Seŋoŋ language
Seŋoŋ is a language spoken by approximately 1,300,000 people on Migqeżk, the southernmost island of the nation of Xjetjeŋ. Seŋoŋ is the most spoken language belonging to the Seufaŋ language family. According to linguist Noki Pedhatsusuri (1977), it has the smallest phonology out of any known natural language, with there being only 10 phonemes and 13 phones.
Phonology
The phonology of Seŋoŋ consists of 10 phonemes.
| Labial | Alveolar | Guttural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fricative | f
/ɸ~m/ |
s
/s/ |
h
/h~ħ/ |
| Nonfricative | w
/w~b/ |
n
/n/ |
ŋ
/ŋ/ |
- /ɸ/ is always pronounced as /m/ when it is present in the first syllable of the word, or if it is followed by the vowels /ũ/ and /ɔ/.
- /w/ is always pronounced as /b/ when it is followed by /ɔ/.
- /h/ and /ħ/ are in free variation between speakers. Younger speakers seem to tend towards /ħ/, with older speakers mostly tend to pronounce it as /h/.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i
/i/ |
u
/ũ/ |
| Open | e
/e:/ |
o
/ɔ/ |