The phonetic system - vowels |
Surayt has the vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ and /ë/. With the exception of /ë/, as a rule they will all be pronounced as long vowels in open syllables and short vowels in closed syllables.
Long vowels in closed syllables, just as short vowels in open syllables are exceptions and need to be memorized separately. Usually these are due to irregular or borrowed words from contact languages.
1. Long vowels in closed syllables
2. Short vowels in open syllables
Besides /ë ܷ /, the Surayt writing system expresses only the short vowel /a/ in open syllables with a particular vowel sign, which is /ä ܱ /. However, based on pedagogical reasons, it will not be used until later lessons. For the time being, it will be written as the vowel /a/ with Ftoḥo ܰ .
watermelon | žäbaše | ܙ̰ܱܒܰܫܶܐ | →žabaše | ܙ̰ܰܒܰܫܶܐ |
many, much | ġäläbe | ܓ݂ܱܠܱܒܶܐ | →ġalabe | ܓ݂ܰܠܰܒܶܐ |
bald head | käčal | ܟܱܫ̰ܰܠ | →kačal | ܟܰܫ̰ܰܠ |
The short vowel /ë ܷ /, which is also called ‘schwa’, resembles the short, unstressede-sound in ‘the’ and the ‘a’ in ‘allow’. It can, however, appear in any syllable form.
cow | tërto | tër-to | ܬܷܪܬܐ |
after, later | bëṯër | bë-ṯër | ܒܷܬܼܷܪ |
name | ëšmo | ëš-mo | ܐܷܫܡܐ |
minute | qaṭënto | qa-ṭën-to | ܩܰܛܷܢܬܐ |
According to the particular speaker, in many cases for historical reasons it is not always possible to determine the difference between /ë/ and the short vowels /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/.