Sardinian is conventionally divided, mainly on phonological criteria, into three main varieties: Campidanese, Logudorese, and Nuorese. The last of these has a notably conservative phonology, compared not only to the other two varieties, but also to other Romance languages as well.Mensching & Remberger 2016: 270.
Vowels All Sardinian varieties shared an original vowel system characterized by the merger of each of Latin's short vowels with its long counterpart ( merged with , merged with , and so on) resulting in an inventory of five vowels: .
Sardinian vowels are lengthened under primary stress, especially in open syllables. Compare and .Mura & Virdis 2015: 79. Examples from pages 106–107.
+ Metaphony Orthography Pronunciation Orthography Pronunciation beni [ˈbeni] bene [ˈbɛnɛ] chelu [ˈkelu] chera [ˈkɛɾa] ghéneru [ˈgenɛɾu] tènere [ˈtɛnɛɾɛ] colli [ˈkolli] bona [ˈbɔna] obu [ˈoβu] domo [ˈdɔmɔ] códomu [ˈkoðɔmu] pòdere [ˈpɔðɛɾɛ]
Sardinian vowels have long been subject to a process of metaphony whereby are raised to [e o] if the following syllable contains a high vowel (either or ). If the syllable that precedes the resulting or itself contains another or , that vowel is also raised, a process which may repeat across multiple syllables. , for instance, is realized as , with metaphony spreading to all three syllables preceding the final .Mura & Virdis 2015: 27–28
In the Campidanese varieties spoken in the south of the island, underwent a general raising to in final syllables. The new produced by this change failed, however, to trigger metaphony in preceding syllables, as original had. Since this obscured the conditions for metaphony, could now contrast with . For instance, the older 'well' and 'come' became and respectively, a minimal pair distinguished only by their stressed vowels. This meant that the difference between and had achieved phonemic status, giving Campidanese a total of seven distinct vowels, as opposed to the older five-vowel system retained by other Sardinian dialects.Blasco Ferrer 2017: 92. This citation covers the entire preceding paragraph. +Vowel phonemes in SardinianFrontCentralBackCloseClose-mid††Open-midOpen
† Allophonic except in Campidanese.
Consonants Sardinian possesses the following consonant phonemes:Jones 1988: 319; Mura & Virdis 2015: 62; Mensching & Remberger 2016: 275 LabialDentalAlveolarRetroflexPost-alv./PalatalVelarPlosive/Affricatevoiceless†voiced†Fricativevoiceless‡†voiced††Nasal†VibrantApproximant† † Not present in Nuorese.
‡ Mainly in Nuorese.
Plosives The Sardinian system of plosives cannot be exhaustively characterized by either qualitative (voicing) or quantitative (duration) contrasts, but both contrasts must be specified independently on some level of grammar. All plosives participate in a system-wide and complex process of lenition that characterizes all varieties of Sardinian and operates across word boundaries.
There are three series of plosives or corresponding approximants: Voiceless or fortis stops derive from their Latin counterparts in composition after another stop, from utterance-initial voiceless stops and from Latin geminates (typically voiceless). As in most Romance languages, are unaspirated, with a dental . When intervocalic, voiceless stops undergo lenition by voicing. When applicable, they escape voicing by becoming long or half-long in the opposite process of fortition; when this happens, their spelling is inconsistent, with some preferring etymological (double) spelling and others phonemic (single). In Nuorese, which maintains etymologically single voiceless stops, these merge with etymologically double ones as voiceless fortis. Individual words and morphemes may display independent voicing ( < Lat. ) and even deletion ( < Lat. ). Etymologically double and postconsonantal voiced stops do not contrast with single ones in any variety, even in Nuorese, and are typically realised as voiced geminates. Voiced or lenis "stops" derive from single Latin stops (voiced or voiceless), and are commonly realised as fricatives or approximants between vowels, as in Spanish ( less commonly). Latin single voiced intervocalic stops are generally reflected as zero in Logudorese and Campidanese; this can also apply across word boundaries, resulting in consonants disappearing when in combination. In Cagliari and neighboring dialects, the weak allophone of surfaces as in all positions due to rhotacism: > 'finger'. occurs mainly in intervocalic position, where it is realized as the geminate , representing the regular outcome of Latin . The same sound occurs allophonically—albeit not as a geminate—in the sequence , which is realized as . In some varieties, particularly in northeastern Nuorese, may assimilate to .
Fricatives Apico-alveolar realizations of predominate in the centre of the island, encompassing the entire Nuorese-speaking area and extending to Sennariolo in the west and Seulo in the south.Contini 1987: map 50. Mura describes an apico-postalveolar or retroflex realization in the eastern parts of this region.Mura & Virdis 2015: 99 voices to in intervocalic position throughout the island, except in certain parts of Barbagia.Blasco Ferrer 2017: 95. The towns where remains unvoiced are Dorgali, Orune, Fonni, Ovodda, and (variably) Urzulei, per Contini 1987: map 51. Geminate never voices. , derived from Latin or Greek , is characteristic of the Nuorese dialects. In recent times, however, it has turned to in the towns of Nuoro and Dorgali.Pittau 1972: §26; Contini 1987: maps 16–17 This may be the result of influence from Logudorese, where is the regular outcomeAs shown on Contini's aforementioned maps and the one provided by Mensching & Remberger (2016: 273). ( < Lat. ), ( < Lat. ). is generally voiced to in intervocalic position. In most Nuorese varieties, word-initial , if followed by a vowel, is lost. The exceptions are:Contini 1978: maps 44–49. Nuoro, and areas to its northwest, where it remains as-is. Orotelli, where it is realized as . Lodè, where it is realized as . Ovodda, where it is realized as . Word-initial (from Latin ) occurs in certain Nuorese varieties, such as those of Bitti and Lula, although the distinction between it and is not always clear.Jones 1988: 327–328; Mensching & Remberger 2016: 274 Otherwise, Sardinian has merged Latin into . , written -sc(i/e)- or -sç-, is pronounced as single at the beginning of a word, and strengthened to otherwise. , written -x- and never phonetically long, is its voiced counterpart. However, its most common source is lenition of . primarily exists as the lenis allophone of and is often reflected as such: Camp. 'window' < Sp. . Nevertheless, in some varieties it has become a phoneme that itself exhibits a fortis allophone: Camp., Log. 'to accustom'.
Affricates is dentalized laminal or written -tz-. It corresponds to Italian -z- or -ci-, the latter especially in loanwords. In contrast to it is very advanced, tending towards the interdental in central varieties, and then spelled th. Particularly in Nuorese, it represents the of loanwords. is the corresponding voiced or , written -z-. It mainly stems from the Latin yod after consonants in Logudorese ( 'son' < , 'January' < ), but also corresponds to Italian -gi- or -ggi- in loanwords. is written -c(i/e)- or -ç-. is written -g(e/i)- or -j-. In Campidanese, it stems from the Latin yod after consonants ( 'son' < , 'January' < ) as well as from the palatalization of Latin . In many varieties, this sound undergoes lenition to when intervocalic.
Nasals is variously but commonly realised as fortis (geminate) inside the stressed syllable, and for this reason (as well due to etymology) is often spelled double. and is the only other consonant showing phonemic length contrast besides the rhotic. Intervocalic commonly undergoes lenition in Campidanese, giving a glottal stop, pharyngeal fricative or disappearing, with vowel nasalization: Sarrabus 'new year'. , written -gn- or -nny-/-nni- (the palatal nasal for some speakers or dialects, although for most the pronunciation is ).
Liquids and rhotics Sardinian has a single-rhotic system. contrasts with intervocalically (the only such contrast besides ), with the former surfacing as a tap and the latter as a trill . In other positions the trill is an allophone of the tap. Especially in Campidanese, intervocalic is subject to lenition both word-internally and across word boundaries, giving rise to [ ∅]. Some of these realisations are written with b or u: , 'sun'. is strengthened to geminate retroflex in order to escape lenition in those varieties where it is affected. It thus may freely alternate with the lenition outcomes, although strengthening is nowadays more common. , written u, appears in Campidanese in the clusters and , as in 'tongue', and elsewhere in borrowings. It can also be found as the closing element in diphthongs, when these arise phonetically: , 'pole, stake' < .
Labiovelars
Latin survive unchanged in Campidanese but have merged to in Logudorese and Nuorese.Jones 1997: 377 Outside of the above sequences, only occurs in loanwords.Mensching & Remberger 2016: 275
Processes Neutralizations Most varieties are characterised by the historic neutralization of Latin and into the archiphoneme within the morpheme: 'rock'. The Campidanese dialect does not generally allow this to end syllables except if followed by another ; as a result, underlying sequences are synchronically and systematically repaired, either through assimilation or metathesis: One strategy moves the rhotic to the leftmost available position within a phrase, sometimes jumping several syllables: > 'the bow', but > if none is available. The intervocalic consonant that's left is regularly fortis (geminate). When is harmonically followed by the voiceless coronal , assimilation occurs: > > 'tall'. When followed by the voiced coronal , another type of metathesis is frequent: > 'deaf'. Recent Italian borrowings tend to maintain the coda as a function of register: It. > ~ > . In some varieties located at the north of the island, any etymological liquid in coda surfaces as a voiced lateral fricative or a palatal glide.
and alternate in Campidanese Sardinian, but not Nuorese.
Lenition Lenition occurs in intervocalic position. Lenition also occurs if a consonant is preceded and/ or succeeds the consonant r. Lenition occurs even across word boundaries.
Consonant Lenition Orthography Pronunciation b β sa baba, sos brinucos sa βaβa, sɔɾ βɾinukɔzɔ d ð sa doda, lardu, ladru sa ðɔða, laɾðu, laðɾu g ɣ su garrigu, disgrassia su ɣariɣu, diɾɣɾasia
Sandhi Only , , , are permitted word-finally. The first three of these alternate in notable external sandhi processes. For Nuorese, and neutralise (merge) when in sandhi in the following way: Total assimilation before word-initial , ; before word-initial voiceless obstruents except and : 'three pieces of bread', 'four pieces of bread'; before other word-initial obstruents including , also , and ; Variable total assimilation in allegro speech before word-initial . Parallel outcomes occur word-internally with the prefixes dis-, is-.