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Hamtai (Kapau) Language/Vowels
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Hamtai uses 6 letters to represent 7 different sounds in the Hamtai language. One of the letters, ä, is not present in English.
+ Table of vowels in HamtaiOates, W.; Oates, L. (1968). Kapau pedagogical grammar. Canberra, Australia: The Australian National University. pp. 7–8.FrontCentralBackClosei
/i/ i
/ɨ/ u
/u/Open Mid ä
/ʌ/Close Mid e
/e/ o
/o/Open a
/a/
Values of Sounds
i - like the ee in free
i (ɨ) - like the i in middle
u - like the oo in boot
ä - like the u in gut
e - like the a in play
o - like the o in horse
a - like the o in now
Examples
me'ä - small
yeä - dry (not wet)
koe'ä - dry (not green)
na'a - big
äinä - when?
poeäno - the immediate conjugation of päwo (to come by going down) in the 1st person plural tense (we just have come by going down)
References