Chapter 16The Consonant Inventory and Its Phonetic Realization

16.1 The consonant phonemes

The ordinary Latin transcription of Hokkaido Ainu uses eleven consonants: /p, t, k, c, s, h, m, n, r, y, w/. Nakagawa and Satō describe an inventory of eleven, while Bugaeva includes the glottal stop /ʔ/ and counts twelve Nakagawa (2024: 27); Satō (2008: 10); Bugaeva (2012: 465). The difference concerns the analysis of glottal closure, whose occurrence is recognized in both approaches; see Chapter 20 (Glottal Stops and the Distribution of /h/) ‹contested›.

The table gives broad places of articulation. In particular, /y/ is palatal and /w/ is labial-velar. Letter values follow Ainu romanization: c represents an affricate and y the glide written [j] in IPA Shiraishi (2022: §3).

16.2 Syllable-initial consonants

The stops /p, t, k/ have bilabial, dental, and velar articulations. A voiced pronunciation does not create a contrast with a separate series /b, d, g/. Nakagawa reports that /p/ is particularly liable to sound voiced, with /t/ and /k/ showing the tendency less strongly Nakagawa (2024: 28).

The affricate /c/ is commonly described as [tʃ] or [tɕ]. Bugaeva records speaker variation between [tʃ] and [ts] in cup “sun; moon” Bugaeva (2012: 466). Shiraishi, reporting Tamura, specifically notes a [ts] realization before /u/ Shiraishi (2022: §3). These descriptions concern variation within the affricate phoneme.

The two fricatives have different distributions of phonetic variation. The palatalization of /s/ is described in Chapter 18 (/s/ and the s ~ š Palatalization Alternation). For /h/, Nakagawa describes [h], [ç], and [ɸ] realizations according to the following vowel. Shiraishi reports Tamura's observation that this conditioning can be weak, especially in recordings of older speakers Nakagawa (2024: 28); Shiraishi (2022: §3). A single phonetic table would conceal some of this speaker variation.

16.3 Syllable-final consonants

Nine consonants occur as Hokkaido syllable codas: /p, t, k, s, m, n, r, y, w/. The affricate /c/ and fricative /h/ are excluded from this position. Analyses with /ʔ/ also exclude it from the coda Nakagawa (2024: 27); Bugaeva (2012: 467). The permitted combinations are described in Chapter 21 (Syllable Structure, Phonotactics, and Word-Edge Constraints).

Final stops are unreleased: the closure is made without a following audible burst. Bugaeva gives kap [kap̚] “skin; bark,” kut [kut̚] “girdle,” and sik [sik̚] “eye” Bugaeva (2012: 465). A final stop is therefore a consonant of the syllable even when its release is difficult to hear.

Sakhalin comparisons require a separate inventory of permitted codas. Tangiku describes the widespread replacement of historical final stops by /h/, while also identifying Sakhalin localities that preserve final stops Tangiku (2022: §§2.2–2.3). These dialect differences should be retained in comparisons; see Chapter 162 (Sakhalin and Northern Kuril Comparisons).

16.4 Nasals and place assimilation

The nasal phonemes are /m/ and /n/. Final /n/ is ordinarily articulated with the tongue tip at the teeth, but it takes the place of a following consonant: [m] before /p, m/ and [ŋ] before /k/. Nakagawa illustrates the latter with honkor [hoŋkor] “be pregnant” Nakagawa (2024: 30).

Nasals before labials are written differently across dictionaries. A spelling with n can preserve a morphological relationship or follow a convention for nasal neutralization; it need not indicate an alveolar pronunciation in that position Nakagawa (2024: 58–59). The alternatives are explained in Chapter 15 (Orthographic Standardization and the Word-Division Problem).

16.5 Voicing variation

Stops and the affricate can be voiced between vowels, after a nasal, and after /r/. Shiraishi gives hapo ~ habo “mother,” tampe ~ tambe “this one,” and unarpe ~ unarbe “aunt,” reporting the descriptive literature Shiraishi (2022: §3.1). Voicing is variable in these environments.

Shiraishi also reports Yamashita's study of recorded Saru speech, in which the post-nasal environment had the highest voicing rate, approximately 40%. That figure describes the study's sample. It is evidence of a tendency, with ample unvoiced realizations remaining Shiraishi (2022: §3.1).

16.6 The rhotic

The common realization of /r/ is a tap [ɾ], with trilled, lateral, and stop-like variants reported in the literature. In final position it often has a vowel-like release Nakagawa (2024: 28, 30); Shiraishi (2022: §3.2). The contrast between final /r/ and /r/ followed by a vowel is established by pronunciation and by morphological behavior. It is examined in Chapter 19 (The Rhotic /r/ and Coda-r).

16.7 Glides

The glides /y/ and /w/ occur at the beginning and end of syllables. In final position they have vowel-like realizations, but their morphological behavior supports grouping them with consonants. Shiraishi points to the selection of the consonant-following nominalizer in okay-pe “those who are” and siw-pe “bitter thing” Shiraishi (2022: §3). The evidence and the older diphthong terminology are discussed in Chapter 22 (Glides, Vowel Hiatus, and the Diphthong Question).