Phoneme guide: brahmic group (Indic scripts)¶
Every phoneme token of mbfa-brahmic (96 tokens: 92 phonemes, 3 special tokens and the model's internal blank). The web interface shows the same text when you hover a phoneme.
How to read the tables:
- Sounds like is an approximation. The example words are the real thing: they are the most frequent words containing the token in the FLEURS test sentences (dev split) of 3 languages (Hindi, Odia, Tamil), written in the G2P's own tokens, which is exactly what the aligner sees.
- Used most in gives the languages that use the token most, as a share of all the phonemes of that language.
- Also used for: IPA the G2P wrote that has no token of its own in this model, so it was mapped to this one.
- Rare tokens never appear in those sentences: they come from an untrained language (Sanskrit) or are very rare.
Aspirated (ʰ) and breathy-voiced (ʱ) stops are tokens of their own; the puff or murmur after the release belongs to the stop, not to the vowel. bʰ and bʱ both occur for the same letter; treat them alike. Dental (t̪ d̪ n̪) and retroflex (ʈ ɖ ɳ) consonants are different tokens; plain t and d almost never occur.
Where boundaries go¶
Suggested conventions. Agree on them before annotating, so that every annotator places boundaries the same way.
- Stops (p t k b d g …). A stop starts where the closure starts: energy drops to a near-silent gap, and the formants of the vowel before it end. It ends after its burst (and after its aspiration, for ʰ tokens), where the next sound begins.
- Vowels. Start at the first regular glottal pulse with clear formants; end where the formants fade or the next consonant's closure or noise begins.
- Fricatives (s ʃ f x …). The span of the noise: start and end where the high-frequency noise starts and stops.
- Nasals (m n ŋ …). A steady, low murmur with weak upper formants. The edges are usually sudden changes in energy.
- Glides, laterals, r (j w l ɹ …). Edges are smooth formant transitions: put the boundary at the middle of the transition.
- Diphthongs (a͡ɪ …). One token for both parts: from the start of the first vowel to the end of the second. Do not split it.
- Pauses. Leave a short pause between words as a gap, or insert SIL where the speaker clearly stops.
Diacritics¶
Marks added to a base symbol change it as follows.
| mark | name | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ◌̃ | nasalised | air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) |
| ◌̯ | non-syllabic | the weak, glide-like half of a diphthong; it is not a syllable on its own |
| ◌̩ | syllabic | forms a syllable with no vowel, as the n of “button” |
| ◌̥ | voiceless | said without vocal-fold vibration, as if whispered |
| ◌̪ | dental | the tongue tip touches the upper teeth |
| ◌̠ | retracted | made a little further back in the mouth |
| ◌̝ | raised | a little closer (tongue higher) than the plain symbol |
| ◌̞ | lowered | a little more open; a lowered fricative is a smooth approximant with no friction |
| ◌̺ | apical | made with the very tip of the tongue |
| ◌̻ | laminal | made with the blade of the tongue, just behind the tip |
| ◌̆ | extra-short | a very short version of the vowel |
| ◌́ | accent ´ (high) | the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here |
| ◌̀ | accent ` (low) | the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here |
| ◌̂ | accent ˆ (falling) | the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent |
| ◌̌ | accent ˇ (rising) | the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent |
| ʲ | palatalised | said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) |
| ʰ | aspirated | followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) |
| ʷ | labialised | said with rounded lips |
| ʼ | ejective | a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs |
| ʱ | breathy-voiced | voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) |
| ˤ | pharyngealised (emphatic) | said with the tongue root pulled back: a darker, “heavy” sound (Arabic ط, ص) |
| ◌̚ | unreleased | a final stop with no audible burst: the closure is held and the sound ends silently |
| ◌̈ | centralised | said closer to the centre of the mouth than the plain vowel |
Special tokens¶
| token | meaning |
|---|---|
SIL |
silence. A pause: no speech. Use it for a pause the speaker makes inside a segment. |
noise |
noise. A non-speech sound: a breath, cough, laugh or click. |
<unk> |
unknown. The G2P wrote a sound this model has no token for. Keep its time span; the label cannot say what it is. |
Vowels¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | open front unrounded vowel | a as in Spanish “casa” | Odia ଯାହା /d͡ʒ a h a/; Tamil இந்த /ʔ ɨ n̪ d̪ a/ | Odia 9.4%, Tamil 2.5% |
| i | close front unrounded vowel | ee as in “see” | Odia ଏହି /e h i/; Hindi की /k i/; Tamil நீங்கள் /n̪ i ŋ ɡ ʌ ɭ/ | Odia 8.7%, Hindi 4.8%, Tamil 0.83% |
| e | close-mid front unrounded vowel | e as in Spanish or Italian “de”; the start of English “say” | Hindi के /k e/; Odia ଏବଂ /e b ɔ ŋ/; Tamil வெவ்வேறு /ʋ e ʋ e r ɯ/ | Hindi 5.8%, Odia 5.4%, Tamil 2.1% |
| o | close-mid back rounded vowel | o as in Spanish or Italian “no” | Hindi को /k o/; Tamil ஒரு /ʔ o ɾ ɯ/; Odia ଓ /o/ | Hindi 2%, Tamil 1.6%, Odia 1.4% |
| u | close back rounded vowel | oo as in “food” | Odia ଉପରେ /u p ɔ r e/; Hindi रूप /ɾ u p/; Tamil மூன்று /m u ɳ ɯ/ | Odia 3.9%, Hindi 0.72%, Tamil 0.46% |
| ɪ | near-close front unrounded vowel | i as in “sit” | Hindi लिए /l̪ ɪ e/ | Hindi 3.3% |
| ə | mid central vowel (schwa) | the weak vowel of “about”, “sofa” | Hindi पर /p ə ɾ/ | Hindi 8% |
| ɛ | open-mid front unrounded vowel | e as in “bed” | Hindi है /ɦ ɛ/; Tamil nhk /ɛ n h ɛ k a/; Odia nsw /ɛ n ɛ s w e/ | Hindi 1.7%, Tamil 0.03%, Odia 0.02% |
| ɑ | open back unrounded vowel | a as in “father” | Tamil ஆனால் /ʔ ɑ n ɑ l̪/ | Tamil 4.2% |
| ɔ | open-mid back rounded vowel | o as in British “thought” | Odia ଏବଂ /e b ɔ ŋ/; Hindi और /ɔ ɾ/ | Odia 19%, Hindi 1.1% |
| ʊ | near-close back rounded vowel | oo as in “book” | Hindi कुछ /k ʊ t͡ʃʰ/ | Hindi 1.3% |
| ɯ | close back unrounded vowel | oo said with spread lips (Turkish “ı”) | Tamil மற்றும் /m ʌ ʈ ɾ ɯ m/ | Tamil 7.9% |
| ɐ | near-open central vowel | a short, relaxed “uh” (Portuguese “cama”, German “-er” endings) | rare | |
| ɨ | close central unrounded vowel | between ee and oo, lips spread (Polish “y”, Welsh “u”) | Tamil இந்த /ʔ ɨ n̪ d̪ a/ | Tamil 7.3% |
| ʉ | close central rounded vowel | a rounded vowel between ee and oo (Norwegian and Swedish “du”) | rare | |
| ɔ̃ | open-mid back rounded vowel, nasalised | o as in British “thought”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi यौन /j ɔ̃ n̪/; Odia ପହଁରିବା /p ɔ h ɔ̃ r i b a/ | Hindi 0.03%, Odia 0.01% (rare: 12×) |
| õ | close-mid back rounded vowel, nasalised | o as in Spanish or Italian “no”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi लोगों /l̪ o ɡ õ/ | Hindi 1.1% |
| ʌ | open-mid back unrounded vowel | u as in “cup” | Tamil மற்றும் /m ʌ ʈ ɾ ɯ m/ | Tamil 16% |
| ẽ | close-mid front unrounded vowel, nasalised | e as in Spanish or Italian “de”; the start of English “say”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi में /m ẽ/; Odia ନୁହେଁ /n u h ẽ/ | Hindi 1.3%, Odia 0.05% |
| ɛ̃ | open-mid front unrounded vowel, nasalised | e as in “bed”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi हैं /ɦ ɛ̃/ | Hindi 0.52% |
| ã | open front unrounded vowel, nasalised. Also used for ä̃. | a as in Spanish “casa”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi स्थान /s̪ t̪ʰ ã n̪/; Odia ଗାଁରେ /ɡ ã r e/ | Hindi 0.89% |
| ä | open front unrounded vowel, centralised | a as in Spanish “casa”; centralised: said closer to the centre of the mouth than the plain vowel | Hindi का /k ä/ | Hindi 8.3% |
| í | close front unrounded vowel, accent ´ (high) | ee as in “see”; accent ´ (high): the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here | rare | |
| ĩ | close front unrounded vowel, nasalised | ee as in “see”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi नहीं /n̪ ə ɦ ĩ/; Odia ପାଇଁ /p a ĩ/ | Hindi 0.34%, Odia 0.25% |
| ɐ̃ | near-open central vowel, nasalised | a short, relaxed “uh” (Portuguese “cama”, German “-er” endings); nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | rare | |
| ʊ̃ | near-close back rounded vowel, nasalised | oo as in “book”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi उन्हें /ʊ̃ n̪ ɦ ẽ/ | Hindi 0.13% |
| ə̃ | mid central vowel (schwa), nasalised | the weak vowel of “about”, “sofa”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi धर्म /d̪ʱ ə ɾ ə̃ m/ | Hindi 1.5% |
| ũ | close back rounded vowel, nasalised | oo as in “food”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi चूंकि /t͡ʃ ũ ŋ k i/; Odia ମୁଁ /m ũ/ | Hindi 0.09%, Odia 0.08% |
| ú | close back rounded vowel, accent ´ (high) | oo as in “food”; accent ´ (high): the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here | rare | |
| ɪ̃ | near-close front unrounded vowel, nasalised | i as in “sit”; nasalised: air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) | Hindi लेकिन /l̪ e k ɪ̃ n̪/ | Hindi 0.45% |
Glides and non-syllabic vowels¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| j | palatal approximant. Also used for jᵊ. | y as in “yes” | Hindi किया /k i j ä/; Tamil புதிய /p ɯ d̪ ɨ j a/; Odia ମଧ୍ୟ /m ɔ d̪ʱ j ɔ/ | Hindi 2.4%, Tamil 2.2%, Odia 1.6% |
| w | labial-velar approximant | w as in “we” | Hindi द्वारा /d̪ w ä ɾ ä/; Odia nsw /ɛ n ɛ s w e/ | Hindi 0.16% |
| ʋ | labiodental approximant | a soft v without friction (Dutch w, Slovenian v) | Tamil மிகவும் /m ɨ ɡ ʌ ʋ ɯ m/; Hindi वाले /ʋ ä l̪ e/ | Tamil 3.1%, Hindi 1.8% |
| ɪ̯ | near-close front unrounded vowel, non-syllabic | i as in “sit”; non-syllabic: the weak, glide-like half of a diphthong; it is not a syllable on its own | Tamil அவை /ʔ ʌ ʋ ʌ ɪ̯/ | Tamil 2.6% |
Stops¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| t | voiceless alveolar stop | t as in “ten” | Hindi कितना /k ɪ t n̪ ä/ | Hindi 0.06% (rare: 14×) |
| k | voiceless velar stop | k as in “key” | Hindi के /k e/; Odia ଏକ /e k ɔ/; Tamil கொண்ட /k o ɳ ɖ a/ | Hindi 6.9%, Odia 4.6%, Tamil 4.3% |
| d | voiced alveolar stop | d as in “dog” | Hindi तापवृद्धि /t̪ ä p w ɾ ɪ d d̪ʱ i/; Odia w /d u b e l/; Tamil ராஜ்ஜியத்தின் /ɾ ɑ d d͡ʑ ɨ j ʌ t̪ ɨ n/ | Hindi 0.04% (rare: 14×) |
| b | voiced bilabial stop | b as in “bed” | Odia ଏବଂ /e b ɔ ŋ/; Hindi सबसे /s̪ ə b s̪ e/; Tamil என்பது /ʔ e m b ʌ d̪ ɯ/ | Odia 3.7%, Hindi 1.5%, Tamil 0.56% |
| p | voiceless bilabial stop | p as in “pen” | Tamil பல /p ʌ l̪ a/; Odia ପାଇଁ /p a ĩ/; Hindi पर /p ə ɾ/ | Tamil 3.5%, Odia 2.7%, Hindi 2.6% |
| ɡ | voiced velar stop | g as in “go” | Tamil நீங்கள் /n̪ i ŋ ɡ ʌ ɭ/; Hindi गया /ɡ ə j ä/; Odia ଗୋଟିଏ /ɡ o ʈ i e/ | Tamil 2.8%, Hindi 1.6%, Odia 1.1% |
| ʔ | glottal stop | the catch in the throat in “uh-oh” | Tamil ஒரு /ʔ o ɾ ɯ/ | Tamil 3.9% |
| q | voiceless uvular stop | a k made further back, at the uvula (Uzbek “q”) | rare | |
| ʈ | voiceless retroflex stop | t with the tongue tip curled back (Swedish and Norwegian “rt”) | Tamil மற்றும் /m ʌ ʈ ɾ ɯ m/; Odia ଅଟେ /ɔ ʈ e/; Hindi छुट्टियों /t͡ʃʰ ʊ ʈ ʈ i j õ/ | Tamil 1.7%, Odia 1.1%, Hindi 1.1% |
| t̪ | voiceless alveolar stop, dental | t as in “ten”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Hindi जाता /d͡ʒ ä t̪ ä/; Odia ସହିତ /s ɔ h i t̪ ɔ/; Tamil மத்திய /m ʌ t̪ ɨ j a/ | Hindi 3.1%, Odia 3%, Tamil 2% |
| kʰ | voiceless velar stop, aspirated | k as in “key”; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia ଖାଦ୍ୟ /kʰ a d̪ j ɔ/; Hindi खास /kʰ ä s̪/ | Odia 0.61%, Hindi 0.41% |
| ɖ | voiced retroflex stop | d with the tongue tip curled back (Swedish and Norwegian “rd”) | Tamil அடிப்படையாகக் /ʔ ʌ ɖ ɨ p ʌ ɖ ʌ ɪ̯ j ɑ ɡ ʌ k/; Odia ଡୋର୍ /ɖ o r/; Hindi मैडल /m ɛ ɖ ə l̪/ | Tamil 2%, Odia 0.36%, Hindi 0.29% |
| pʰ | voiceless bilabial stop, aspirated | p as in “pen”; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Hindi फिर /pʰ ɪ ɾ/; Odia ଫଳାଫଳ /pʰ ɔ l̪ a pʰ ɔ l̪ ɔ/ | Hindi 0.29%, Odia 0.27% |
| k̚ | voiceless velar stop, unreleased | k as in “key”; unreleased: a final stop with no audible burst: the closure is held and the sound ends silently | Hindi लक्खा /l̪ ə k̚ kʰ ä/ | Hindi 0.03% (rare: 6×) |
| d̪ | voiced alveolar stop, dental | d as in “dog”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Tamil இந்த /ʔ ɨ n̪ d̪ a/; Hindi देश /d̪ e ʃ/; Odia ଦ୍ଵାରା /d̪ u a r a/ | Tamil 3.2%, Hindi 1.6%, Odia 1.3% |
| t̚ | voiceless alveolar stop, unreleased | t as in “ten”; unreleased: a final stop with no audible burst: the closure is held and the sound ends silently | Hindi अच्छा /ə t̚ t͡ʃʰ ä/ | Hindi 0.11% |
| p̚ | voiceless bilabial stop, unreleased | p as in “pen”; unreleased: a final stop with no audible burst: the closure is held and the sound ends silently | Hindi टिप्पणी /ʈ ɪ p̚ p ə ɳ i/ | Hindi 0.02% (rare: 4×) |
| t̪ʰ | voiceless alveolar stop, dental, aspirated | t as in “ten”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia ଥିବା /t̪ʰ i b a/; Hindi था /t̪ʰ ä/ | Odia 1.4%, Hindi 0.66% |
| d̪ʱ | voiced alveolar stop, dental, breathy-voiced | d as in “dog”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth; breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Odia ମଧ୍ୟ /m ɔ d̪ʱ j ɔ/; Hindi धर्म /d̪ʱ ə ɾ ə̃ m/ | Odia 0.75%, Hindi 0.65% |
| bʱ | voiced bilabial stop, breathy-voiced | b as in “bed”; breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Hindi भी /bʱ i/; Odia ଭାବରେ /bʱ a b ɔ r e/ | Hindi 0.6%, Odia 0.59% |
| ʈʰ | voiceless retroflex stop, aspirated | t with the tongue tip curled back (Swedish and Norwegian “rt”); aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia ସବୁଠାରୁ /s ɔ b u ʈʰ a r u/; Hindi आठ /ä ʈʰ/ | Odia 0.24%, Hindi 0.1% |
| bʰ | voiced bilabial stop, aspirated | b as in “bed”; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia ଆରମ୍ଭ /a ɾ ɔ m bʰ ɔ/ | Odia 0.24% |
| ɡʱ | voiced velar stop, breathy-voiced | g as in “go”; breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Hindi घर /ɡʱ ə ɾ/; Odia ଦୁର୍ଘଟଣା /d̪ u r ɡʱ ɔ ʈ ɔ ɳ a/ | Hindi 0.14%, Odia 0.1% |
| ɡʰ | voiced velar stop, aspirated | g as in “go”; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia ଘୋଡ଼େଇ /ɡʰ o ɽ e i/ | Odia 0.03% (rare: 13×) |
| ɖʱ | voiced retroflex stop, breathy-voiced | d with the tongue tip curled back (Swedish and Norwegian “rd”); breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Odia ବଢୁଥିବା /b ɔ ɖʱ u t̪ʰ i b a/; Hindi ढलती /ɖʱ ə l̪ t̪ i/ | Odia 0.02%, Hindi 0.02% (rare: 16×) |
Affricates¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| t͡ʃ | voiceless postalveolar affricate | ch as in “church” | Hindi बीच /b i t͡ʃ/; Odia ସୂଚନା /s u t͡ʃ ɔ n a/; Tamil cep /t͡ʃ ɛ p/ | Hindi 0.66%, Odia 0.6% |
| t͡ɕ | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate | a soft ch (Polish “ć”, Bosnian “ć”) | rare | |
| d͡ʒ | voiced postalveolar affricate | j as in “judge” | Odia ଯେ /d͡ʒ e/; Hindi जाता /d͡ʒ ä t̪ ä/ | Odia 1.9%, Hindi 1.4% |
| d͡ʑ | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate | a soft j (Polish “dź”) | Tamil ஜி /d͡ʑ i/ | Tamil 0.2% |
| t͡ɕʰ | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate, aspirated | a soft ch (Polish “ć”, Bosnian “ć”); aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | rare | |
| t͡ʃʰ | voiceless postalveolar affricate, aspirated | ch as in “church”; aspirated: followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) | Odia କିଛି /k i t͡ʃʰ i/; Hindi कुछ /k ʊ t͡ʃʰ/ | Odia 0.48%, Hindi 0.27% |
| d͡ʒʱ | voiced postalveolar affricate, breathy-voiced | j as in “judge”; breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Hindi मुझे /m ʊ d͡ʒʱ e/; Odia ଝୋଳ /d͡ʒʱ o l̪ ɔ/ | Hindi 0.08%, Odia 0.01% |
Fricatives¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s | voiceless alveolar fricative | s | Odia ସହିତ /s ɔ h i t̪ ɔ/; Tamil சில /s ɨ l̪ a/; Hindi nsw /ɛ n ɛ s w e/ | Odia 4.1%, Tamil 1.7%, Hindi 0.03% |
| f | voiceless labiodental fricative | f | Hindi जिराफ़ /d͡ʒ ɪ ɾ ä f/; Odia fic /f i k/; Tamil fic /f i k/ | Hindi 0.05% (rare: 17×) |
| z | voiced alveolar fricative | z | Hindi ज़्यादातर /z j ä d̪ ä t̪ ə ɾ/ | Hindi 0.18% |
| ʃ | voiceless postalveolar fricative | sh as in “ship” | Hindi विशेष /ʋ ɪ ʃ e ʃ/ | Hindi 1.3% |
| h | voiceless glottal fricative | h as in “hat” | Odia ଏହା /e h a/; Tamil ஹில் /h ɨ l̪/ | Odia 2%, Tamil 0.07% |
| x | voiceless velar fricative | ch as in Scottish “loch”, German “Bach” | Hindi ख़ास /x ä s̪/ | Hindi 0.02% (rare: 5×) |
| ʂ | voiceless retroflex fricative | a hard sh with the tongue tip back (Polish “sz”) | Tamil ஷூட்டர்ஸ் /ʂ u ʈ ʌ ɾ s/; Hindi कष्ट /k ə ʂ ʈ/ | Tamil 0.1% |
| ɣ | voiced velar fricative | a g where the tongue does not close (Dutch g, Spanish g between vowels) | Hindi ग़लत /ɣ ə l̪ ə t̪/ | Hindi 0.01% (rare: 3×) |
| ɕ | voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative | a soft sh, with the tongue body raised (Polish “ś”) | Tamil ஶ்ரீ /ɕ ɾ i/ | (rare: 3×) |
| ɦ | voiced glottal fricative | a breathy, voiced h (Dutch and Czech h) | Hindi है /ɦ ɛ/ | Hindi 3.5% |
| s̪ | voiceless alveolar fricative, dental | s; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Hindi से /s̪ e/ | Hindi 4.6% |
Nasals¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | alveolar nasal | n | Odia ଭିନ୍ନ /bʱ i n n ɔ/; Tamil ஆனால் /ʔ ɑ n ɑ l̪/; Hindi nsw /ɛ n ɛ s w e/ | Odia 3.5%, Tamil 3%, Hindi 0.06% |
| m | bilabial nasal | m | Tamil மற்றும் /m ʌ ʈ ɾ ɯ m/; Hindi में /m ẽ/; Odia କିମ୍ବା /k i m b a/ | Tamil 4.3%, Hindi 3.4%, Odia 2.6% |
| ŋ | velar nasal | ng as in “sing” | Odia ଏବଂ /e b ɔ ŋ/; Tamil நீங்கள் /n̪ i ŋ ɡ ʌ ɭ/; Hindi चूंकि /t͡ʃ ũ ŋ k i/ | Odia 1.1%, Tamil 0.66%, Hindi 0.42% |
| ɳ | retroflex nasal | n with the tongue tip curled back | Odia ଆପଣ /a p ɔ ɳ ɔ/; Tamil கொண்ட /k o ɳ ɖ a/; Hindi कारण /k ä ɾ ə̃ ɳ/ | Odia 1.1%, Tamil 0.95%, Hindi 0.56% |
| ɲ | palatal nasal | ny, as Spanish “ñ” | Odia ପଞ୍ଚମ /p ɔ ɲ t͡ʃ ɔ m ɔ/; Tamil விஞ்ஞானிகள் /ʋ ɨ ɲ ɑ n ɨ ɡ ʌ ɭ/ | Odia 0.16%, Tamil 0.05% |
| n̪ | alveolar nasal, dental | n; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Hindi नहीं /n̪ ə ɦ ĩ/; Tamil இந்த /ʔ ɨ n̪ d̪ a/ | Hindi 4.3%, Tamil 1.6% |
Laterals¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| l | alveolar lateral approximant | l as in “leaf” | Odia କରିଥିଲେ /k ɔ r i t̪ʰ i l e/; Tamil slalom /s l a l o m/ | Odia 1.5%, Tamil 0.01% |
| ɭ | retroflex lateral approximant | l with the tongue tip curled back | Tamil உள்ள /ʔ ɯ ɭ a/ | Tamil 2.5% |
| l̪ | alveolar lateral approximant, dental | l as in “leaf”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Hindi लिए /l̪ ɪ e/; Tamil அல்லது /ʔ ʌ l̪ ʌ d̪ ɯ/; Odia ଯେତେବେଳେ /d͡ʒ e t̪ e b e l̪ e/ | Hindi 3%, Tamil 2.9%, Odia 0.67% |
Rhotics (r sounds)¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| r | alveolar trill | a rolled r | Odia ଭାବରେ /bʱ a b ɔ r e/; Tamil என்று /ʔ e n r ɯ/; Hindi number /n u m b ɛ r/ | Odia 5.2%, Tamil 1.7% |
| ɾ | alveolar tap. Also used for ɾ̪. | one quick flap of the tongue, as in Spanish “pero” | Hindi और /ɔ ɾ/; Tamil மற்றும் /m ʌ ʈ ɾ ɯ m/; Odia ପ୍ରଥମ /p ɾ ɔ t̪ʰ ɔ m ɔ/ | Hindi 6.3%, Tamil 4.7%, Odia 2.5% |
| ɽ | retroflex flap | a flap with the tongue tip curled back | Odia ଗୁଡ଼ିକ /ɡ u ɽ i k ɔ/; Hindi बड़े /b ə ɽ e/ | Odia 0.27%, Hindi 0.22% |
| r̩ | alveolar trill, syllabic | a rolled r; syllabic: forms a syllable with no vowel, as the n of “button” | rare | |
| ɻ | retroflex approximant | an English-like r with the tongue tip curled back | Tamil பழைய /p ʌ ɻ ʌ ɪ̯ j a/ | Tamil 0.52% |
| ɽʱ | retroflex flap, breathy-voiced | a flap with the tongue tip curled back; breathy-voiced: voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) | Hindi चढ़ने /t͡ʃ ə ɽʱ n̪ e/; Odia ଲଢ଼େଇର /l ɔ ɽʱ e i ɾ ɔ/ | Hindi 0.07%, Odia 0.01% |