Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula by Semelai people. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai people reside predominantly around the Bera, Serting and associated river systems in the states of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.
Phonology
Semelai has 32 consonants and 20 vowels.
| +Consonants
! colspan="2" | !Bilabial
!Alveolar
!Palatal
!Velar consonant
!Glottal |
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Stops /p t c k/ are heard as p̚ word-final position.
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Palatal sounds /c ɟ/ are slightly affricated as cᶝ when in word-initial position.
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/s/ may occur as s or ɕ within free variation.
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Nasals /m n ɲ ŋ/ can occur as prestopped ᵇm when in word-final position.
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/r/ can be heard as ɾ when in word-final position. When preceded by a nasal /n/ it is heard as ᵈr.
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/w j/ are heard as off-glides when in word-final position. After nasal vowels, they are then heard as nasalized .
Vowels are also distinguished with nasal counterparts:
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/ɒ/ is phonetically noted as ɒ̙.
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/i/ can be heard as in closed syllables
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/ə/ can be heard as in stressed word-final syllables
Notes
External links
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http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
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Semelai in RWAAI Digital Archive
