Syllable structure Aslian words may either be monosyllabic, sesquisyllabic or disyllabic: :
Monosyllabic: either simple CV(C) or complex CCV(C). :
Sesquisyllabic: consist of a major syllable with fully stressed vowel, preceded by a minor syllable ::
Temiar ləpud 'caudal fin' ::
Semai kʔɛːp [kɛʔɛːp] 'centipede' :
Disyllabic: more morphologically complex, resulting from various
reduplications and
infixations. Compounds with unreduced though unstressed vowels also occur: ::
Temiar diŋ-rəb 'shelter' : Loanwords from Malay are a further source of disyllables: ::
Jah Hut suraʔ 'sing', from Malay;
suara 'voice' ::
Semai tiba:ʔ 'arrive', from Malay;
tiba 'arrive' :Temiar even has phonetic
trisyllables in morphological categories such as the middle
causative (
tərakɔ̄w) and the continuative causative (
tərɛwkɔ̄w), or in words with
proclitics (
barhalab ~ behalab 'go downriver').
Initial consonants Aslian words generally start with a consonant. Words which start with a vowel will be followed by a glottal stop. In most Aslian languages,
aspirated consonants are analyzed as sequences of two phonemes, one of which happens to be
h. Aslian syllable-initial consonant clusters are rich and varied.
Stops for example may cluster without restrictions to their
place of articulation or
voicing: :
Jah Hut tkak 'palate',
dkaŋ 'bamboo rat',
bkul 'gray',
bgɔk 'goiter' Articulation of laryngeal consonants may be superimposed upon the vowel midway in its articulation, giving the impression of two identical vowels interrupted by the laryngeals. :
Jah Hut 'bone', 'tree' states that this phenomenon is unpredictable and irregular in
Semai dialects, especially on vowels preceded by
h- or
ʔ-. Phonemic vowel length has been retained in Senoic languages such as
Semai,
Temiar and
Sabum. Contrastive length has been lost in the Northern and Southern Aslian branches. The loss of vowel length must have led to complex reorganizations in the vocalic systems of the affected languages, by developing new contrasts elsewhere.
Diphthongization is not as obvious in Aslian languages as compared to the other branches of Mon–Khmer. Proto-
Semai is reconstructed with 10-11 long monophthongal vowels, but with only one diphthong, . There is also a tendency to shorten long vowels before these finals. It has been reported that Temiar -
h has bilabial friction after -
u-, e.g. 'speak' pronounced as . Throughout the Aslian family, final nasals are
pre-stopped. In Northern Aslian this has gone further, with final nasals merging with the plosive series. ==Morphology==