Akoye has a small phonemic inventory, which is not well described.[1]
Consonants are /p t k, f s, m n, w/ and maybe /j/.[2] The first four are usually voiced to [b ɾ ɡ v] after a monophthongal vowel, though sometimes the voicing is blocked for unknown reasons.
Vowels are /i e ə æ ɑ o u/ (i, y, e, c, a, o, u). Diphthongs (/ɑi, əi, oi, ɑu/) are said to be rare, though vowel sequences are common, so these are perhaps not equivalent.[3]
The most complex syllable is CCVV: /mtəəpə/ 'hair', /əəkwɑi/ 'eye'.
Tone plays a role: /ə̀ɡənə/ 'sky', /əɡə́nə/ 'lid'; /pɑɑ́/ (sp. bird), /pɑ̀ɑ/ 'body'.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | p /p/ | t /t/ | k /k/ | |
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /ɡ/ | ||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | j /ŋ/ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f /f/ | s /s/ | x /x/ | |
| voiced | v /v/ | z /z/ | h /ɣ/ | ||
| Flap | r /ɾ/ | ||||
| Approximant | w /w/ | q /ɰ/ | |||
| Lateral | l /ʟ/ | ||||