Consonants[]
The consonant phonemes and major allophones of Algonquin in one of several common orthographies are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiced | b [b] | d [d] | ʒ [d̠] | g [ɡ] | ||
| voiceless | p [p] | t [t] | ʃ [t̠] | k [k] | ' [ʔ] | ||
| aspirated | p [pʰ] | t [tʰ] | ʃ [t̠ʰ] | k [kʰ] | |||
| Affricate | voiced | dj[1] [d͡ʒ] | |||||
| voiceless | tc[2] [t͡ʃ] | ||||||
| Fricative | voiced | v [β] | ð [ð] | z [z] | j[3] [ʒ] | ɣ [ɣ] | |
| voiceless | f [ɸ] | q [θ] | s [s] | c[4] [ʃ] | x [x] | h [h] | |
| Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ŋ [ŋ] | ||||
| Approximant | w[5] [w] | r [ɹ] | y [j] | l [ɰ] | |||
Aspiration and allophony[]
The Algonquin consonants p, t and k are unaspirated when they are pronounced between two vowels or after an m or n; plain voiceless and voiceless aspirated stops in Algonquin are thus allophones. So kìjig ("day") is pronounced [kʰiːʒɪɡ], but anokì kìjig ("working day") is pronounced [ʌnokiː kiːʒɪɡ].
Vowels[]
Diphthongs[]
- aw [aw]
- ay [aj]
- ew [ew]
- ey [ej]
- iw [ew]
- ow [ow]
Nasal vowels[]
Algonquin does have nasal vowels, but they are allophonic variants (similar to how in English vowels are sometimes nasalized before m and n). In Algonquin, vowels automatically become nasal before nd, ng, nj or nz. For example, kìgònz ("fish") is pronounced [kiːɡõːz], not [kʰiːɡoːnz].
Stress[]
Word stress in Algonquin is complex but regular. Words are divided into iambic feet (an iambic foot being a sequence of one "weak" syllable plus one "strong" syllable), counting long vowels (à, è, ì, ò) as a full foot (a foot consisting of a single "strong" syllable). The primary stress is then normally on the strong syllable of the third foot from the end of the word—which, in words that are five syllables long or less, usually translates in practical terms to the first syllable (if it has a long vowel) or the second syllable (if it doesn't). The strong syllables of the remaining iambic feet each carry secondary stress, as do any final weak syllables. For example: /ni.ˈbi/, /ˈsiː.ˌbi/, /mi.ˈki.ˌzi/, /ˈnaː.no.ˌmi.da.ˌna/.