Boquense Creole

Phonotactics
Boquense Creole syllable structure can be summarized as follows; parentheses enclose optional components:


 * (C1 (C2)) (S1) V (S2) (C3 (C4))

Creole syllable structure consists of an optional syllable onset, consisting of one or two consonants; an obligatory syllable nucleus, consisting of a vowel optionally preceded by and/or followed by a semivowel; and an optional syllable coda, consisting of one or two consonants. The following restrictions apply:


 * Onset
 * First consonant (C1): Can be any consonant, including a liquid (/l, r/).
 * Second consonant (C2): If and only if the first consonant is a stop /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ/ or a voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, a second consonant, always a liquid /l, r/, is permitted. Onsets /tl/ and /dl/ occur only in loanwords.
 * Nucleus
 * Semivowel (S1)
 * Vowel (V)
 * Semivowel (S2)
 * Coda
 * First consonant (C3): Can be any consonant
 * Second consonant (C4): Most often /s/, but can be /ɡ/ after /n/ in English loanwords like marketing. A coda combination of two consonants appears only in loanwords (mainly from Classical Latin) but never in words inherited from Vulgar Latin.
 * Medial codas assimilate place features of the following onsets and are often stressed.

Maximal onsets include transporte /tɾansˈpor.te/, flaco /ˈfla.ko/, clave /ˈkla.be/.

Maximal nuclei include buey /buei/, Uruguay /u.ɾuˈɡuai/.

Maximal codas include instalar /ins.taˈlar/, perspectiva /pers.pekˈti.ba/.

In many dialects, a coda cannot be more than one consonant (one of n, r, l or s) in informal speech. Realizations like /trasˈpor.te/, /is.taˈlar/, /pes.pekˈti.ba/ are very common, and in many cases, they are allowed even in formal speech.

Because of the phonotactic constraints, an epenthetic /e/ is inserted before word-initial clusters beginning with /s/ (e.g. escribir 'to write') but not word-internally (transcribir 'to transcribe'), thereby moving the initial /s/ to a separate syllable. The epenthetic /e/ is pronounced even when it is not reflected in spelling (e.g. the surname of Carlos Slim is pronounced /esˈlin/). While Spanish words undergo word-initial epenthesis, cognates in Latin and Italian do not:

Writing System

Example text
Tous els sè umans nascent liberes et egals en dignità et dereitos, et dotats come sons de raixò et cunxiença, doverò comportarse fraternallment lis uns amb aultres (Articolo 1 della Declaraziù Universal dells Dereitos del Human)

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are with reason and conscience, must behave fraternally with one another. (Art. 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights)