# Gujarati phonology

The Gujarati language is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat. Much of its phonology is derived from Sanskrit.

## Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i | | u |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | (æ) | ɑ | ɑ |
* Sanskrit's phonemic vowel length has been lost. Vowels are long when nasalized or in a final syllable.
* Gujarati contrasts oral and nasal, and murmured and non-murmured vowels, except for /e/ and /o/.
* In absolute word-final position, the higher and lower vowels of the /e ɛ/ and /o ɔ/ sets vary.
* /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ developed in the 15th century. Old Western Rājasthāni split into the Rajasthani languages and Middle Gujarati.
* English loanwords are a source of /æ/.

## Consonants

Consonants :
| | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Retroflex | Postal. /Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɳ | | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ɡ | |
| Plosive | aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | |
| Plosive | murmured | bʱ | dʱ | ɖʱ | dʒʱ | ɡʱ | |
| Fricative | voiceless | (f) | s | (ʂ) | ʃ | | |
| Fricative | voiced | | (z) | | | | ɦ |
| Approximant | Approximant | ʋ | l | ɭ | j | | |
| Flap | Flap | | ɾ | | | | |
* A fourth nasal phoneme is postulated for the phones [ɲ, ŋ] and the nasalization of a preceding vowel [Ṽ]. Before velar and palatal stops, there is variation between these; e.g. [mɑ̃ɡʋũ]~[mɑŋɡʋũ] ('ask for'), [ɦĩtʃko]~[ɦĩɲtʃko] ('swing').
* Stops occurring at first members of clusters followed by consonants other than /ɾ, j, ʋ/ are unreleased; they are optionally unreleased in final position. The absence of release entails deaspiration of voiceless stops.
* Intervocalically and with murmuring of vowels, the voiced aspirated stops /ɡʱ, dʱ, bʱ/ have voiced spirant allophones [ɣ, ð, β]. Spirantization of non-palatal voiceless aspirates has been reported as well, including /pʰ/ being usually realized as [f] in the standard dialect.
* The two voiced retroflex plosives /ɖʱ, ɖ/ and the retroflex nasal /ɳ/ have flapped subphonemic allophones [ɽʱ, ɽ, ɽ̃]. The plosives /ɖʱ, ɖ/ are unflapped initially, geminated, and after nasal vowels; and flapped intervocalically, finally, and before or after other consonants. The nasal /ɳ/ is unflapped before retroflex plosives and intervocalically, and in final position varies freely between flapped and unflapped.
* /ʋ/ has [v] and [w] as allophones.
* The distribution of sibilants varies over dialects and registers.
** Some dialects only have [s], others prefer [ʃ], while another system has them non-contrasting, with [ʃ] occurring contiguous to palatal segments. Retroflex [ʂ] still appears in clusters in which it precedes another retroflex: [spəʂʈ] ('clear').
** Some speakers maintain [z] as well for Persian and English borrowings. Persian's /z/'s have by and large been transposed to /dʒ/ and /dʒʱ/: /dʒindɡi/ ('life') and /tʃidʒʱ/ ('thing'). The same cannot be so easily said for English: /tʃiz/ ('cheese').
** Lastly, a colloquial register has [s], or both [s] and [ʃ], replaced by voiceless [h]. For educated speakers speaking this register, this replacement does not extend to Sanskrit borrowings.
Phonotactical constraints include:
* /ɭ/ and /ɳ/ do not occur word-initially.
* Clusters occur initially, medially, and finally. Geminates occur only medially.
* Biconsonantal initial clusters beginning with stops have /ɾ/, /j/, /ʋ/, and /l/ as second members. In addition to these, in loans from Sanskrit the clusters /ɡn/ and /kʃ/ may occur. The occurrence of /ɾ/ as a second member in consonantal clusters is one of Gujarati's conservative features as a modern Indo-Aryan language. For example, languages used in Asokan inscriptions (3rd century BC) display contemporary regional variations, with words found in Gujarat's Girnar inscriptions containing clusters with /ɾ/ as the second member not having /ɾ/ in their occurrence in inscriptions elsewhere. This is maintained even to today, with Gujarati /tɾ/ corresponding to Hindi /t/ and /tt/.
* Initially, s clusters biconsonantally with /ɾ, j, ʋ, n, m/, and non-palatal voiceless stops.
* Triconsonantal initial clusters include /stɾ, spɾ, smɾ/ - most of which occur in borrowings.
* Geminates were previously treated as long consonants, but they are better analyzed as clusters of two identical segments. Two proofs for this:
** The u in geminated uccār "pronunciation" sounds more like the one in clustered udgār ('utterance') than the one in shortened ucāṭ ('anxiety').
** Geminates behave towards (that is, disallow) [ə]-deletion like clusters do.
Gemination can serve as intensification. In some adjectives and adverbs, a singular consonant before the agreement vowel can be doubled for intensification. #VCũ → #VCCũ.
| big | [moʈũ] | [moʈʈũ] | big |
| straight | [sidʱũ] | [siddʱũ] | straight |
| considerably | [kʰɑsũ] | [kʰɑssũ] | considerably |

## Stress

The matter of stress is not quite clear:
* Stress is on the first syllable except when it doesn't have /a/ and the second syllable does.
* Stress is barely perceptible.
* Stress typically falls on the penultimate syllable of a word, however, if the penultimate vowel in a word with more than two syllables is schwa, stress falls on the preceding syllable.

## ə-deletion

Schwa-deletion, along with a-reduction and [ʋ]-insertion, is a phonological process at work in the combination of morphemes. It is a common feature among Indo-Aryan languages, referring to the deletion of a stem's final syllable's /ə/ before a suffix starting with a vowel.
This does not apply for monosyllabic stems and consonant clusters. So, better put, #VCəC + V# → #VCCV#. It also doesn't apply when the addition is an o plural marker (see Gujarati grammar#Nouns) or e as an ergative case marker (see Gujarati grammar#Postpositions). It sometimes doesn't apply for e as a locative marker.
| Stem | Stem | Stem | Suffix | Suffix | Suffixed stem | Suffixed stem | C/V | Del | Notes |
| verb root | [keɭəʋ] | educate | [iʃ] | 1st person singular, future | [keɭʋiʃ] | will educate | CVCəC + VC → CVCCVC | Yes | Polysyllabic stem with /ə/ in its final syllable, with a suffix starting with a vowel (verbal declension). |
| verb root | [səmədʒ] | understand | [jɑ] | masculine plural, perfective | [səmdʒjɑ] | understood | CVCəC + CV → CVCCCV | Yes | Polysyllabic stem with /ə/ in its final syllable, with a suffix starting with a semi-vowel (verbal declension). |
| verb root | [utəɾ] | descend | [to] | masculine singular, imperfective | [utəɾto] | descending | VCəC + CV → VCəCCV | No | Suffix starting with a consonant. |
| verb root | [təɾ] | swim, float | [ɛ] | 2nd person singular, present | [təɾɛ] | swimming, floating | CəC + V → CəCV | No | Monosyllabic. |
| verb root | [ʋəɾɳəʋ] | describe | [i] | feminine, perfective | [ʋəɾɳəʋi] | described | CVCCəC + VC → CVCCəCVC | No | Consonant cluster. |
| verb root | [ɑɭoʈ] | wallow, roll | [iʃũ] | 1st person plural, future | [ɑɭoʈiʃũ] | will wallow, roll | VCoC + VCV → VCoCVCV | No | Non-ə. |
| noun | [ɑɭəs] | laziness | [ũ] | adjectival marker | [ɑɭsũ] | lazy | VCəC + V → VCCV | Yes | Polysyllabic stem with /ə/ in its final syllable, with a suffix starting with a vowel (adjectival marking). |
| noun | [ʋəkʰət] | time | [e] | locative marker | [ʋəkte] | at (the) time | CVCəC + V → CVCCV | Yes | Sometimes yes — e as a locative marker. |
| noun | [diʋəs] | day | [e] | locative marker | [diʋəse] | on (the) day | CVCəC + V → CVCəCV | No | Sometimes no — e as a locative marker. |
| noun | [ɾəmət] | game | [o] | plural marker | [ɾəməto] | games | CVCəC + V → CVCəCV | No | Plural o number marker suffix. |
| adjective | [ɡəɾəm] | hot | [i] | noun marker | [ɡəɾmi] | heat | CVCəC + V → CVCCV | Yes | Polysyllabic stem with /ə/ in its final syllable, with a suffix starting with a vowel (noun marking). |

## ɑ-reduction

A stem's final syllable's /ɑ/ will reduce to /ə/ before a suffix starting with /ɑ/. #ɑC(C) + ɑ# → #əC(C)ɑ#. This can be seen in the derivation of nouns from adjective stems, and in the formation of passive and causative forms of verb stems.
| Stem | Stem | Suffix | Suffixed Stem | Suffixed Stem | Suffixed Stem | Reduced |
| cut | [kɑp] | [ɑ] | [kəpɑ] | be cut | Passive | Yes |
| cut | [kɑp] | [ɑʋ] | [kəpɑʋ] | cause to cut | Causative | Yes |
| cause to cut | [kəpɑʋ] | [ɑ] | [kəpɑʋɑ] | cause to be cut | Causative Passive | No |
| cause to cut | [kəpɑʋ] | [ɖɑʋ] | [kəpɑʋɖɑʋ] | cause to cause to cut | Double Causative | No |
| use | [ʋɑpəɾ] | [ɑ] | [ʋəpɾɑ] | be used | Passive | Yes |
| long | [lɑmb] | [ɑi] | [ləmbɑi] | length | Noun | Yes |
* ↑ It does not happen a second time.
* ↑ It can take place after an ə-deletion. #ɑCəC + ɑ# → #əCCɑ#.

## [ʋ]-insertion

Between a stem ending in a vowel and its suffix starting with a vowel, a [ʋ] is inserted. #V + V# → #VʋV#. This can be seen in the formation of passive and causative forms of verb stems.
| Stem | Stem | Suffix | Suffixed stem | Suffixed stem |
| see | [dʒo] | [ɑ] | [dʒoʋɑ] | be seen |
| sing | [ɡɑ] | [ɑɽ] | [ɡəʋɑɽ] | cause to sing |
The second example shows an ɑ-reduction as well.

## ə-insertion

ə finds itself inserted between the emphatic particle /dʒ/ and consonant-terminating words it postpositions.
| one | [ek] | [ekədʒ] | one |
| that | [e] | [edʒ] | that |

## Murmur

/ɦ/ serves as a source for murmur, of which there are three rules:
| Rule | Rule | Formal | Casual | English |
| 1 | Word-initial ɦV → V̤ | [ɦəʋe] | [ə̤ʋe] | now |
| 1 | Word-initial ɦV → V̤ | [ɦɑɽkũ] | [ɑ̤ɽkũ] | bone |
| 2 | əɦV$_{non-high}$ → V̤$_{non-high,moreopen}$ | [səɦelũ] | [sɛ̤lũ] | easy |
| 2 | əɦV$_{non-high}$ → V̤$_{non-high,moreopen}$ | [bəɦoɭũ] | [bɔ̤ɭũ] | large |
| 2 | əɦV$_{non-high}$ → V̤$_{non-high,moreopen}$ | [dəɦɑɽo] | [da̤ɽo] | day |
| 3 | ə/aɦV$_{high}$ → ə̤/ɑ̤ (glide) | [ɾəɦi] | [ɾə̤j] | stayed |
| 3 | ə/aɦV$_{high}$ → ə̤/ɑ̤ (glide) | [bəɦu] | [bə̤ʋ] | very |
* ↑ Gujarati spelling reflects this mode. The script has no direct notation for murmur.
* ↑ Rule 1 creates allomorphs for nouns. For example, /ɦəd/ ('limit') by itself can be ə̤d, but can only be ɦəd in beɦəd ('limitless').
* ↑ More open.
The table below compares declensions of the verbs [kəɾʋũ] ('to do') and [kɛ̤ʋũ] ('to say'). The former follows the regular pattern of the stable root /kəɾ/ serving as a point for characteristic suffixations. The latter, on the other hand, is deviant and irregular in this respect.
| Infinitive | Perfective | Imperative | 1sg. Future |
| [kəɾʋũ] | [kəɾjũ] | [kəɾo] | [kəɾiʃ] |
| [kɛ̤ʋũ] | [kəɦjũ] | [kɔ̤] | [kə̤jʃ] |
The [kɛ̤ʋũ] situation can be explained through murmur. If to a formal or historical root of /kəɦe/ these rules are considered then predicted, explained, and made regular is the irregularity that is [kɛ̤ʋũ] (romanized as kahevũ).
Thus below are the declensions of [kɛ̤ʋũ] /ɦ/-possessing, murmur-eliciting root /kəɦe/, this time with the application of the murmur rules on the root shown, also to which a preceding rule must be taken into account:
    0. A final root vowel gets deleted before a suffix starting with a non-consonant.
| Rule | Infinitive | Perfective | Imperative | 1sg. Future |
| | [kəɦe-ʋũ] | [kəɦe-jũ] | [kəɦe-o] | [kəɦe-iʃ] |
| 0 | | [kəɦ-jũ] | [kəɦ-o] | [kəɦ-iʃ] |
| 2 | [kɛ̤-ʋũ] | | [kɔ̤] | |
| 3 | | | | [kə̤-jʃ] |
| → | [kɛ̤ʋũ] | [kəɦjũ] | [kɔ̤] | [kə̤jʃ] |
However, in the end not all instances of /ɦ/ become murmured and not all murmur comes from instances of /ɦ/.
One other predictable source for murmur is voiced aspirated stops. A clear vowel followed by a voiced aspirated stop can vary with a pair gaining murmur and losing aspiration: #VCʱ ←→ #V̤C.