- /t/ and /ŋ/ only appear in loanwords.
- /p/ may sometimes be heard as [ɸ].
- /k/ is sometimes pronounced as [q] or [ʔ], usually word-initially.
- /tʃ/ can manifest as [s], or when adjacent to /ɨ/, [t].
- In certain words, the prenasalized consonants are denasalized.
- /s/ is occasionally [ʃ] before /i/.
- /n/ is heard as [ɲ] before /i/, and [ŋ] before /u/.
- Following /o/ and before any other vowel, /w/ is realized as [ŋ].
- Before /a/, /j/ is heard as [ɲ].
- Before the high vowels /i ɨ u/, /j/ is pronounced [dʒ].
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
- The high vowels /i ɨ u/ do not occur word-initially.
- /e/ is occasionally centralized to [ə].
- /a/ is typically raised to [ə] in open syllables.
- /a/ can also range in realization to [ɛ], [ʌ], and [ɔ].
- /u/ is sometimes unrounded to [ɤ].
- /ɨ/ is often deleted between two consonants.
Additionally, the following diphthongs have been observed: /ai/, /ei/, /oi/, /au/, /ou/.
References
- 1 2 Aion at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Timothy Usher, East Keram River
- 1 2 Barlow, Russell (2021). “Ambakich phonological sketch”. Language and Linguistics in Oceania. 13: 32–88.