The canonical syllable structure is (C)V(C). No consonant clusters are allowed except when the syllable onset contains a glide (CG)V(C). The vowels /i/ and /o/ are interpreted as glides /y/ and /w/, respectively, in roots when /i/ and /o/ are not stressed, e.g., siam [syam] ‘nine', ziak [zyak] ‘word, speech', rios [ryos] ‘bathe', boak [bwak] ‘split wood', and koat [kwat] ‘boiling hot'. Table 3 illustrates all the possible syllable types with examples.
Table 3: All possible syllable types in Yami
Consonant type |
Yami |
Gloss |
V |
o |
Nominative case marker |
V.V |
ai |
foot |
V.VC |
aon |
take out food from a pot |
V.V.CVC |
aorod |
front yard |
VC |
am |
Topic marker |
V.CV |
ori |
that |
V.CVC |
icoy |
egg |
VC.CV |
agza |
fast |
V.CV.V |
adoa |
two |
V.CV.VC |
avoag |
male animal |
VC.CVC |
abcil |
famine |
VC.CV.CVC |
apnezak |
morning |
V.CV.CVC |
aganas |
mud slide |
V.CV.CVC.CVC |
alibangbang |
flying fish |
VC.CVC.CV |
aktokto |
thought |
CV |
da |
3PG, their |
CVC |
bos |
sound made to chase an animal away |
CV.V |
tao |
human |
CV.VC |
kois |
pig |
CV.CV |
ráko |
big |
CV.CV.V |
kadai |
millet |
CV.CV.CV |
tatala |
boat |
CV.CVC |
tawag |
summon |
CVC.CVC |
sipzot |
hit |
CV.CV.VC |
cilaos |
make a hole |
CV.CVC.CVC.V.CVC |
balangbangapat |
Cyclosoeus acuminata |
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