Like Ksreskézaian, Paligu has a register designed for human communication. However, it is a much closer match to the original phonology of the language, and so is mutually intelligible with Paligu as spoken by the Peseneyi.
Creaky voice is not strictly necessary, but is considered traditional, as it better mimics the sounds created by Pesenese vocal organs.
The Pesenese vocal organs primarily consist of six distinct components: two outer mandibles which meet in a vertical surface, two inner jaws which meet in a horizontal surface, not unlike the human jaws, a prehensile tubular 'tongue' which is hollow and ends in a sphincter under voluntary control, and the mouth itself, in which the tongue rests, which features two radial ridges. The interior of the tongue leads to the lungs; while food normally passes to the esophagus in a throat located under the tongue. Most consonants are produced by pressing the tongue against the top of the mouth at the chosen place of articulation and forcing air through it, although the tongue itself can produce fricatives and plosives without pressure against any area in the mouth.
The forward ridge is called the alveolar ridge, by analogy with the human organ, and joins with the very front of the mouth. It is the farthest-forward point of articulation within the mouth that can be used for fricatives. The largest number of the Paligu consonants are produced here (/s̪/, /t̪/, /t̪s̪/, and /z̪/), although /z̪/ is actually /s̪/ combined with rapid grinding of the outer mandible, a sound that normally sounds like /ɬ/.
Behind the alveolar ridge is an interstitium, called the palate, again by analogy with human anatomy. The sound from the palate ranges resembles the human dorsal consonants: /ʁ/, /q/, and /χʼ/ are from the rear of the palate, while /cʼ/ is from a more forward position and /ɲ/ is actually a palatal approximant sometimes heard as /j/ (the Peseneyi have no nasal passage of which to speak.)
There is no consensus on a name for the rear ridge, although some sources variously call it the epiglottal or pharyngeal ridge. In Paligu it is used only for one consonant, a click which does not have any close approximation in the human mouth. It is given here as /ǂ/ anyway.
The remaining consonants are the enteroglottal series, /pʼ/ and /p̪f/, which resemble human bilabials, and the sole pure exomandibular consonant, the fricative /ɬ/.
The vowel range given is the total sum of sounds that the Pesene vocal chords can produce, a range that is often somewhat maddeningly narrow to human linguists. The rounding (indicated with a leading <y> in the orthography) is enteroglottal.
| Consonants | |
|---|---|
| IPA | Ortho |
| pʼ | p |
| p̪f | m |
| ɲ | ñ or ñg |
| ǂ | g |
| s̪ | s |
| ɬ | l |
| t̪ | t |
| t̪s̪ | n |
| z̪ | z |
| ʁ | r or hr |
| χʼ | h |
| cʼ | v |
| q | k |
| Vowels | |
|---|---|
| IPA | Ortho |
| ɛ̰ | e |
| ḛ | a |
| ɘ̰ | i |
| ɜ̰ | u or wu |
| œ̰ | ye |
| ɵ̰ | yi |
Creaky voice is not strictly necessary, but is considered traditional, as it better mimics the sounds created by Pesenese vocal organs.
The Pesenese vocal organs primarily consist of six distinct components: two outer mandibles which meet in a vertical surface, two inner jaws which meet in a horizontal surface, not unlike the human jaws, a prehensile tubular 'tongue' which is hollow and ends in a sphincter under voluntary control, and the mouth itself, in which the tongue rests, which features two radial ridges. The interior of the tongue leads to the lungs; while food normally passes to the esophagus in a throat located under the tongue. Most consonants are produced by pressing the tongue against the top of the mouth at the chosen place of articulation and forcing air through it, although the tongue itself can produce fricatives and plosives without pressure against any area in the mouth.
The forward ridge is called the alveolar ridge, by analogy with the human organ, and joins with the very front of the mouth. It is the farthest-forward point of articulation within the mouth that can be used for fricatives. The largest number of the Paligu consonants are produced here (/s̪/, /t̪/, /t̪s̪/, and /z̪/), although /z̪/ is actually /s̪/ combined with rapid grinding of the outer mandible, a sound that normally sounds like /ɬ/.
Behind the alveolar ridge is an interstitium, called the palate, again by analogy with human anatomy. The sound from the palate ranges resembles the human dorsal consonants: /ʁ/, /q/, and /χʼ/ are from the rear of the palate, while /cʼ/ is from a more forward position and /ɲ/ is actually a palatal approximant sometimes heard as /j/ (the Peseneyi have no nasal passage of which to speak.)
There is no consensus on a name for the rear ridge, although some sources variously call it the epiglottal or pharyngeal ridge. In Paligu it is used only for one consonant, a click which does not have any close approximation in the human mouth. It is given here as /ǂ/ anyway.
The remaining consonants are the enteroglottal series, /pʼ/ and /p̪f/, which resemble human bilabials, and the sole pure exomandibular consonant, the fricative /ɬ/.
The vowel range given is the total sum of sounds that the Pesene vocal chords can produce, a range that is often somewhat maddeningly narrow to human linguists. The rounding (indicated with a leading <y> in the orthography) is enteroglottal.
