The phonology of the language aims for simplicity. It has nine consonants and five vowels, and syllables can only be of the form (C)V(n), that is, an optional consonant, a vowel and an optional n.
The consonants are m (like in map), n (like in nice), p (like in span), t (like in stone), k (like in skin), s (like in sit), l (like in left), j (like in yes), and w (like in we).
The vowels are i (like in happy), e (like in dress), a (like in trap), o (like go) and u (like boot).
Note that the words given to describe the pronunciation may not be accurate in your dialect. See the next section, or follow the links.
All letter are pronunced as in the International Phonetic Alphabet; there is room for allophony:
⟨m⟩ - voiced bilabial nasal stop /m/
⟨n⟩ - voiced alveolar nasal stop /n/. Possible allophones: dental [n̪ ] or postalveolar [n̠ ]. Also, before /p/ or /w/ can be [m] and before /k/ and /j/ can be [ŋ]
⟨p⟩ - voiceless bilabial stop /p/. Possible allophones: aspirated [pʰ] or voiced [b]
⟨t⟩ - voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Possible allophones: aspirated [tʰ] or voiced [d]
⟨k⟩ - voiceless velar stop /k/. Possible allophones: aspirated [kʰ] or voiced [g]
⟨s⟩ - voiceless alveolar sibilant /s/. Possible allophones: dental [s̪] or postalveolar [s̠]; can be voiced too, [z], [z̪] or [z̠]
⟨l⟩ - voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/. Possible allophones: dental [l̪] or postalveolar [l̠]
⟨j⟩ - voiced palatal approximant /j/. Possible allophones: voiced palato-alveolar affricate [d͡ʒ]
⟨w⟩ - voiced labial-velar approximant /w/. Possible allophones: voiced labial fricative, [v] or [β]
⟨i⟩ - close front unrounded vowel /i/. Possible allophones: near-close near-front [ɪ]
⟨e⟩ - mid front unrounded vowel /e̞/. Possible allophones: open-mid [e] or close-mid [ɛ]
⟨a⟩ - open central unrounded vowel /ä/. Possible allophones: near-open front [æ], open front [a] or open back [ɑ]
⟨o⟩ - mid back rounded vowel /o̞/. Possible allophones: Possible allophones: open-mid (o) or close-mid (ɔ)
⟨u⟩ - close back rounded vowel /u/. Possible allophones: near-close (ʊ)
In words with more than one syllable, the stress is placed in the first syllable.
Syllables always have a consonant (optional at the start of a word), a vowel, and an optional n at the end.