Pronunciation- alternatively, why qQhlā:dl\ has both a small and capital Q
So I figured that if I were to let people know more about qQhl, they'd have to know how to pronounce it, right?
After all, all these complicated arrangements of symbols must have some meaning, no?
So without further ado, I'm explaining the romanisation I use here.
qQhl has four vowels, a, e, i, u.
While they are mostly pronounced as in latin, when the vowels normally omitted are pronounced (say, in certain verb roots), they tend to centralise into a more /ɔ/, /ɛ/, /ɨ/, and /ʊ/ sound. This means that a turns into the o in "cot", e turns into the e in "bed, i into the i (in some dialects of english) in "little", and the u into the "oo" in hook.
As for the consonants, b, p, t, d, k, g, n, m, s, and z are pronounced as in English, but without the puff of air that comes out of your mouth. (Place your hand in front of your mouth; if you feel air, something's wrong).
You may notice some of the vowels having a "h" in front of them; those are pronounced WITH the puff of air. ("th" and "dh" aren't necessarily pronounced as in English).
Consonants with an apostrophe in front of them are ejectives, which means they're pronounced more forcefully (more information: google is your freund)
θ and ð are the th in "bath" and "bathe" respectively, and q is a k slightly further backwards in the throat. r is pronounced as a Japanese "r", which I have heard described as a combination of "d", "r", and "l", and c is something like an "sh", but more like how the sh in "sushi" is ACTUALLY pronounced in Japanese.
now, Q, X, and C, are sounds that are a bit hard to explain. In short, they are clicks, and EXACTLY THE ONES YOU FIND IN XHOSA.
qQ is like a Q but further back in the throat, and Ql is like Q, but the tongue is slapped against the bottom of the mouth.
As for tones, ā is high, ä is low, á is rising, and à is falling.
Anyway more comprehensive guides can come later.
