Linguistics
Untrained humanoids find the Kaiteri hard to understand because of the sounds of the Kaiteri language are determined by the Kaiteri having a beak and a tongue with keratin spines. However, their beak is not completely hard, and they can move it a little to make sounds. They lack teeth. Like songbirds, they have a raised laryngeal mound behind their tongue that lets them speak like humanoids. (2-14-12).
However, the Kaiteri are proud of their language and find Basic (the common humanoid language) very limiting. The Kaiteri have a syrinx (actually, two syringes), which are similar to the humanoid larynx but allow Kaiteri to make two notes at one time. The Kaiteri language is not based on sounds but is a complex language determined by relative pitch (tonality), frequency, timbre, volume, and duration. They use one syrinx for meaning and one for a vocal pattern that characterizes the meaning. Besides Basic and the Kaiteri language, the Kaiteri speak a trade language with the Ta’anata.
Sounds Not in Kaiteri-Accented Basic
B [labial stop]- use P. Kaiteri do not have lips.
F [labial dental] - Kaiteri do not have lips or teeth.
M [labial nasal] - use N. Kaiteri do not have lips.
Th -
V [labial dental] - Kaiteri do not have lips or teeth.
Very broad A - use E.
Sounds in Kaiteri-Accented Basic
Consonants
D [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge instead of the humanoid alveolar bridge
G [velar, against back of mouth] -
H [glottal] -
Hr -
K [velar, against back of mouth] -
L [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
N [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
Ng [nasal velar, against back of mouth]-
P [labial stop]- Kaiteri do not have lips, but the P is used to describe the sound of Kaiteri tapping their beaks together.
Pp - a quick double tap of the beak
R [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
S [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
Sh [alveolar-palatal fricative, tongue behind ridge, tongue raised to palate, and air almost stopped] - They can do it if their tongue is flexible. The sound is rare among the Kaiteri.
T [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
W [labial] - Instead of using lips, partially close the beak, almost a “ua” and is often spelled that way
Y [alveolar-palatal approximant, the tongue and palate do not come as close as they would in a fricative] -
Z [alveolar, tongue behind ridge] - said with the tongue behind the lateral palatine ridge
Zh [alveolar-palatal fricative, tongue behind ridge and tongue raised to palate] - They can do it if their tongue is flexible. The sound is rare among the Kaiteri.
II [lateral click, put your tongue behind a molar and click] -
Vowels
A (short)
E (short)
E (long) - almost indistinguishable from the short E, but of longer duration, and the beak moves more
I (short)
O (short)
O (long) - almost indistinguishable from the short O, but of longer duration, and the beak moves more
U (short)
U (long) - almost indistinguishable from the short U, but of longer duration and the beak moves more
Sounds Not Sure About
Ch [alveolar-palatal affricativee, tongue behind ridge, tongue raised to palate, and air stopped briefly] - They can do it if their tongue is flexible. It sounds a little involved for a penguin mouth.
J [alveolar-palatal affricativee, tongue behind ridge, tongue raised to palate, and air stopped briefly] - They can do it if their tongue is flexible. Use D instead.
Wh - ?
(12-20-09, modified 12-23-09, 1-21-10, 2-4-12)
Note: The generalized bird beak I saw had lateral palatine ridges (think ridges around the beak). If penguins don’t, Kaiteri do. Also, I have never taken a linguistics class, but these are my best guesses 2-4-12.
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*Date of discovery.