Karao (also spelled Karaw) is a language of northern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the Karao, Ekip, and Bokod areas of western Benguet Province, and in the southwestern corner of Ifugao Province. The language is named after the barangay of Karaw in Bokod municipality, Benguet. The Karao ethnic group in Benguet still exists to this day, but the Karao traditions are gradually fading away into their memories.
Phonology Consonants + Consonants Bilabial Inter-dental Alveolar Alveo-palatal Velar Back velar GlottalPlosiveVoiceless Voiced Labialized AffricateVoiceless Voiced Fricative Nasal Lateral Tap Approximant
have three allophones each: an unaspirated, an unreleased, and a slightly aspirated allophone. For example, has in a syllable onset, in a syllable coda and word-finally after , and word-finally in free variation with . The stop only has an unaspirated and an unreleased allophone. is only in a syllable onset, and is only in a syllable coda when it geminates following .
Vowels + Vowels Front Central BackNon-open Open has three allophones: , , and . is found in open syllables next to and , e.g., . is found in closed syllables next to and , e.g., . has two allophones: and , which are in free variation. is more common in fast speech, while is more common in slow speech. has two allophones: and . generally occurs in word-initial syllables, while occurs in word-final syllables, e.g., . The vowel is normally after and , but is in free variation with in word-final closed syllables, e.g., . It is normally after or , but is in free variation with in closed word-final syllables, e.g., . has two allophones: and . is found in two limited sets of words, e.g., and .
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