/ˈaɪ.pə/

Central Arrernte vs Burushaski

Sound inventory comparison

31
Only in Central Arrernte
13
Shared
46
Only in Burushaski

Only in Central Arrernte 31

l̪ lʷ l̪ʷ ȴ ȴʷ n̪ nʷ ȵ n̪ʷ ȵʷ rʷ mʷ jʷ ɻ ɻʷ ɭ ɭʷ ɳ ɳʷ a ə ɰ ŋʷ t̪ tʷ t̪ʷ ȶ ȶʷ pʷ ʈʷ kʷ

Shared sounds 13

l n r w u m j i ŋ t p ʈ k

Only in Burushaski 46

z d dʑ o oː uː ũː ũ õ õː b iː ĩ ĩː ɖʐ ʐʲ ɖ ʌ ʌ̃ ɢ æ ɛ ɛː äː ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ã̈ː ɡ tsʰ ts s ɕ tʰ tɕ tɕʰ pʰ h f ʈʂ ʈʂʰ ʂ ʈʰ q qʰ x kʰ

What this means for learners

Central Arrernte and Burushaski share 13 sounds — roughly 22% of Burushaski's inventory overlaps with Central Arrernte. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 46 sounds found only in Burushaski represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Central Arrernte speakers. The adult brain tends to map unfamiliar sounds onto the closest native equivalent — a process that produces the characteristic "accent" of a second-language speaker. Learning to hear and produce these sounds as distinct requires focused ear training, not just repetition.

Conversely, Central Arrernte has 31 sounds not used in Burushaski. Native Burushaski speakers learning Central Arrernte will face the mirror-image challenge with these sounds.

Phoneme inventories from PHOIBLE. Data reflects one documented inventory per language; some variation exists across dialects and sources.

Compare with another language

Central Arrernte vs Lahu Central Arrernte vs Dafla Central Arrernte vs Yao Central Arrernte vs Hakka Chinese Central Arrernte vs SEDANG Central Arrernte vs Kharia Central Arrernte vs Bhumij Central Arrernte vs Kota Central Arrernte vs Kabardian Central Arrernte vs Lak Central Arrernte vs Ket Central Arrernte vs Garo