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Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar		Velar	Glottal
			plain	sibilant
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Stop	short	p	t	ts	k
	geminated	pː	tː	tːs	kː
Fricative		v		s		h
Approximant			l		j

• /v/, /ŋ/, and the geminated stops do not occur in word-initial position.

Coda Consonants

There are three coda consonants in Luanese: /n/, /t/, and /h/. Each of these codas behave differently in different environments. These behaviors and their resulting surface realizations are detailed below.

The nasal coda /n/ undergoes place assimilation when followed by another consonant. If /n/ is in an intervocalic position, then it is realized as the onset of the following syllable and can surface as [n], [m], or [ŋ] depending on its historical realization and the surrounding vowel qualities. Historical *ŋ will only surface as [ŋ] when surrounded by back vowels; otherwise, it surfaces as [m] when followed by /u/ or /y/ and as [n] in all other contexts.

The alveolar coda /t/ undergoes place assimilation when followed by another consonant and results in a geminated consonant: [pː], [tː], [tːs], [kː], [sː], or [lː]. There are, however, several exceptions to this. When the following consonant is a nasal, then /t/ becomes a stop and undergoes place assimilation resulting in [pm] and [tn]. If the following consonant is /h/ then the /h/ is dropped and it becomes a geminated [tː]. If the following consonant is /j/ then the /t/ is realized as [s] and takes the place of /j/ as the onset of the following syllable. In intervocalic positions, /t/ is realized as the onset of the following syllable, and if the /t/ is followed by /i/ then it is realized as /s/.

The /h/ coda is realized as [h] only in strong syllables (syllables unaffected by tone neutralization) unless it is followed by the consonant /s/, then the /h/ surfaces as [k]. In single syllable words, coda /h/ surfaces through changes in the vowel of the syllable. This includes diphthongizing the vowels /a/ and /e/ as [ai] and [ei], lengthening the vowels /i/ and /y/ as [iː] and [yː], or monophthongizing the diphthongs /uo/ and /yö/ as [uː] and [yː]. In weak syllables, coda /h/ is dropped except the diphthongs /uo/ and /yö/ are shortened to [u] and [y].

When a syllable with no coda is followed by a syllable that begins with a vowel, an epenthetic /l/ is inserted. (i.e. 女 nẹ “woman” + 王 uón “king” > 女王 nẹluón “queen”)

Geminated Stops and Rendaku

Some initial stops are underlying geminates and correspond to the aspirated stops of Middle Luanese, but they only surface as geminates in word-medial positions when preceded by another syllable that ends in either a vowel or a nasal. At the beginning of words, historically aspirated stops result in the lengthening or diphthongization of the following vowel. In addition to this, there is a process similar to rendaku, which can prevent the geminate from surfacing in such word-medial environments. Namely, if a syllable with a stop onset has a coda consonant and is not the first syllable in the word, then the stop will undergo elision. Geminates become short stops, and non-geminate stops surface as either [v], [j], or [∅] depending on the context. Historically, the non-geminate stops surfaced as voiced fricatives, but all except *v were lost. /p/ always surfaces as [v], while /t/, /ts/, and /k/ surface as [v] when surrounded by rounded vowels, as [j] when preceded by /i/, and are dropped completely in other environments. If the non-geminate stop that undergoes rendaku is preceded by a nasal coda, then it will surface as a nasal and result in a geminate nasal (/np/ > [mː], /nt/ > [nː], /nts/ > [nsː], or /nk/ > [ŋː]). Geminated stops that result from the coda /t/ are unaffected by rendaku.

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Vowels

	Front		Back
	unrounded	rounded
High	i	y	u
Mid	e	ø	o
Low	æ		ɑ

• A phonological contrast between short /i y u æ ɑ/ and long /iː yː uː æː ɑ/ exist with high and low vowels. This can alternatively be analyzed as allophonic realizations of either certain diphthongs in single syllable words or certain vowels when combined with coda /h/ in single syllable words.

Vowel Harmony

Luanese exhibits back versus front vowel harmony. /y/, /ø/, and /æ/ make up the front vowel harmony while /u/, /o/, and /ɑ/ make up the back vowel harmony. /i/ and /e/ are neutral vowels that can occur in either environment. All syllables or morphemes in Luanese have an underlying vowel harmony. When combining these morphemes to making compounds, the first syllable of the compound decides the harmony for the rest of the syllables. The harmony of neutral syllables is determined by historical factors; namely, syllables that historically contained the vowels *ɯ and *ɤ have back harmony, while those that historically contained the vowels *i and *e have front harmony.

Diphthongs

Luanese has 10 diphthongs, three of which are opening (going from a high vowel to a mid or low vowel) and seven of which are closing (going from a low or mid vowel to a high vowel). The closing diphthongs can be further subdivided into rounded ending (ending with /y/) and unrounded ending (ending in /i/).

		Closing		Opening
		unrounded	rounded
Front	unrounded	/æi̯/	/æy̯/
	rounded		/øy̯/	/yø̯/
Back	unrounded	/ɑi̯/	/ɑu̯/
	rounded		/ou̯/	/uo̯/
Neutral		/ei̯/		/ie̯/

• The underlying harmony of neutral syllables containing the diphthongs /ei/ and /ie/ are dependent on whether the diphthongs were historically *ɤɯ and *ɯɤ or *ei and *ie.

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Tones

Luanese has five unique phonemic tones for single syllables said in isolation. The table below shows these five tones in terms of Middle Luanese tone designations. The entering tones shown below are the same as the level tones except they may be realized as shorter when a coda stop, /h/, or /t/ is present. The Yin-Yang distinction arises from the loss of initial voicing distinctions.

	Level (平)	Rising (上)	Departing (去)	Entering (入)
Yin (陰/阴)	55 (˥)	52 (˥˨)	33 (˧)	5 (˥)
Yang (陽/阳)	24 (˨˦)	21 (˨˩)		23 (˨˧)

The next table shows the five tones organized phonemically along with single-syllable examples. The low tone (T4) is typically accompanied by glottalization or creaky voice.

Tone		Contour	Examples
1	High	5(5) ˥	車 /ke˥/ ke
			乞 /ket˥/ ket
2	Rising	24 ˨˦	渠 /ke˨˦/ ké
		23 ˨˧	傑 /ket˨˧/ két
3	Falling	52 ˥˨	舉 /ke˥˨/ kè
4	Low	21 ˨˩	巨 /ke˨˩/ kẹ
5	Mid	33 ˧	去 /ke˧/ kē

Tone Sandhi

Luanese has two different tone sandhi processes; one neutralizes every other syllable in a word, while the other changes the tone of a syllable suffixed with 兒 (-á/-ä́).

In the case of the former, it is slightly more complicated than the neutralization of every other syllable. Rather, if a word contains an even amount of syllables, then every other syllable (that is, even numbered syllables) undergoes tone neutralization. The neutralized tones are determined by the tone of the preceding syllables (odd numbered syllables). If a word contains an odd amount of syllables, then the last syllable will copy the neutralized tone of its preceding syllable. For example, if a word has 4 syllables with the underlying tones /55-21-33-24/ then the tones will surface as [55-55-33-33] with the 2nd and 4th syllables’ tones neutralizing according to the 1st and 3rd syllables’ tones respectively. If a word has 3 syllables with the underlying tones /55-21-33/ then both the 2nd and 3rd syllables’ tones will neutralize according to the 1st syllable’s tone as [55-55-55]. The table below outlines the neutralized even-syllable tones and the corresponding odd-syllable tones that precede them.

Even-Syllable Tone Neutralization

Tone	Preceding Tone	Neutralized Tone
T1	55	55
T2	24	55
T3	52	21
T4	21	33
T5	33	33

Tone Sandhi with -兒 Suffix

When a single syllable is suffixed with 兒 (-á/-ä́) then the tone of that first syllable undergoes tone sandhi. The tone sandhi caused by 兒 (-á/-ä́) precedes any tone neutralization. Such words are often distinguished from others words that are suffixed with the perfective marker 矣 (-ạ/-ạ̈); for example, 嚼兒 tsáhá [tsa˧.ɦa˧] meaning “food, something to eat” is distinguished from 嚼矣 tsáhạ [tsa˨˦.ɦa˥] meaning “ate, has eaten” through tone sandhi. The table below outlines the tone sandhi for each underlying tone when affected by 兒 (-á/-ä́).

Tone	Underlying Tone	Sandhi Tone
T1	55	33
T2	24	33
T3	52	55
T4	21	55
T5	33	33

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Development from Middle Luanese

Initials

The following table shows the correspondences between the initials of Middle Luanese and Modern Luanese. Notice that the voicing distinction of stops merged in word-initial positions; however, aspirated stops became geminates in word-medial positions, while the remaining voice-voiceless distinction resulted in the Yin and Yang tone distinctions.

Middle Luanese		Modern Luanese
Labials	幫 p, 並 b	p
	滂 pʰ	p(ː)
	明 m	m
Coronals	端 t, 定 d	t
	透 tʰ	t(ː)
	知 ʈ, 澄 ɖ, 精 ts, 從 dz, 莊 ʈʂ, 崇 ɖʐ, 章 tɕ	ts
	徹 ʈʰ, 清 tsʰ, 初 ʈʂʰ, 昌 tɕʰ	t(ː)s
	心 s, 邪 z, 生 ʂ, 禪 dʑ, 書 ɕ, 船 ʑ	s
	泥 n	n
	日 ɲ	∅
	來 l	l
Velars	見 k, 群 ɡ	k
	溪 kʰ	k(ː)
	疑 ŋ	∅
Laryngeals	影 ʔ	∅
	曉 x	h

Finals (Early to Late Middle Luanese)

Middle Luanese first underwent a simplification of its finals resulting in a more consistent and simplified system as outlined below. The table below outlines the corresponding Early Middle Luanese finals to their Late Middle Luanese values.

Early to Late Middle Luanese Finals
	∅-Medial	j-Medial	w-Medial	y-Medial
∅-Coda	ɑ → ɑ	ɨɑ → jɑ	uɑ → wɑ	ɨuɑ → yɑ
	ɣa → æ	ia → jæ	ɣua → wæ	-
	ɨʌ → ɨ	ɨo → jɨ	uo → wɨ	-
j-Coda	ʌi, ɑi → ɑj	(ɣ)iᴇi, ɨɐi → jɑj	uʌi, uɑi → wɑj	(ɣ)iuᴇi, ʉɐi → yɑj
	ɣɛ(i), ɣai → æj	ei → jæj	ɣuɛ(i), ɣuai → wæj	wei → yæj
	ɨ(i) → ɨj	(ɣ)iᴇ, (ɣ)iɪ → jɨj	-	(ɣ)iuᴇ, (ɣ)iuɪ, ʉi → yɨj
w-Coda	ɑu → ɑw	(ɣ)iᴇu → jɑw	-	-
	ɣau → æw	eu → jæw	-	-
	əu → ɨw	(i)ɨu → jɨw	-	-
m/p-Coda	ɑm → ɑm	ɨɐm, (ɣ)iᴇm → jɑm	-	ʉɐm → yɑm
	ɣɛm, ɣam → æm	em → jæm	-	-
	ʌm → ɨm	(ɣ)iɪm → jɨm	-	-
n/t-Coda	ɑn → ɑn	(ɣ)iᴇn, ɨɐn → jɑn	uɑn → wɑn	(ɣ)iuᴇn, ʉɐn → yɑn
	ɣan, ɣɛn → æn	en → jæn	ɣuan, ɣuɛn → wæn	wen → yæn
	ən → ɨn	ɪn, (ɣ)iɪn, ɨn → jɨn	uən → wɨn	(ɣ)iuɪn, ɨun → yɨn
ŋ/k-Coda	ɑŋ, ɣʌŋ → ɑŋ	ɨɐŋ, ɣiæŋ, iᴇŋ → jɑŋ	wɑŋ → wɑŋ	ʉɐŋ, wɣiæŋ, wiᴇŋ → yɑŋ
	ɣæŋ, ɣɛŋ → æŋ	eŋ → jæŋ	wɣæŋ, wɣɛŋ → wæŋ	weŋ → yæŋ
	əŋ → ɨŋ	ɨŋ, ɨuŋ → jɨŋ	wəŋ, uŋ, uoŋ → wɨŋ	wɨŋ, ɨoŋ → yɨŋ

Finals (Middle to Modern Luanese)

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