Hamtai (Kapau) Language/Consonants

Hamtai uses 14 different consonants, two of the symbols that represent these are not present (as a consonant) in English.

Table of consonant phonemes in Hamtai

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m /m/	n /n/		ng /ŋ/
Plosive		p /p/	t /t/		k /k/	k̥/q /q/	' /ʔ/
Approximant	voiced			y /j/	w /w/
	unvoiced				wh /w̥/
Fricative	voiced	v /v/
	unvoiced	f /f/					h /h/

Note: y can sometimes be frictionized to become z

Values of Sounds

(As compared to English)

m - like the m in match

n - like the n in sun

ng - like the ng in sing

p - like the p in park

t - like the t in tank

k - like the k in kitten

k̥/q - no equivalent in English, compare to the Arabic قط ([qɪtˤ])

' - like the sound between uh and oh in the word uh-oh

y - like the y in young

w - like the w in want

wh - like the Mid-Atlantic Pronunciation or Conservative Received Pronunciation of the wh in why

v - like the v in vine

f - like the f in fine

h - like the h in hare

Examples

nanqa - banana

hauka - fruit

qu'wa - leaf

qatä'ä - flower

qanäi - mother

sä'ä - sleep