DAN PÍLAO

The phonology of draqa is not difficult. There are a few things to watch out for, however. There is no way to describe the sounds of draqa with full accuracy here. You are best off finding a native speaker, but this little synopsis should get you started. To the average English speaker, native draqa pronunciation may sound "babyish" or "cute". Remember not to be harsh. Draqa has a very mellow flow to it.

To see this in chart form click here

'

[?] "?" glottal stop

Like the break between the 'uh' and the 'oh' in 'uh-oh'

e.g. ma'owa [ma? o. wa] "ma?-oh-wa" Sense enough to know when to keep one's mouth shut

p

[p_h] "p" aspirated voiceless bi-labial stop

Like the 'p' in 'pinch'

e.g. po [p_ho] "poh" Skirt

t

[t_h] "t" aspirated voiceless alveolar stop

Like the 't' in 'tickle'

e.g. tama [t_ha. ma] "ta-ma" Secret, Mystery

c

[tS] "ch" voiceless post-alveolar affricate

Similar to the 'ch' in 'chin', but not like the 'ch' in 'church'

e.g. comi [tSo. mi] "choh-mee" Feeling foolish, ridiculous

k

[k_h] "k" aspirated voiceless velar stop *initial position

Like the 'k' in 'kiss'

e.g. kelex [k_hE. lES] "keh-lesh" Live fish





[k], [g] "g" unaspirated velar stop *medial, final position

Similar to the 'g' in 'goddess'

e.g. buki [bu. ki] "boo-gee" Hang out having a good time shooting the breeze



b

[b] "b" voiced bi-labial stop (soft release)

Similar to the 'b' in 'robin'

e.g. buji [bu. Ji] "boo-jhee" Pleasure of meeting someone new and hoping to develop into a friendship

j

[J] "jh" voiced post-alveolar stop (soft release)

Somewhat like the 'g' in 'massage'

e.g. jalor [Ja. lor] "jha-lor" Interpersonal (and other) politics

d

[ d[ ] "dh" voiced inter-dental stop

Place tounge in the position of 'th' in 'thistle' but pronounce 'd'

e.g. díafwix [ d[i3a1. h_piS] "dhEEa-hfwish" Moon

d'

[T] "th" unvoiced inter-dental fricative

Like the 'th' in 'thistle'

e.g. d'wíqo [Twi. h<vcd>o] "thwEE-qhoh" Bird

fw

[h_P] "hfw" pre-aspirated voiceless bi-labial fricative

Place lips in position to pronounce 'w' and blow

e.g. fweacor [h_Pea. tSo<r>] "hfwayah-chor" Showing, Displaying, Presenting

f

[f] "f" voiceless labio-dental fricative

Like the 'f' in 'flower'

e.g. faxa [fa. Sa] "fa-sha" Person devoted to spiritual seeking

s

[s] "s" voiceless alveolar fricative

Similar to the 's' in 'summer'

e.g. síofa [si3o1. fa] "sEEoh-fa" Sleep-deprivation high

x

[S] "sh" voiceless post-alveolar fricative

Similar to the 'sh' in 'shimmer'

e.g. xáona [Sa3o1. n[a ] "shAoh-nha" Shell, Outer covering, Bark

h

[h] "h" voiceless glottal fricative

Similar to the 'h' in 'happy'

e.g. haes [haEs] "ha.es" 'Pure' love in a spiritual (not religious) sense

m

[m] "m" voiced bi-labial nasal

Like the 'm' in 'mother'

e.g. madr [ma. d[R-] "ma-dher" Adult

n

[ n[ ] "nh" voiced inter-dental nasal

Place tounge in position of the 'the' in 'thistle' and pronounce 'n'

e.g. nunu [ n[u. n[u ] "nhoo-nhoo" Fatty flesh

g

[N] "ng" voiced velar nasal

Like the 'ng' in 'sing'

e.g. maga [ma. Na] "ma-nga" Peanut

w

[w] "w" voiced bi-labial approximant

Like the 'w' in 'waterfall'

e.g. wala [wa. la] "wa-la" Earthworm

l

[l] "l" voiced alveolar approximant

Similar to the 'l' in 'laugh'

e.g. laes [laEs] "la.es" Titillating, Intriguing, Sexy

y

[j] "y" voiced palatal approximant

Like the 'y' in 'yellow'

e.g. hwayo [xwa. jo] "hwa-yo" Manifestaion

q

[h<vcd>] "qh" voiced glottal approximant

Like the 'h' in 'happy', but with voice resonating through your vocal cords

e.g. soqa [so. h<vcd>a] "so-qha" Inner upper arm, Inner thigh



[q], [G] "q" unaspirated post-velar stop * initial only (not before front vowels)

Similar to the 'k' in 'kiss', but further back in the throat

e.g. qoehija [Go@i. Ja] "qoh.uh.ee-jha" Too strong, resistant, endurant

p"

[p<trl>] "PPP" voiceless bi-labial trill

Put your lips together for a 'p' as in 'passion', and trill them

e.g. p"kwan [p<trl>. kwan[ ] "PPP-kwanh" Need to urinate

z

[!] "tsk!" voiceless alveolar click

This is the sound of "sucking your teeth", or "tsk!tsk!" said to a horse

e.g. zwehlalan [!w@. la. lan[ ] "tsk!wuh-lah-lanh" Forest, Woodland



i

[i] "ee" high front unrounded

Between the 'ee' in 'free' and the 'i' in 'twin'

e.g. pikxa [p_hik. Sa] "peek-sha" Infatuative love

e

[E] "eh" mid front unrounded

Similar to the 'ea' in 'pleasure'

e.g. tewe [t_hE. wE] "teh-weh" Nipple

a

[a] "a" low front-central unrounded

Between the 'a' in 'fantasy' and the 'a' in 'father'

e.g. aja [a. Ja] "a-jha" Precocious young brat

eh

[@] "uh" mid central unrounded

Similar to the 'u' in 'fun'

e.g. pehna [p_h@. n[a ] "puh-nha" Headache

o

[o] "oh" tense mid back rounded

Similar to the 'o' in 'potent'

e.g. sowa [so. wa] "soh-wa" Sleep

u

[u] "oo" tense high back rounded

Similar to the 'ew' in 'jewel'

e.g. hwúunoi [xwu3u1. n[oi ] "hwOOoo-nhoy" Fascination

r

[R-] "er" retracted rhoticization

Similar to the 'ir' in 'flirt'

e.g. Krya [k_hR-. ja] "ker-ya" Mythical draqa homeland

Glottalization

When a stop (p,t,c,k) is directly followed or preceeded by the glottal stop ('), it loses it's aspiration or affrication

e.g.

Pitch Accent

A vowel can be accented with a high pitch. This is shown by an acute accent over the vowel (í, é, á, éh, ó, ú), a number following the vowel to indicate pitch [i3, E3, a3, @3, o3, u3, R-3] or capitalization of the vowel "EE", "EH", "A", "UH", "OH", "OO", "ER"

Rhoticization

Vowels (i,e,a,eh,o) can be rhoticized. This is shown by following the vowel with 'r' (ir, er, ar, ehr, or ; "eer", "ayr", "ar", "uhr", "or") or a tag after the vowel [i<r>, e<r>, a<r>, @<r>, o<r>]

Vowels can be both pitch-accented and rhoticized simultaneously: ír [i3<r>] "EER"

Dipthongs

These are the allowable vowel combinations, though not all of these are true dipthongs



ia [ia] "eeah"

e.g. piac [p_hiatS] "peeahch" Building, Structure

iar [ia<r>] "eear"

e.g. síar [si3a<r>] "sEEar" Yellow

ieh [i@] "eeuh"

e.g. miehks [mi@ks] "meeuhks" Place

io [io] "eeoh"

e.g. kio [k_hio] "keeoh" Fish as food

ior [ior] "eeor"

e.g. liorna [lio<r>. n[a ] "leeor-nha" Liorna (name)

iu [iu] "eeoo"

e.g. xamiu [Sa. miu] "shah-meeoo" Positive experiencing of pleasure

ea [ea] "aya"

e.g. peawa [p_hea. wa] "paya-wa" Rain

ear [ea<r>] "ayar"

e.g. jakwear [Ja. kwea<r>] "jha-kwayar" Jhakwear (name)

eeh [e@] "ayuh"

e.g. meehsk [me@. s. k.] "mayuh-s-g" Time and place

eo [eo] "ayoh"

e.g. xeo [Seo] "shayo" Entity, Spirit

eor [eo<r>] "ayor"

e.g.

eu [eu] "ayoo"

e.g. asfeu [a. sfeu] "ah-sfayoo" Fingernail, Sliver of moon, Sliver

ai [ai] "ah.ee"

e.g. ajinkwai [a. Jin. kwai] "ah-jhin-kwah.ee" Ajin-kwai (name)

ae [&E:] "a.e"

e.g. xael [SaEl] "sha.el" Waiting

aer [&E<r>] "a.air"

e.g. swaer [swaE<r>] "swa.air" Celebration

ao [&o] "aoh"

e.g. maowa [mao. wa] "maoh-wa" Cat

aor [&o<r>] "aor"

e.g. láor [la3o1<r>] "lAor" Extremely intense

ehi [@i] "uh.ee"

e.g. xehikr [S@i. k_hR-] "shuh.ee-ker" Fire

eher [@E<r>] "uh.ayr"

e.g. swéher [sw@3E<r>] "swUH.ayr" Very intense

ehu [@u] "uh.oo"

e.g. fehul [f@ul] "fuh.ool" Stranger

oi [oi] "oy"

e.g. poijak [poi. Jak] "poy-jhak" Interfere, Bother, Oppress

oe [oE] "o.eh"

e.g. minakoe [mi. n[a. k_hoE] "mee-nhah-ko.eh" Nineteen

oa [oa] "oa"

e.g. soan [soan[ ] "soanh" Soanh (name)

oehi [o@i] "oh.uh.ee"

e.g. qoehi [Go@i] "qoh.uh.ee" Qoehi! (interjection)

ui [u-i] "ooee"

e.g. sui [su-i] "sooee" Vulva

ua [ua] "ooah"

e.g. bua [bua] "booah" Good, Happy

uar [ua<r>] "ooar"

e.g.

ueh [u@] "oo.uh"

e.g.

uor [uo<r>] "oo.or"

e.g. suorka [suo<r>. ka] "soo.or-ga" Angry

ra [R-a] "ura"

e.g. draqa [ d[R-a. h<vcd>a] "dhura-qha" Draqa

ro [R-o] "uro"

e.g.

*

Dipthongs can be followed with other dipthongs that start with the same sound the former ends with. For example, since 'ehi' is acceptable and 'iar' is acceptable - 'ehiar' is acceptable, 'iarehi' is not acceptable, e.g. xwehiar [Sw@ia<r>] "shwuh.ee.ar" Buzz, High

Consonant Clusters

These are the allowable initial consonant clusters. They are formed together with

w, y, l, x, s or f:



w

pw tw cw kw bw jw d'w sw xw hw mw lw qw zw

y

py ty ky fy hy hwy my qy

l

pl tl kl fl sl xl hl ml

x, s, f

ts ks d's kx sf

*

Consonant clusters can be followed by other consonant clusters that start with the same sound the former consonant cluster ends with. For example, since 'sf' is acceptable and 'fl' is acceptable - 'sfl' is acceptable, but 'flsf' is not acceptable, e.g. sflama [sfla. ma] "sfla-ma" Island

Syllable Structure



All draqa syllables follow the form:

C1 V (C2), or V (C2), or C2

where:

C1 is any consonant or allowable initial cluster

V is any vowel or allowable vowel combination

C2 is any of the following consonants: c, k, ', s, x, m, n, g, w, l

e.g. skeacmeehsk [ s. keatS. me@. s. k ] "s- gayahch- mayuh- s- g" Within a dreamscape

Stress



Draqa syllables all are pronounced with even stress.

Pitch-accenting of vowels only changes their pitch, and the pitch contour of the remaining phrase.

Different vowels and vowel combinations differ with regards to mora length:

i.e.

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Last Updated: February 25, 2000