ABSTRACT

A n im portant distinction is made between vocalized consonants (the seven consonants /m, n, g, 1, b, v, r/) and the non-vocalized (the remaining nine consonants). In what follows here, a 7 means one of the seven vocalized; a 9 means one of the others. The basic rule is that a 7 must be preceded or followed by a vowel; a 9 can follow a 7 without intervening vowel. Thus, if two consonants are in final position, the first must be a 7, the second is 9: e.g. bold ‘steel’; uls ‘country’.