Vowels[]
The Balochi vowel system has at least eight vowels: five long and three short.[1] These are /aː/, /eː/, /iː/, /oː/, /uː/, /a/, /i/ and /u/. The short vowels have more centralized phonetic quality than the long vowels. The variety spoken in Karachi also has nasalized vowels, most importantly /ẽː/ and /ãː/.[2]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unr. | rnd. | |||
| Close | i | ɨ | u | |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | ||
| Close-mid | e | ø | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | œ | ɜ | ʌ |
| Open | æ | a | ɒ | |
Consonants[]
The following table shows consonants which are common to both Northern and Southern Balochi.[3] The consonants /s/, /z/, /n/, /ɾ/ and /l/ are articulated as alveolar in Western Balochi. The plosives /t/ and /d/ are dental in both dialects.
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palato- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p b | t d | ʈ ɖ | c ɟ | k ɡ | ʔ | ||
| Affricate | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | |||||||
| Fricative | f v | θ ð | s z | ʂ ʐ | ʃ ʒ[cn 1] | ç ʝ | x ɣ | h[cn 2] |
| Tap | ⱱ | ɾ | ɽ[cn 3] | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɳ | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Approximant | w | l | ɭ | j | ʟ |
Notes[]
In addition, /f/ occurs in a few words in Southern Balochi. /x/ (voiceless velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /χ/ (voiceless uvular fricative) in Western Balochi; and /ɣ/ (voiced velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /ʁ/ (voiced uvular fricative) in Western Balochi.