Articulatory mode

Articulatory mode

There are three graphemic markers of articulatory mode:

• Uphimbo, the voicing line, is a vertical line that runs from the apex of the triangle to the base (or inline with the ends of the chevron). This symbol modifies the phonation of the consonant.
• Lerothodi, the glottal action dot, is a dot that floats just above the base of the triangle, inside it. When an uphimbo is present, the dot can be moved slightly to a side, and if a consonant shape is in the way, even further, for visibility. This symbol modifies the airstream mechanism of the consonant.
• Ingungwana, the nasalization marker, is a circle that sits at the top of the triangle, touching its apex. This is distinct from the bilabial nasal /m/ (ingungu) that appears on its own, as this one occurs with other consonant graphemes. In this case, no additional lines need to be added to the ingungwana, as the place of articulation is given by them instead.

 

Articulation Modifier	Without graphemic marker	With graphemic marker	Rule
Uphimbo	/∅V/	/ɦV/	If the diacritic is the only symbol along the vowel, it represents a Voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/. When applied to a nasal or a rhotic consonant, its shifts their phonation from modal to breathy voiced. When applied to any other consonant, it becomes voiced.
	/N/, /R/	/N̤/, /R̤/
	/p/, /t/, /k/	/b/, /d/, /g/
Lerothodi. In grey, alternative placements to avoid consonants.	/∅V/	/ʔV/	If the diacritic is the only mark on the iBheqe, it can denote a glottal stop, though more often than not that sound is non phonemic. For unvoiced and aspirated consonants, the diacritic indicates a glottalized ejection. If the language doesn’t have ejectives, then it turns into its plain modal form. For breathy voiced consonants, it indicates an implosive release. If the language doesn’t have implosives, then it turns into its plain modal form.
	/pʰ/, /tʰ/, /ᵏǃʰ/	/pʼ/, /tʼ/, /ᵏǃʼ/
		/p/, /t/, /ᵏǃ/
	/b̤/, /d̤ /, /g̤/	/ɓ/, /ɗ /, /ɠ/
		/b/, /d/, /g/
Ingungwana	/b/, /k/	/mb/, /ŋk/	This diacritic marks prenasalized consonants. When its used on an ejective click consonant (marked with the lerothodi), the ingungu denotes prenasalization.[12] If it’s a plain click, then it becomes nasal.
	/ᵏǃʼ/, /ᵏǁʼ/	/ŋᵏǃʼ/, /ŋᵏǁʼ/
	/ᵏǃʰ/, /ᶢǀʰ/	/ᵑǃ/, /ᵑǀʱ/