Yakots

Phonology.
Vowels.

Although there are a total of sixteen vowels, there's only eight vowel phonemes. This is because the value for roundedness is determined morphologically according to the binyan (discussed below in Morphology). Semi-vowels: w, j, ɥ.

Consonants.
to do

Orthography.
to do

Morphology.
There are three essential parts of the morphology of Yakɛjts. These are:


 * 1) A stem consisting of two consonants or clusters of consonants, in the form A-B.
 * 2) One to three thematic-morphemic vowels, in the form X-Y-Z. The vowels are responsible for encoding person and tense in verbs. In a given word, all vowels will have the same values for [round], which is determined by the binyan.
 * 3) A binyan, or structure, around which the vowels and consonants form. The binyanim are responsible for tense, aspect and mood. They are also responsible for the harmonic features of the vowels. A binyan will have two consonants, labled C, and any number of vowels. A binyan may also include additional phonological information.

Stems.
Each stem consists of two consonants in the form C-C. Below are some example verbal stems:

k-m, "go"; z-p, "wish"; l-f, "sing"; zh-g, "hear"; k-ts "speak."

Vocalic Variables.
All of the vowels in a verb can be discerned by knowing one of them and its relevant vocalic variable. Each vocalic variable, labled X, Y or Z, indicates the values of the other two in context because each value for a given vocalic variable is associated with preordained values for the other two. That is, for a given vowel X there will always be specific values for Y and Z. As discussed above under the Phonology section, there are a total of sixteen vowel phones, but only eight phonemes because the quality for [round] is determined by the binyan. Both [+round] and [-round] forms are shown below.

Conjugation.
The above values are constant associations which never change. What makes them "variables" is how they are put into use to encode for information related to the grammatical person of the subject of the verb and the tense of the verb. There are three persons, aptly labled 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There are in additon two tenses, present and past. Thus, there are a total of six possible values for X, depending on the person and tense. Additionally, there is one infinite form which is used with the infinitive, participle and gerund binyanim. One must remember also that the vowels come in round and unround forms, both of which are shown in the table below.

Binyanim.
All of the information encoded in the stem and the vocalic variables is put together into a pronounceable structure by the binyanim (singular: binyan). The role of the binyanim is to provide a structure around which the stem and vowels may form. The binyanim encodes for voice, mood and aspect as well.