Chukchi phonology

This article discusses the phonology of the Chukchi language. The Chukchi language, also known as Chukot or Luorawetlan,[1] is a language spoken by around 5 thousand people[2] in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The endonym of the Chukchi language is Ԓыгъоравэтԓьэн йиԓыйиԓ (Lyg'"orawetl'en Jilyjil),[3] pronounced as [ɬəɣˀorawetɬˀɛn jiɬəjiɬ]. Chukchi is in the Chukotko-Kamchatkan family, and thus is closely related to Koryak, Kerek, Alyutor, and more distantly related to Itelmen, Southern Kamchadal, and Eastern Kamchadal.

Vowels

Generally, Chukchi is noted to have 6-7 distinct vowels, with /e1/ and /e2/ being identical in pronunciation but behave differently in the language. A similar occurrence in Yup'ik Eskimo can be seen in the language's two types of /i/, whose cause is the merging of /ə/ into /i/. Each vowel except for /ə/ also has a long form, which is phonemic and can occur independently.

Vowel Harmony

Chukchi is notable for its vowel harmony based on vowel height, with /i/, /u/, and /e1/ belonging to the recessive group and /e₂/, /o/, and /a/ belonging to the dominant group. The three vowel pairs alternate with each other respectively. Dominant vowels change all recessive vowels in a word to their dominant versions. /ə/ can belong to either group, but sometimes triggers vowel harmony as if it was a dominant vowel.

Vowel Chart
Vowel Phonemes
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e1 e2 ə o
Open a

Stress

Stress in the Chukchi language tends to be penultimate, but will tend to stay in word stems and avoid schwas.

Consonants

Chukchi has 14 consonants. The language lacks voiced stops, which are only found in loanwords.

Consonant Phonemes
Bilabial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop p t k q ʔ
Fricative β ɬ ɣ
Affricate t͡ɬ t͡ʃ
Approximant ɻ j

References
  1. "ckt | ISO 639-3". iso639-3.sil.org. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  2. http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol4/pub-04-05.pdf
  3. Waldemar, Bogoras (1922). Chukchee: essay of a comparative study of Chukchee group of languages.
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