miwafu/grammar/syllables.markdown

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---
title: Syllables
---
The basic units of Miwāfu are syllables. These are represented as a single glyph in the written language and spoken as a single unit. They are also the basis of the penultimate accent on the final word of a phrase.
Syllable Chart
==============
| w | r | m | p | b | h | n | d | t | z | s | g | k | f
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---- | --- | ---- | --- | --- | ---
a | wa | ra | ma | pa | ba | ha | na | da | ta | za | sa | ga | ka | fa
e | we | re | me | pe | be | he | ne | de | te | ze | se | ge | ke | fe
i | wi | ri | mi | pi | bi | hi | ni | | chi | ji | shi | gi | ki | fi
o | wo | ro | mo | po | bo | ho | no | do | to | jo | so | go | ko | fo
u | wu | ru | mu | pu | bu | hu | nu | | tsu | zu | su | gu | ku | fu
ya | | rya | mya | pya | bya | hya | nya | | chya | jya | shya | gya | kya |
yo | | ryo | myo | pyo | byo | hyo | nyo | | chyo | jyo | shyo | gyo | kyo |
yu | | ryu | myu | pyu | byu | hyu | nyu | | chya | jyu | shyu | gyu | kyu |
| | | | | | | n | | | | | | |
Penultimate Accents
===================
For the penultimate (second to the last) syllable of the final word in a phrase, there is an accent which identifies the gender. This gender can be literal (as with most creatures) or representative of scope.
a | e | i | o | u | Typical meanings
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ------------------------------------
à | è | ì | ò | ù | Masculine, wild, larger, power
ā | ē | ī | ō | ū | Child, neutral, many
á | é | í | ó | ú | Feminine, control, smaller, accurate
While "n" can be a syllable on its own, it is never used in the penultimate location.
When listed in dictionaries and word lists, accents are in the above order (masculine, neuter, female).
Design Notes
============
The primary reason that "n" cannot be accented is technical. It is very difficult to find a font that handles macron accents over vowels correctly, but almost impossible to find one that handles acute, grave, and macro accents on "n".