Kuvaf language

Sound Changes

1. Vowel rounding: /e/ and /i/ become /o/ and /u/ respectively after labial and velar consonants.
2. Devoicing of voiced stops /b/, /d/, /g/ at the ends of words.
3. Loss of /h/ in all positions.
4. Unstressed short vowels /a/, /i/, /u/ are reduced to schwa /ə/.
5. Nasalization: Vowels before nasals become nasalized, and the nasal consonants are then lost.
6. Insertion of /i/ after palatal and velar consonants.
7. Gemination (doubling) of consonants following short stressed vowels.
8. Nasals /m/, /n/ are lost word-finally.
9. Fricatives /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /x/ voice to /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ɣ/ respectively in the word-initial position.
10. Assimilation of /n/ to following consonant.
11. Simplification of clusters: In consonant clusters, the least sonorant consonant is lost.
12. Intervocalic /v/ shifts to /w/.
13. Fronting of /u/ to /y/ before and after front consonants and vowels.
14. Raising of /a/ to /æ/ in stressed syllables.
15. Deletion of word-final short vowels.

Root Languages

• Proto-Alfnehr language

Spoken by

• Kuvaf people