Giryama is a dialect variety of the Mijikenda language spoken along the southern coast of Kenya, predominantly in the Kilifi district.
Phonology Consonants BilabialLabio-dentalDental/AlveolarPost-alv./PalatalVelarGlottalplainlab.plainsibilantplainlab.NasalPlosive/Affricatevoiceless()aspiratedvoicedprenasalFricativevoicelessvoicedRhotic ~ LateralApproximant
Labialized sounds can alternatively be pronounced as labio-velar stops among speakers in free variation. may have allophones as either , , or , all heard interchangeably. is only heard in between vowel sounds, to break up a sequence of two vowels. Taylor (1891), noted two dental stops , however they were not easy to identify and therefore are not considered as phonemes.
Vowels FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen
References
Sources Taylor, William Ernest. 1891. Giryama vocabulary and collections. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK).