The following table shows the origins of MBS open vowels. The /j/ offglide results in the e-class vowels */aj/→/ɛ/, */ij/→/e/, */u̯aj/→/u̯ɛ/, */uj/→/u̯e/ respectively. Although the palatalisation of the labials is simple /m pʰ p b/ → [mʲ pç pʲ bʲ], and the velar nasal predictably palatalises into a palatal nasal /ŋ/ → [n̠ʲ]. Although the vowels /u̯a/ /u̯ɛ/ /u̯e/ are commonly treated as medial-vowel sequences, reducing the vowel inventory of MSB in open syllables from 10 to 7, the behaviour of /u̯a/ /u̯ɛ/ /u̯e/ is unlike that of glide-vowel combinations (See the section on glides below for a more complete explanation). It has the effect of shortening the vowel and precluding it from bearing tone. The final ⟨စ⟩ today is /ɪʔ/. Reduced syllables have the rime [ə̀], which is short and low. The syllable structure of Burmese is C(G)V((V)C), which is to say the onset consists of a consonant optionally followed by a glide, and the rime consists of a monophthong alone, a monophthong with a consonant, or a diphthong with a consonant. The change in spelling reflects this sound shift and should not be taken to indicate an OB *awk *awŋ or *ɔk *ɔŋ sequence. Unless otherwise noted, statements in this article refer to South Korean standard language based on the Seoul dialect. The pronunciation of -ak is becoming /æʔ/ in Yangon Burmese, merging with -ap and -at. Diachronically, however, all of the MSB open syllable vowels are derived from Old Burmese (OB) open syllables or diphthongs. Both pronunciations are universally accepted and understood. It is indistinguishable from open syllable words. [1] [2]. Low tone is the result of syllables which had neither a glottal nor fricative ending. Shan is a member of the Tai–Kadai language family and is related to Thai. The sequence /n̥a/ is pronounced closer to [n̤a̤] than [n̥na] and is more noticeable in its tone raising effects. The IPA is followed by the phoneme demonstrated in Burmese script on the consonant ⟨ပ⟩ /p/ showing (top to bottom) creaky tone, low tone, and high tone. This is due to the fact that, phonetically, it behaves as a medial, however, here the transcription /u̯/ is used to emphasise that it is a part of the vowel and not a true medial like /-j-/ (romanised -y-). This is similar to rendaku in Japanese. those ending on a stop -p -t -k) representing the first time tonal distinctions have occurred in such syllables e.g. In many Burmese verbs, pre-aspiration and post-aspiration distinguishes the causative and non-causative forms of verbs, where the aspirated initial consonant indicates active voice or a transitive verb, while an unaspirated initial consonant indicates passive voice or an intransitive verb:[7]. Note that this does not apply to devoiced r ရှ, y ယှ, or ly လျှ as this results in [ʃ] with no breathy phonation. The change in spelling reflects this sound shift and should not be taken to indicate an OB *awk *awŋ or *ɔk *ɔŋ sequence. those ending on a stop -p -t -k) representing the first time tonal distinctions have occurred in such syllables e.g. These bear some similarities to the Japanese moraic n, ン and sokuon っ. This itself is often referred to as the "checked" or "entering" tone, following Chinese nomenclature. Similarly /kʰ/ /k/ and /g/ can be followed by any glide, in which case the cluster becomes [tʃʰ] [tʃ] or [dʒ] respectively. In Burmese it continues this function as it is found not only in loaned vocabulary but also in native words e.g. In OB, h- or a syllable beginning with /h/ could be prefixed to roots, merging over time with the consonant of the following syllable. From the table it is clear that the vowels /ɛ/ /u̯ɛ/ /e/ /u̯e/ /ɔ/ /o/ can only exist in open syllables in MSB (with some rare exceptions) as they derive from vowel+glide combinations. Similarly /kʰ/ /k/ and /g/ can be followed by any glide, in which case the cluster becomes [tʃʰ] [tʃ] or [dʒ] respectively. It can be realised as a geminate of a following stop, although this is purely allophonic and optional as the difference between the sequence /VʔtV/ and /VtːV/ is only in the catch, and thus barely audible. The following table shows the origins of MBS open vowels. §1.The Burmese language is written from left to right, and without any division of words. Consequently, Burmese can be described as having 8 tones. Creaky tone and high tone both have distinctive phonations—creaky and breathy respectively. They are frequently seen in loans from Pali. The velar stops /kʰ k ɡ/ palatalise into [tʃʰ tʃ dʒ]}}. Just as open syllables have ten vowels, so too do closed syllables: /æ/ /ɪ/ /ɛ~ɜ/ /u̯æ~ʊ/ /u̯ɛ/ /u̯ɪ/ /eɪ/ /oʊ/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/. This is exclusively used to transcribe an /e/ vowel in closed syllables in loans, but cannot occur in native vocabulary, although many such loans, particularly from Pali, may be centuries old. As a result, Burmese script uses far more symbols than Burmese needs for its phonemic inventory. It is loosely based on the common system for romanization of Pali, has some similarities to the ALA-LC romanization and was devised by the Myanmar Language Commission. It may be possible to say that they exist only in loans; however, some of the words they appear in are so old and deeply integrated into the language that the three-way voicing/aspiration distinction can still be said to be an important part of the language. [ə] only occurs in a minor syllable, and is the only vowel that is permitted in a minor syllable (see below). In many Burmese verbs, pre-aspiration and post-aspiration distinguishes the causative and non-causative forms of verbs, where the aspirated initial consonant indicates active voice or a transitive verb, while an unaspirated initial consonant indicates passive voice or an intransitive verb: [7]. The close vowels /i/ and /u/ and the close portions of the diphthongs are somewhat mid-centralized ([ɪ, ʊ]) in closed syllables, i.e. In more conservative dialects /i/ /u/ and */o/ may not break, and thus remain /ĭʔ/ /ĩ/, /ŭʔ/ /ũ/, and /ɔ̆ʔ/ /ɔ̃/, additionally */an/ may move back, not forward, leaving /ɔ̃/ and not /æ̃/, but all of these features are considered non-standard. ⟨ည⟩ and ⟨ဉ⟩ behave much the same, except that ⟨ည⟩ is not itself pronounced, and has a broader range of effects on the vowel. Burmese exhibits voicing sandhi. ရဟန္တာra.hanta[jəhàndà] ('monk'), ရာဇraja. [17]. The fronting of *a before *ŋ to /ɪ/ is a distinctive feature of MSB, not shared by other varieties of Burmese. [jàza̰] ('king'). The velar finals ⟨က⟩ -k and ⟨င⟩ -ŋ can follow the vowels /a/ and /u̯a/ giving အက် /ɐʔ/ အွက် /u̯æʔ/ အင် /ɪ̃/ အွင် /u̯ɪ̃/. When a syllable becomes reduced, the vowel and any final consonants are reduced to a short schwa [ə̆]. Indeed, the letter *jʰ ⟨ဈ⟩ [z, sʰ] is almost indistinguishable from the s+y sequence ⟨စျ⟩ and many combinations of alveolar+medial will render poorly in certain font sets which were not designed to handle non-native combined graphs. However, some linguists consider Burmese a pitch-register language like Shanghainese.[17]. Sandhi can occur in two environments. The palatal final, however, has two forms. Traditionally, Burmese has voiced voiceless unaspirated stops into voiced stops, which at first, was allophonic. the consonant of the reduced syllable and the consonant of the following syllable – are stops, then both will be voiced:[6]. The Thai alphabet itself has 44 consonant symbols, 16 vowel symbols that combine into at least 32 vowel forms and four tone diacritics to create characters mostly representing syllables. Tavoyan/Dawei dialects merge both the -ap -at -ak rimes (as is becoming common in Yangon) and also merge the -am -an -aŋ rimes allegedly resulting in /ăʔ/ /ãː/, although it is unclear whether these are truly [a] or [æ] as in MSB.. [18] The "ordinary" tone consists of a range of pitches. North-central dialects in and around Mandalay tend to use the original opening diphthong while southern dialects in and around Yangon tend to use the monophthong. Customarily, this distinction is transcribed with the letter h in romanisation and is explicitly marked on the consonant in Burmese script e.g. The syllable structure of Burmese is C(G)V((V)C), which is to say the onset consists of a consonant optionally followed by a glide, and the rime consists of a monophthong alone, a monophthong with a consonant, or a diphthong with a consonant. Similarly, before the -m and -n finals, vowels use the same qualities except that they are nasalised and are pronounced long by default[15] thus giving: /æ̃/ /ẽɪ/ /u̯æ̃~ʊ̃/ /ɔ̃ʊ/. Older speakers will pronounce the vowel higher and as a front-central vowel in the [ɛ~ɜ] range. For example, in /mòʊɰ̃dáɪɰ̃/ ('storm'), which is pronounced [mõ̀ũndã́ĩ]. Although the vowels /u̯a/ /u̯ɛ/ /u̯e/ are commonly treated as medial-vowel sequences, reducing the vowel inventory of MSB in open syllables from 10 to 7, the behaviour of /u̯a/ /u̯ɛ/ /u̯e/ is unlike that of glide-vowel combinations (See the section on glides below for a more complete explanation). The final set ⟨ဘ⟩/bʰ/, ⟨ဓ⟩/dʰ/, ⟨ဈ⟩/zʰ/, and ⟨ဃ⟩/ɡʰ/ are exceedingly rare. Syllables ending on nasals can bear any of the three tones, but rarely have tone 1 (short, high, creaky phonation). In brief, the following shifts can occur in MSB: Additionally ⟨သ⟩ can become voiced under the same conditions, however this is purely allophonic since the voiced [ɾ̪~ð̆~d̪̆] phone does not exist in any other context.