# Nuosu phrasebook

Nuosu (Nuo Su Hxop ꆈꌠꉙ) is a regional language in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China.

## Pronunciation guide
### Vowels

There are six regular vowels and four syllabic consonants, which act as vowels. All vowels are paired in loose throat-tight throat pairings. Tight throat vowels can best be compared to creaky vowels, where the throat is constricted resulting in vocal fry.
However, this tight-loose contrast is only important when it comes to syllabic consonants, as all other vowels also have differences in quality.
The regular vowels are :
| | | Front | Non-front | Non-front |
| | | Front | unrounded | rounded |
| Close | loose | ⟨i⟩ /e̝/ | ⟨e⟩ /ɤ̝/ | ⟨o⟩ /o̝/ |
| Open-mid | tight | ⟨ie⟩ /ɛ/ | | ⟨uo⟩ /ɔ/ |
| Open | tight | | ⟨a⟩ /a/ |
A is pronounced fairly similarly to an English /æ/ as in cat.
E is the same as e in Chinese Pinyin, but is fairly dissimilar from any English sound. Think of it as a stronger schwa, like /ə/ as in comma.
Ie is the same as /ɛ/ in most British English varieties, like the e in bed or a shorter version of the sound in air.
I is similar to /ɪ/ in English, such as in kit.
Uo is a shorter version of the British English /ɔː/ as in north.
O is similar to an English /ʊ/ as in foot, however it is said more back in the mouth.
The syllabic consonants are ː
| | | unrounded | rounded |
| Syllabic consonant | loose | ⟨y⟩ /z̩/ | ⟨u⟩ /v̩ʷ/ |
| Syllabic consonant | tight | ⟨yr⟩ /z̠̩/ | ⟨ur⟩ /v̠̩ʷ/ |
Y and Yr are the same as si, zi, and ci in Chinese
U and Ur are pronounced like v in English, but with more rounded lips.
In both cases the final -r denotes tight throat.

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Retroflex | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| | | Labial | plain | sibilant | Retroflex | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | voiced | ⟨m⟩ /m/ | ⟨n⟩ /n/ | | | ⟨ny⟩ /ɲ/ | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | |
| Nasal | unvoiced | ⟨hm⟩ /m̥/ | ⟨hn⟩ /n̥/ | | | | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | prenasalized | ⟨nb⟩ /ᵐb/ | ⟨nd⟩ /ⁿd/ | ⟨nz⟩ /ⁿdz/ | ⟨nr⟩ /ᶯɖʐ/ | ⟨nj⟩ /ᶮdʑ/ | ⟨mg⟩ /ᵑɡ/ | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiced | ⟨bb⟩ /b/ | ⟨dd⟩ /d/ | ⟨zz⟩ /dz/ | ⟨rr⟩ /ɖʐ/ | ⟨jj⟩ /dʑ/ | ⟨gg⟩ /ɡ/ | |
| Stop/ Affricate | unvoiced | ⟨b⟩ /p/ | ⟨d⟩ /t/ | ⟨z⟩ /ts/ | ⟨zh⟩ /ʈʂ/ | ⟨j⟩ /tɕ/ | ⟨g⟩ /k/ | |
| Stop/ Affricate | aspirated | ⟨p⟩ /pʰ/ | ⟨t⟩ /tʰ/ | ⟨c⟩ /tsʰ/ | ⟨ch⟩ /ʈʂʰ/ | ⟨q⟩ /tɕʰ/ | ⟨k⟩ /kʰ/ | |
| Continuant | unvoiced | ⟨f⟩ /f/ | ⟨hl⟩ /l̥/ | ⟨s⟩ /s/ | ⟨sh⟩ /ʂ/ | ⟨x⟩ /ɕ/ | ⟨h⟩ /x/ | ⟨hx⟩ /h/ |
| Continuant | voiced | ⟨v⟩ /v/ | ⟨l⟩ /l/ | ⟨ss⟩ /z/ | ⟨r⟩ /ʐ/ | ⟨y⟩ /ʑ/ | ⟨w⟩ /ɣ/ |
Doubled consonants are the same as their single versions in English (in most cases), while unvoiced consonants (p, t, k) are also pronounced the same as they would be in English - with a degree of aspiration.
The most difficult consonants are the single-letter voiced ones (b, d, g) which are pronounced without voicing or aspiration. To say them, attempt to say their unvoiced counterpart but do not allow any extra air to come out of your mouth - do not aspirate them.
Consonants with nasals (n/m) before them are prenasalised. Prenasalised /g/ is depicted as mg as ng is already used for the /ŋ/ sound.
The rest of the orthography follows Chinese pinyin quite closely. R is used for /ʐ/ and the voiced version of ʈʂ (zh) is RR. Y represents a voiced X (ɕ) and due to z's use as /ts/ ss is used to represent /z/.
The distinction between h and hx may be hard for English speakers. H is pronounced further forwards in the throat, in the same place as k and g, while hx is pronounced like a normal English H.
The unvoiced sonorants - hm, hn, hl - are especially difficult. Pronounce them without vibrating your throat.
W used with a vowel represents a voiced h (ɣ). However, when by itself in the romanisation system it can sometimes represent a reduplication of the prior syllable.

### Tones

There are four tones in Nuosu.
* high [˥] / [V̋] – written ⟨-t⟩
* high-mid [˦] / [V́] or mid falling [˧˨] / [V᷆] – written ⟨-x⟩ (written with diacritic ̑ over symbol in the syllabary)
* mid [˧] / [V̄] – unmarked
* low falling [˨˩] / [V̂] – written ⟨-p⟩
These should be relatively easy for any speaker of Chinese, however sandhi rules are somewhat more complex. When two mid-tone syllables occur together, the first one becomes -x tone.
With this information, you will be able to pronounce any Nuosu syllable with relative ease. There are no diphthongs or consonant clusters, and there is only the occasional zero initial.

## Writing System

The Nuosu language is written in a syllabary of around 800 unique characters. It is particularly large because -t and -p tones of syllables are depicted with their own unique characters (but the -x tone is depicted with a diacritic).
Most signage will be written alongside Chinese, so good knowledge of the system is not essential by any means.
The romanisation system, YYPY (Yi yu pin yin) is not frequently used, unlike in neighbouring languages where Latin is used as their main writing system.

## Phrase list
### Basics
#### Hello.

    ꋬꂻꈨꅪ / zzyr muo gge hni. (I wish peace upon you)

#### How are you?

    ꆏꋙꋠꀕꀐ / ne zzax ze w ox? (Have you eaten?)

#### Fine, thank you.

    ꋠꀐ / zze ox. (I have eaten)

#### What is your name?

    ꆏꑞꂓ / ne xix hmi?

#### My name is ______ .

    ꉢ______ꂓ / nga ___ hmi . ( I am called
    _____ .)

#### Please.

    ꑴꌠ / yip su.

#### Thank you.

    ꈀꎭꀕ / kax sha w.
    ꒇꇨꀕ / yyt guo w.
    ꎭꏿꀐ / sha qip ox. (sorry to have troubled you)

#### You're welcome.

    ꈀꎭꀋꎭ / kax sha ap sha.
    ꒇꇨꀋꇨ / yyt guo ap guo.
    ꎭꀋꏿ / sha ap qip. (no problem)

#### Yes.

    ꉬꑴꇆ / nge yip luop.

#### No.

    ꀋ / ap (negative, like 不 in Chinese)

#### Goodbye

    ꆏꀅꌳꁧꂸ / ne iex ssa bbo map. (lit: take care, go slowly)

#### I can't speak name of language [well].

    ꉢꆈꌠꉘꀊ[ꋒ]ꈜꐚꄏ / nga nuo su hxop ap [zzi] gga jji do.

#### Do you speak English?

    ꆏꀃꉙꈜꐚꄏꅀ / ne yip hxop gga jji do ddap?