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As can be seen in the following listing of Hoyloy consonants, a number of them are equivalent to certain English sounds modified to various degrees. Among such modifications, the most important one is for dividing the aspirated plosives -- such as the 'p' in 'pie', the 't' in 'tile' and the 'k' in 'kate' -- from the unaspirated plosives -- such as the 'p' in 'spy', the 't' in 'style' and the 'k' in 'skate'.
1. [p] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 'p' in 'pie' but followed by a stronger puff of breath (aspirated).
1a. [p] as final consonant, similar to the final 'p' in English but with the lips kept closed so that no breath is released afterwards. The final [p] is thus unaspirated in contrast to the initial [p] which is aspirated.
2. [bp] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 'p' in 'spy'. This sound is unaspirated in contrast to the aspirated.
3. [b] as initial consonant, similar to the sound of 'b' in 'bus' except it must be fully voiced (sonant). The 'b' in Englsih is only partially voiced. One must make the sound of [b] in Hoyloy fully voiced, to avoid hazardous confusion with the sound of [bp].
Note: This sound is also regarded as a 'denasalized [m].
4. [t] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 't' in 'tile' but followed by a stronger puff of breath (aspirated). Note that for the Hoyloy [t] the articulation may take place where the tip of the tongue comes into contact with the gums back of the upper teeth, rather than the alveolar ridge as for the English 't'. Either way of articulation nevertheless produces the sound verbally identical to the other.
4a. [t] as final consonant, similar to the final 't' in English but with the tip of the tongue held against the gums back of the upper teeth or the alveolar ridge so that no breath is released afterwards. The final [t] is thus unaspirated in contrast to the initial [t] which is aspirated.
5. [dt] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 't' in 'style', though for the Hoyloy sound the tip of the tongue may be brought into contact with the gums back of the upper teeth rather than the alveolar ridge. This sound is unaspirated in constrast to the aspirated [t].
6. [d] as an initial consonant, similar to the sound of 'd' in 'daddy' except it must be fully voiced (sonant). The 'd' in English is only partially voiced. This sound is rarely heard, except for some loan words from Japanese such as [O-den"] for 'a certain kind of food for snack' and [de-pa"dtO'] for 'department store'.
7. [k] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 'k' in 'kate' but followed by a stronger puff of breath (aspirated).
7a. [k]/[K] as final consonant, similar to the final 'k' in English but with the rear of the tongue held against the velum so that no breath is released afterwards. The final [k] is thus unaspirated in contrast to the initial [k] which is aspirated. With a capital 'K', the symbol indicates articulation in conjunction with the semi-vowel [w]/[wj].
8. [q] as initial consonant, same as the sound of 'k' in 'skate'. This sound is unaspirated in contrast to the aspirated [k].
9. [g] as an initial consonant, similar the sound of 'g' in 'good' except it must be fully voiced (sonant). The 'g' in English is only partially voiced. One must make the sound of [g] in Hoyloy fully voiced to avoid hazadous confusion with the sound of [q], which is not voiced.
10. [l] as an initial consonant, similar to the sound of 'l' in 'law'. The English sound of 'l' is articulated with the tip of the tongue put against the alveolar while letting the breath go through the sides of the tongue. The Hoyloy sound of [l] on the other hand is typically made by a flap of the tip of the tongue against the gums back of the upper teech. Both variants are acceptable to Hoyloy ears.
Note: This sound is also regarded as 'denasalized' [n].
11. [R] This symbol serves as a wildcard for the sound of [z], [dz], [l] or even 'r' in Japanese loan words, depending on which of the different pronunciations for the same word applies.
12. [s] as an initial consonant, similar to the sound of 's' in 'sea'. The sound of [s] in Hoyloy is more prominantly aspirated.
13. [z] as an initial consonant, similar to the sound of 'z' in 'zeal'. This sound is particular to a certain accent and covered under the wildcard symbol [R] of item 11.
14. [ts] as initial consonant produced through combined articulation of [t] and [s]. The similar English sound is heard at the end of 'that's', but it is never used as an initial consonant in English. A recommended approach to learning this sound is to start with the sound of 'ch' like for 'chin' and move the tip of the tongue to the gums back of the upper teeth to make the initial consonant sound like the [ts] in Hoyloy. This sound is a aspirated consonant in contrast to its unaspirated counterpart listed next.
15. [tz] the unaspirated counterpart of the sound [ts]. This sound is voiceless (articulated without setting the vocal chords in vibration) in contrast to its voiced counterpart (articulated with vocal chords set in vibration) listed next.
16. [dz] the voiced counterpart of the sound [tz]. It sounds similar to the 'ds' in 'words'. This sound is rarely heard and particular to a certain accent only (see description of [R] of number 11.)
17. [m] as initial or final consonant equivalent to the sound of 'm' in English.
18. [n] as initial or final consonant equivalent to the sound of 'n' in English.
19. [ng]/[Ng] as initial or final consonant. The articulation is similar to that for the sound of 'ng' in 'ring'. For learning to put the sound at the beginning of a word, practice with the native Hoyloy speakers patiently. The transcriptive symbol [Ng] stands for the combination of the vowel [e] or the semi-vowel [w] with [ng]. (See description of the vowel [e] and the semi-vowel [w] respectively.)
20. [h] as an initial consonant. This sound comes from the puff of breath through either oral or nasal passage. In some English words such as 'why' and 'where', it is sometimes hardly heard. In Hoyloy it is always distinctively heard.
21. [Q] as a final consonant. Similar to other Hoyloy final stops, the articulation in effect makes no sound but brings the preceding vowel to a halt instantly. It is called a glottal stop because the halt is made by tightening the vocal chords. A glottal stop may be heard, for instance, as the sudden silence popped up between the two words in the interjection "oh oh". While a glottal stop occurs incidentally in English, it is meaningful for making different words in Hoyloy. By cutting short the tone in [bi-], for instance, with a glottal stop turning it into [biQ-] the meaning changes from 'taste' to 'to hide'.
The glottal stop as the final consonant of a syllable tends to become weakened or lost when the syllable is pronounced with a linking tone. Examples: 1. [paQ=sNg']=>[pa(Q)"sNg'] (to estimate); 2. [tzyaQ_bpa"|lO']=>[tzya_bpa"|lO'] (to have eaten).
By the way, any vowel sound in Hoyloy initiating a syllable, be it at the beginning of or inside a word, is typically preceded with a slight glottal stop. Although an initiating vowel is thus barred from combination with the final consonant of the foregoing syllable, in some of the most common words, the glottal stop becomes so much weakened and such combination takes place. Examples: [qam-ma"] for 'tangerin' and [qin-na=Rit+] for 'today'.
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