select all

i y  u <i iu u>
e ø  o <ei oi ou>
ɛ œ  ɔ <e oe o>
   a <a>

All of these can either be short and modal, short and creaky, short and nasalized, long and modal or long and creaky.
<a ax am aa aax>

/θʰœ̃ʡ͡ʢ:yɴɔ̰: ꞎy:ʁã ɢ͡ʁl͡#o̰ʃʰ:ũ d͡ʒa χʰãk͡p͡ʍø̰p̪͡fø̰:ʝa:/
Fthhoem'xxhhiungqoox slriiugqcham ggqhhooulgoxsstyum tdya qchhamkpfoixptfooixghyaa.

Or:

Code: Select all

p pʰ p' p͡ɸ b ɓ b͡β <p sp np ph b nb bh>
p̪ p̪ʰ p̪' p̪͡f b̪ ɓ̪ b̪͡v <pt spt npt sph bd nbd bdh>
t̻ t̻ʰ t̻' t̻͡s̻ d ɗ d͡z̻ <t st nt ht d nd dh>
t̺ t̺ʰ t̺' t̺͡s̺     d͡z̺ <ct cht nct cth cdh>
        t͡ɕ     d͡ʑ <py by>
        t͡ʃ     d͡ʒ <pry bry>
ʈ ʈʰ ʈ' ʈ͡ʂ ɖ ᶑ ɖ͡ʐ <tg stg ntg gth dg ndg dgh>
c cʰ c' c͡ç ɟ ʄ ɟ͡ʝ <ky sky nky khy gy ngy ghy>
k kʰ k' k͡x g ɠ g͡ɣ <k sk nk kh g ng gh>
q qʰ q' q͡χ ɢ ʛ ɢ͡ʁ <kg skg nkg kgh gk ngk gkh>
ʡ       ʡ͡ʜ     ʡ͡ʢ <j sj jh>
ʔ       ʔ͡h <q sq>
k͡p k͡pʰ k͡p͡ʍ g͡b g͡b͡w̝ <kp skp kw gw gv

Fricatives and approximants (46 in total):

Code: Select all

ɸ ɸʰ β <f sf nf>
f fʰ v ʋ <v sv nv vr>
θ θʰ ð <pl spl bl>
s̻ s̻ʰ z̻ ɹ <z sz nz zr>
s̺ s̺ʰ z̺ <s zs ns>
ʃ ʃʰ ʒ <sh zsh nsh>
ɕ    ʑ <zh nzh>
ʂ ʂʰ ʐ ɻ <sg zsg nsg sgr>
ç çʰ ʝ j <sy zsy nsy y>
x xʰ ɣ ɰ <ch sch nch chr>
χ χʰ ʁ <c sc cr>
ħ    ʕ <chl ghl>
ʜ    ʢ <cl gl>
h    ɦ <h nh>
ʍ    w̝ w <sw vw w>

Taps and trills (11 in total):

Code: Select all

ʙ ʙ̥ <br pr>
r r̥ ɾ <rr rh r>
    ɺ <rl>
    ɽ <rd>
ʀ ʀ̥ ɢ̆ <rg rk gr>
ʀ̠ <rq>

Nasals and laterals (the # represents a sublaminal-subapical percussive) (13 in total):

Code: Select all

m <m>
n l ɬ ɮ l͡# <n l sl zl lt>
ɳ ɭ ꞎ <ndr ldr ltr>
ɲ ʎ <ny ly>
ŋ <gn>
ɴ <qn>
ŋ͡m <ngm> 

a am ax
geminates t-, long vowels -h

/θʰœ̃ʡ͡ʢ:yɴɔ̰: ꞎy:ʁã ɢ͡ʁl͡#o̰ʃʰ:ũ d͡ʒa χʰãk͡p͡ʍø̰p̪͡fø̰:ʝa:/
Sploemtjhiugnoxh ltriuhcram tgkhouhltouxtzshum brya scamkwoixsphoixhnsyah.

[gufferdk]

Decided to try romanize it myself and embrace the diacritic spam of crazyness.
The result can be seen here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4sip8mrh1c88 ... a.pdf?dl=0

[smappy]

Ok I know I'm kinda digging this thread out of the grave— but it's too good to resist.

Onset:
/m n ɳ/
/p t ts tʃ ʈ k ʔ/
/ɬ s ʃ ʂ x/
/l ɭ/
/ɺ ɽ/

All consonants exist in plain, labialized~velarized, palatalized and labio-palatalized~palatalized and velarized versions: e.g. /m mʷ~mˠ mʲ mᶣ~mʲˠ/

Orthographically:
<m n ṇ>
<p t ts ch ṭ k *null*>
<ł s sh ṣ h>
<l ḷ>
<r ṛ>

Secondary articulation:
<m mu mi my>

Nucleus:
/e o/
/ə/
/a/

All vowels exist in modal, creaky, and breathy phonations.

All vowels may be rhotacized.

Orthographically:
<e o>
<a>
<au>

Phonation:

<a á à>

Rhotacization:

<a ar>

Tone:
/˦ ˨ ˦˥ ˨˧ ˦˨ ˨˩ ˧˨˦ ˨˩˧/

Orthographically:
<*null* b d f g q v x>

Phonotactics:

Tones ˨˩ and ˨˩˧ only inhabit the same syllable as vowels taking creaky phonation.

The distinction between rhotacized and plain vowels after retroflex consonants usually takes the form of increased length on plain vowels: i.e. /ʈa˞ ʈa/ [ʈa˞ ʈa:]

/ʔ ʔʷ ʔʲ ʔᶣ/ are usually realized as [ʔ w j ɥ] and labial consonants are usually velarized and palatalized/velarized instead of labialized and labio-velarized.

Example:

Páf làrf ṭyob nuarf tse niad. Miev ṭya shyérx tiaud muof shuòrd miáur. Tsiárq chyaug ṛióf pióg ṇáuf ṭiáuf. Łueb kua ṣáux ṣuéd ṭauf sheb. Myòg myau muód chueg tsuáf ḷyob a ṇuaurf sháuq łeg.
/pə̰˨˧ lə̤˞˨˧ tᶣo˨ nʷə˞˨˧ tse˦ nʲə˦˥ ‖ mʲe˧˨˦ ʈᶣə˦ ʃᶣḛ˞˨˩˧ tʲa˦˥ mˠo˨˧ ʃʷo̤˞˦˥ mʲa̰˞˦ ‖ tsʲə̰˞˨˩ tʃᶣa˦˨ ɽʲo̰˨˧ pʲo̰˦˨ ɳa̰˨˧ ʈʲa̰˨˧ ‖ ɬʷe˨ kʷə˦ ʂa̰˨˩˧ ʂʷḛ˦˥ ʈa˨˧ ʃe˨ ‖ mʲˠo̤˦˨ mʲˠa˦ mˠo̰˦˥ t͡ʃʷe˦˨ tsʷə̰˨˧ ɭᶣo˨ ʔə˦ ɳʷa˞˨˧ ʃa̰˨˩ ɬe˦˨/

Hopefully not too kitchen-sinky with 19 consonants, 3(+null) secondary articulations, 4 vowels, 1(+null) vocalic secondary articulation, 3 phonations, and 8 tones yielding a total of 14592 syllables before phonotactic constraints and 14592-2432=12160 syllables after phonotactic constraints.

[xroox]

I don't like kitchen sink conlangs. My conlang only has 12 phonemes, minimalistic and such. But I gave this a try:
/p t ʈ c k kʷ ʔ/
/pʰ tʰ ʈʰ cʰ kʰ kʰʷ/
/b d ɖ ɟ g gʷ/
/bʱ dʱ ɖʱ ɟʱ gʱ gʱʷ/
/s sʰ ʂ ʂʰ ʃ ʃʰ x xʷ h/
/z zʱ ʐ ʐʱ ʒ ʒʰ/
/m n ɳ ɲ ŋ ŋʷ/
/m̥ n̥ ɳ̊ ɲ̥ ŋ̊ ŋ̊ʷ/
/l r ɽ ʎ/
/l̥ r̥ ɽ̊ ʎ̥/

/i ɨ u/
/e ə o/
/a/
/ĩ ɨ̃ ũ/
/ẽ ə̃ õ/
/ã/
/iˀi ɨˀɨ uˀu/
/eˀe əˀə oˀo/
/aˀa/
/ĩˀĩ ɨ̃ˀɨ̃ ũˀũ/
/ẽˀẽ ə̃ˀə̃ õˀõ/
/ãˀã/
Tones: H M L LM MH HL

[CatDoom]

Epic Ngmi' might count, if you count tone clusters, but it would definitely count if I added vowel length:

Consonants:

/m n͡m n ɳ ŋ͡m ŋ/
/b t͡p t ʈ k͡p k ʔ/
/ʂ h/
/ɻ w j/

Vowel Qualities:

/ɨ ɘ ɜ a/

All vowels may be long or short, and may also be contrastively nasalized.

Phonation and Tone:

All eight phonemic vowels in Epic Ngmi' contrast according to four phonation types: modal, creaky (constricted glottis), breathy (opened glottis), and strident or "growled" (co-articulated with an epiglottal trill). Orthographically, creaky, breathy, and strident phonation are represented by a word-final <'>, <h>, or <r>, respectively.

Epic Ngmi' has an exceptionally complex tone system, with tones distinguishing five phonemic levels of pitch, numbered 1-5, with 1 being the highest and 5 the lowest. Nouns and function words normally distinguish a total of 11 tones:

Level tones: 2, 3, 4, 5
Rising tones: 21, 32, 43
Falling tones: 12, 23, 34, 45

Verbs, in contrast, are inherently toneless, but must take at least one of seven tones indicating grammatical mood. The tones used in verbs constitute a subset of those found in nouns:

Level: 2, 3, 4, 5
Rising: 21, 32
Falling: 35 (considered an allotone of 34)

This system is further complicated by the formation of "tone clusters" in certain morphological contexts. These are complex contour tones that are generally analyzed as sequences of two regular tones on the same syllable.

18 consonants x 4 vowel qualities x 2 nasal states x 2 lengths x 4 phonations x 11 tones = 12,672 possible CV syllables

[Sphenocorona]

I may be super new here, but I know that my solution to the sink-cramming problem is probably a bit different to what others here are doing. I see a lot of the methods for getting tons of consonants involve aspiration, and while aspiration is important in quite a few real world languages, I'm hesitant to go there. If I can't pronounce it or tell it apart from a sound, I stay away from including it in whatever I'm doing. So anyway, let's see the phonology:

Consonants (61):

Code: Select all

Stops (30):
p     p͇  t     c   k  q ʡ ʔ
b     b͇  d     ɟ   g  ɢ̥
pʼ t̼ʼ p͇ʼ tʼ ʈʼ     kʼ qʼ
p͌        t͌     c͌   k͌
         d͌     ɟ͌
pʼ͌             cʼ͌  kʼ͌

Fricatives (16):
f  s̼  s  ʃ  x  h
v  z̼  z  ʒ  ɣ
fʼ s̼ʼ sʼ ʃʼ x'

Affricates (11):
p͜f  t̼͡θ t͜f  t͜ʃ  ʡ͜f
    d̼͡ð    d͡z
p͜fʼ t̼͡θ t͡fʼ t͜ʃʼ 

Nasals (4):
m  n
m͌  n͌

Extra notes:
The sibilant linguolabials are pronounced in a subapical/sublaminal manner so that air is directed at the edges of the lower teeth, making them sound very, VERY different from any other articulatable fricative not based off them. They might not be stable in a natlang (I see the most likely transitions away being to a linguolabial stop or a [inter]dental fricative, probably via the principle of least effort) but at the very least, the unvoiced sublaminal linguolabial sibilant sounds very different from other sounds.

Vowels (31):

Code: Select all

                       r
iy            u
   ɪ     ɵ  
        ə    o
eœ
        a

il, yl, ul, ɪl, ɵl, əl, ol, el, œl, al,
ir, yr, ur, ɪr, ɵr, ər, or, er, œr, ar

Tones (6):
Flat, falling, rising, and nasalized variants of these (For ɵ, the ɵ portion may be unvoiced - ɵ and ə are too similar sounding when nasalized to be easily distinguishable.)

61*31*6=11346 possible syllables.

Yes, I used some really weird consonants there. I find all of them to be pronounceable with a human vocal tract during normal speech, so if you see something you find too ridiculous, let me know!

[StrangerCoug]

/p b t d c ɟ k g q ɢ/
/f v θ ð ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ/
/m̊ m n̊ n ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ ɴ̊ ɴ/
/f̃ ṽ θ̃ ð̃ ç̃ ʝ̃ x̃ ɣ̃ χ̃ ʁ̃/
/s z ʂ ʐ ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ t͡s d͡z ʈ͡ʂ ɖ͡ʐ t͡ʃ d͡ʒ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ/
/j ɥ ɰ w/

/i y ɨ ʉ ɯ u/
/e ø ɘ ɵ ɤ o/
/e̞ ø̞ ɘ̞ ɵ̞ ɤ̞ o̞/
/e œ ɜ ɞ ʌ ɔ/
/a ɶ ɑ ɒ/

/a˥ a˩ a˩˥ a˥˩ a˧˥ a˧˩/

Have fun keeping everything distinct.

[opipik]

So:

/p ʰp pʰ b t ʰt tʰ d ʈ ʰʈ ʈʰ ɖ c ʰc cʰ ɟ k ʰk kʰ ɡ ʔ/
/m̥ m n̥ n ɳ̊ ɳ ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ/
/r̥ r ɽ̥ ʋ̥ ʋ ɻ̥ ɻ j̊ j ɰ̊ ɰ ɺ̥ ɺ ʍ w/
/ɸ β θ ð s z ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ h ʦ ʦʰ ʰʦ ʣ ʈʂ ʰʈʂ ʈʂʰ ɖʐ ʨ ʨʰ ʰʨ ʥ cç ʰcç cçʰ ɟʝ kx ʰkx ɡɣ/
/ɬ ɮ l̥ l ɭ̥ ɭ ʎ̥ ʎ ʟ̥ ʟ k͜ʟ̊ ɡ͡ʟ/

/i ɨ u e ø ɵ ɤ o ə ɛ œ ɜ ɞ ʌ ɔ ɐ a ɑ ɒ z̩ ʐ̩ ʑ̩ r̩ ɹ̩ v̩ l̩/

/a a˥ a˩ a˩˨ a˦˥ a˥˩ a˩˥ a˥˨˥ a˩˦˩ a˨˩˨ a˦˥˦ a˥˦ a˨˩ a̰˦˧ a̰˨˧/

Sample:

/bɑ˥ le˩˨ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦ kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦ ʰcçɒʔ, kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦, j̊ɹ̩ kʰv̩˥ cçʰɒʔ ŋ̊æ˨˩˨ kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦, a˥˦ lœ˥˩ kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦ ʰcçɒʔ, kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦ kəʔ ʝiɛ˩˨, m̥ɨʔ˥˦ kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦ ʰcçɒʔ, kv̩˥ ɲ̊iʔ˦˥˦, kv̩˥ kʰø˨˩./

___________________________

And another:
/p pʰ pʶ b bʶ t tʰ tʶ d dʶ c cʰ cʶ ɟ ɟʶ k kʰ kʶ ɡ ɡʶ ʔ/
/m̥ m n̥ n ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ/
/f fʰ v s z ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ ʦ ʦʰ ʣ ʈʂ ʈʂʰ ɖʐ ʨ ʨʰ ʥ ç cç cçʰ cçʶ ɟʝ ʝ ɟʝʶ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ/
/r ʀ ɹ j ɰ w l ɬ ʎ ʟ/

/i ʉ u e ɤ o ə ɛ œ ʌ ɔ a ɒ z̩ ʐ̩ ʑ̩ ɹ̩̩/

/a˧ a˩˥ a˥˩ a˥ a˩ a˩˨ a˦˥ a˨˨˧ a˥˨˧ a˦˧˦ a˨˥˦ a˧˦˧/

_____________________________

Sample:

/bɒ˩˥ ʟɛ˨˥˦ ɟʝʶɤ˨˨˧ piʔ˥ ʦz̩˩˨ ʝieʔ˦˧˦, ʨʰʑ̩ʔ˥ iʔ˩ ʝieʔ˦˧˦, ʨɹ̩̩˧˦˧ tœ˦˥ ɰiʔ˥˨˧ ʣz̩˩˨ ɒ˥ ɹɒʔ˧˦˧ pɒ˥˨˧ ʝieʔ˦˧˦./

[YourFace]

Consonants
/p t k b d g q ʔ pʰ tʰ kʰ qʰ tʷ kʷ p' t' k' t̪ d̪ / p t k b d g q . pp tt kk tw kw ṗ ṫ ḳ ţ ḑ
/m ɱ n ŋ ɲ n̥ nʰ mʰ/ m ḿ n ng nj ń nn mm
/r ɾ ɹ ɹʷ j ɰ ]/ r rr ŗ ŗw j ģ
/ɸ β f v ð s z ʃ ʒ x X h xʰ Xʰ/ f v ff vv th s z š ž x kh xx kkh
/l ʎ l̪/ l lh ļ
/ɮ ł/ ŀ ł
/ǀ ǂ ǃ ǁ/ | = ! +

Vowels
/a e i o u ã õ ɚ ø a: u:/ a e i o u ã õ ȩ o̧ ā ō
/ɨ ʉ ɤ/ i̧ u̧ ö
/ɛ ɜ ɔ ɔ̃ œ̃/ e ë ou õu òn
/æ ɐ ʌ/ ae au â
/ɯ/ ù
/ɑ ɒ/ á à
/ɪ ɞ ʊ/ í é ú

Tones:
N/A N/A
˩ 1
˧ 2
˥ 3
˩˥ 4
˥˩ 5

Sample:
/bæ˩˥ mu˥˩n̥ʌ˥ t̪ɯ˩˥nɔ̃˩ Xɨ˧ʃu:˩˥dæ mʊ˩˥lø/
bae4 mu5ńau3 ţù2nõu1 khi̧2šō4dae mú4lo̧.

[xroox]

/m̥ n̪̥ n̥ ɳ̥ ɲ̥ ŋ̥ ŋ̥ʷ ɴ̥ ɴ̥ʷ/
/m n̪ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ŋʷ ɴ ɴʷ/
/p t̪ t ʈ c k kʷ q qʷ ʔ/
/t͡θ t͡s ʈ͡ʂ t͡ʃ/
/b d̪ d ɖ ɟ g gʷ ɢ ɢʷ/
/d͡ð d͡z ɖ͡ʐ d͡ʒ/
/f s̪ s ʂ ʃ x xʷ χ χʷ h/
/v z̪ z ʐ ʒ ɣ ɣʷ ʁ ʁʷ/
/i ɨ u/
/ɪ ɪ̈ ʊ/
/e ɘ o/
/ɛ ɜ ɔ/
/æ a ɒ/
/ĩ ɨ̃ ũ/
/ẽ ɘ̃ õ/
/æ̃ ã ɒ̃/
/ḭ ɨ̰ ṵ/
/ḛ ɘ̰ o̰/
/a̰/
/ḛ̃ ɘ̰̃ õ̰/
/ã̰/
Tone: ˥ ˧ ˩ ˩˥ ˥˩

[SilentMember]

(I understand this is an old thread)

/p p: b b: t t: d d: k k: g g: q q: G\ G\:/ <p pp b bb t tt d dd k kk g gg q qq gq ggq>
/pf bv ts dz kx gG qX G\R/ <pf bv ts dz kx gj qxh gjh>
/f f: v v: s s: z z: x x: G G: X X: R R:/ <f ff v vv s ss z zz x xx j jj xh xxh jh jjh>
/m_0 m_0: m m: n_0 n_0: n n: N_0 N_0: N N: N\_0 N\_0: N\ N\:/ <mh mmh m mm nh nnh n nn nhg nnhg ng nng nhq nnhq nq nnq>
/w r\ l j/ <w r l y>

/i i: i~ i~: y y: y~ y~: u u: u~ u~:/ <i ii ih iih ue uue ueh uueh u uu uh uuh>
/e e: e~ e~: 2 2: 2~ 2~: o o: o~ o~:/ <e ee eh eeh oe ooe oeh ooeh o oo oh ooh>
/a a: a~ a~:/ <a aa ah aah>

/e_M e_L e_H e_F e_R e_R_F/ <e eo ei ea eu eua>


/xi N_0:2~:_H G\e_R na G:a~: va~_F/ <Xi nnhgooehi gqeu tii na jjaah vaha.>


It may not be pretty, but it gets the job done.

[Travis B.]

/p pʰ b bʰ ɓ t tʰ tʼ d dʰ ɗ c cʰ cʼ ɟ ɟʰ ʄ k kʰ kʼ ɡ ɡʰ q qʰ qʼ/ ⟨p ph b bh bʼ t th tʼ d dh dʼ c ch cʼ j jh jʼ k kh kʼ g gh q qh qʼ⟩
/mp mpʰ mb mbʰ nt ntʰ nd ndʰ ɲc ɲcʰ ɲɟ ɲɟʰ ŋk ŋkʰ ŋɡ ŋɡʰ ɴq ɴqʰ/ ⟨mp mph mb mbh nt nth nd ndh ńc ńch ńj ńjh ṅg ṅgh ñq ñqh⟩
/ts tsʰ tsʼ dz dzʰ tʂ tʂʰ tʂʼ dʐ dʐʰ tɕ tɕʰ tɕʼ dʑ dʑʰ/ ⟨ts tsh tsʼ dz dzh tš tšh tšʼ dž džh tś tśh tśʼ dź dźh⟩
/nts ntsʰ ndz ndzʰ ɳtʂ ɳtʂʰ ɳdʐ ɳdʐʰ ɲtɕ ɲtɕʰ ɲdʑ ɲdʑʰ/ ⟨nts ntsh ndz ndzh ňtš ňtšh ňdž ňdžh ńtś ńtśh ńdź ńdźh⟩
/f v θ ð s z ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h/ ⟨f v ṭ ḍ s z š ž ś ź x ġ ḥ ċ h⟩
/m m̥ n n̥ ɳ ɳ̊ ɲ ɲ̊ ŋ ŋ̊ ɴ ɴ̥/ ⟨m mh n nh ň ňh ń ńh ṅ ṅh ñ ñh⟩
/l l̥ ʎ ʎ̥ r r̥/ ⟨l lh ĺ ĺh r rh⟩
/w j/ ⟨w y⟩
/æ æː ɛ ɛː e eː i iː a aː ɜ ɜː ɘ ɘː ɨ ɨː ɑ ɑː ɒ ɒː ʌ ʌː ɔ ɔː ɤ ɤː o oː ɯ ɯː u uː/ ⟨ae aae ea eea e ee i ii aeh aaeh eah eeah eh eeh ih iih a aa aw aaw ao aao aow aaow o oo ow oow u uu uw uuw⟩
/a˨ a˦ a˦˨ a˨˦/ ⟨à á â ǎ⟩ (first letter of vowel)

/ndæː˨ ðɤ˦˨ r̥ɒː˦ kʼɯ˨ tʂʰɛː˨˦ ŋ̊ɜ˦ ɲdʑɨː˨ ʎeː˦˨ ɗɑ˦ bʰæ˨˦ mpʰoː˨ ʂɒ˨ ʕɯː˦˨ cʰɔː˦ ɕe˨ duː˨˦/
⟨Ndàe ḍâo rháaw kʼù tšhěea nhéah ńdźìi ĺêe dʼá bhǎe mphòow šàw ċûu čháaow śè dǔuw.⟩