Norman, Jerry. n.d. "Swadesh List in Manchu and Sibe," Unicorn 3, 89-98. Princeton: Chinese Linguistics Project. Norman, Jerry. 1974. "A Sketch of Sibe Morphology," Central Asiatic Journal 18, 159-74.
Consonant system:
p ph t th k kh q č čh qχ f v s (š) x χ m n ŋ N l ɾ
Stops:p ph t th k kh q
Affricates:č čh qχ
Fricatives:f v s (š) x χ
Nasals:m n ŋ N
Laterals:l
Vibrants:ɾ
Glides:j
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i y ɛ
Central Vowels:ǝ a
Back Vowels:u o
Long Vowels:v̄
Diphthongs:ai au ia ua ǝi ǝu iɛ yɛ oi io ui
Stress:penult
Noun Number:s [p] [pl generally limited to humans]
Avrorin, V.A. 1959, 1961. Grammatika nanajskogo jazyka, 2 vols. Moscow: Academy of Sciences. Avrorin, V.A. 1968. "Nanajskij jazyk," in JNS 5, 129-48. Menges, Karl H. 1968. "Die Sprache der Nānaj (Goldi)," in Altaistik, vol 3, 171-246.
Consonant system:
p b t d k ɡ č ɡ̌ s x m n ñ ŋ l r
Stops:p b t d k ɡ
Affricates:č ɡ̌
Fricatives:s x
Nasals:m n ñ ŋ
Laterals:l
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i ḛ
Central Vowels:ǝ a̰
Back Vowels:u o̰
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Nasal Vowels:ṽ all
Diphthongs:
iǝ iu ia io ǝu ǝi ai ao ui uǝ oi oa iǝ̃ iũ iã iõ ǝũ ǝĩ aĩ aõ uĩ uǝ̃ oĩ oã
Sunik, O.P. 1968. "Udegejskij jazyk," in JNS 5, 210-32. Menges, Karl H. 1968. "Die Sprache der Udihe," in Altaistik, vol 3, 129-71.
Consonant system:
p b t̪ d̪ k ɡ ʔ č ɡ̌ f s x ɣ h m n̪ ñ ŋ l (ɾ)
Stops:p b t̪ d̪ k ɡ ʔ
Affricates:č ɡ̌
Fricatives:f s x ɣ h
Nasals:m n̪ ñ ŋ
Laterals:l
Vibrants:(ɾ)
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i (y) e ø ɛ
Central Vowels:ǝ a
Back Vowels:u o
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Syllable:(C)V(C)
Stress:final
Noun Number:s [p] [pl suffix exists, but is not normally used]
Demonstratives:2
Pronouns:
1 4ie 2 5 3 6
Syntax:SOV AN GN DN NUM-N POSS-N/N-POSS
Ergative:
Prep/Post:/POST
Number:1996
Language:Korean
Location:Korea
Population:55 million
Classification:Altaic: Korean-Japanese
Grammar:Rogers, M.C. 1956. Outline of Korean Grammar. n.p.:n.p.
Other Sources:
Olmsted, D.L. 1963. Korean Folkore Reader. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Han, Mieko S. 1963. Acoustic Phonetics of Korean. Los Angles: Univ. of California. Cho, Seung-Bog. 1967. A Phonological Study of Korean. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells. Hwang, Shin Ja Joo. 1975. Korean Clause Structure. SIL 50. AL 7:1 Martin, Samuel E. 1951. "Korean Phonemics," Lg 27, 519-33.
Consonant system:
p ph pʔ t̪ t̪h t̪ʔ k kh kʔ ʔ č čh čʔ s sʔ h m n̪ ŋ l
Stops:p ph pʔ t̪ t̪h t̪ʔ k kh kʔ ʔ
Affricates:č čh čʔ
Fricatives:s sʔ h
Nasals:m n̪ ŋ
Laterals:l
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i (y) e ø æ
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:u ɯ o ɤ
Long Vowels:(v̄)
Syllable:(C)V(C)
Demonstratives:3
Articles:def
Pronouns:
1 4 2 5 *3 *6 politeness: yes
Syntax:SOV AN GN DN NUM-N/(N-NUM) POSS-N
Ergative:
Prep/Post:/POST
Comments:
The glottalized series of consonants is variously described as (1) long, (2) tense, (3) accompanied by glottal tension, though the glottal catch is apparently nowhere near as pronounced as in typical Amerindian or Caucasian ejectives.
Number:1997
Language:Japanese
Location:Japan
Population:115 million
Classification:Altaic: Korean-Japanese
Dictionary:Okakura, Y., ed. 1945. New English-Japenese Dictionary. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
Grammar:
Martin, Samuel E. 1975. A Reference Grammar of Japanese. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.
Harada, Tetsuo. 1966. Outlines of Modern Japanese Linguistics. Tokyo: Nihon Univ. Kuno, Susumu. 1973. The Structure of the Japanese Language. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Consonant system:
p t̪ k (ʔ) b d̪ ɡ č ɡ̌ s š h z m n̪ (ŋ) ɾ
Stops:p b t̪ d̪ k ɡ (ʔ)
Affricates:č ɡ̌
Fricatives:s z š h
Nasals:m n̪ (ŋ)
Vibrants:ɾ
Modified Consonants:c̄ p t k č s š
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
i ɯ e o a
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:ɯ o
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Syllable:(C)(G)V, ŋ̟
Tones:pitch accent: hi lo
Demonstratives:3
Pronouns:
1 4 2 5 *3mfn *6hH politeness: many honorific forms
Syntax:SOV AN GN DN NUM-N POSS-N D+Num+A+N
Ergative:
Prep/Post:/POST
Number:1998
Language:Ryukyuan
Dialect:Central
Location:Japan (Okinawa)
Classification:Altaic: Korean-Japanese
Other Sources:AL 7:1
Consonant system:
p b t d k ɡ ʔ ts s z h m n
r
Stops:p b t d k ɡ ʔ
Affricates:ts
Fricatives:s z h
Nasals:m n
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:u o
Syllable:Nˈ
Syntax:SOV
Ergative:
Prep/Post:
Number:1999
Language:Ryukyuan
Alternate Name:Shodon
Dialect:Northern
Location:Japan (Ryukyu Islands)
Population:900,000
Classification:Altaic: Korean-Japanese
Other Sources:Martin, Samuel E. 1970. "Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus," JAOS 90, 97-139.
Consonant system:
p t̪ t̪h k kh kʷ khʷ ʔ ʔʷ b d̪ ɡ ɡʷ ɸ s̪ h (z̪) m n̪ ɾ
Stops:p b t̪ t̪h d̪ k kh ɡ kʷ khʷ ɡʷ ʔ ʔʷ
Fricatives:ɸ s̪ (z̪) h
Nasals:m n̪
Vibrants:ɾ
Modified Consonants:c̄
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
i u e o a
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:u o
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Tones:hi mid low
Demonstratives:3
Pronouns:
1 4 2* 5* 3 6 politeness: honorific forms for 2 & 5
Grammar:Patrie, James. 1982. The Genetic Relationship of the Ainu Language. Honolulu: Univ Press of Hawaii.
Other Sources:Pilsudski, Bronislaw. 1912. Materials for the Study of the Ainu Language and Folklore. Cracow: Academy of Sciences. Simeon, George. 1969. "Hokkaido Ainu Phonemics," JAOS 89, 751-7 Simeon, George. 1976. "The Hokkaido Ainu Copula," Linguistics 169, 63-6. Peng, Fred C.C. and Peter Geiser. 1977. The Ainu: The Past in the Present. Hiroshima: Bunda Hyoron. AL 7:1
Consonant system:
p t k (ʔ) č s h m n ɾ
Stops:p t k (ʔ)
Affricates:č
Fricatives:s h
Nasals:m n
Vibrants:ɾ
Modified Consonants:c̄ p t k s m n
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
i u e o a
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:u o
Modified Vowels:vowel harmony ?
Diphthongs:wa wo we ja jo je aw ew uw iw aj oj ej uj jaj