Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/280

Rh TABLE 1

1 Under certain circumstances, the markers that occur before consonants also are found before vowels:

2 The symbol # stands for the fact that most nouns of Class 5 have no overt marker at all when the stem begins with a consonant.

3 Classes 9 and 10 have no special prefix syllable for nouns, but many nouns in this class begin with a nasal sound (/m, n/ etc.).

4 when a stem begins with the vowel /i/ (e.g. /ingi/ 'many') and the prefix ends with /a/, the vowel that is pronounced is /e/: /wengi, mengi, pengi/, instead of the nonexistent */waingi, maingi, paingi/.

5 Coastal standard pronunciation of these prefixes is with syllabic /m/, but the pronunciation /mu/ is often heard also.