Dan vs Lak

Sound inventory comparison

Only in Dan

Shared

Only in Lak

Only in Dan 76

˥ ˥˨˧ ˦ ˧ ˧˥˨ ˧˨ ˨ ˩ nʲ nʷ zʲ zʷ dʲ ɗ ɗʲ o oː ɔ ɔː ɒː ɒ ɵ wʲ ɵː ũː ũ ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː mʲ ɒ̃ ɒ̃ː ɓ ɡb bʲ ɓʲ ɡbʲ v vʲ ĩ ĩː ɲ ᶑ e eː æ æː ɨ ɨː ə əː ɛ ɛː ŋ ãː ã ɛ̃ æ̃ ɛ̃ː æ̃ː ə̃ː ə̃ ɡʷ ɡʲ sʲ sʷ t tʲ p pʲ kp kpʲ f fʲ k kʷ kʲ

Shared sounds 16

l n z d w u uː m b j i iː a aː ɡ s

Only in Lak 53

r ø̞ˤ ʒ ɢ ɢʷ e̞ˤ æˤ tsʰ tsʷʰ tsʷʼ tsʼ t͈s t͈sʷ s͈ tʰ tʼ t͈ pʰ pʼ p͈ h ʔ t̠ʃʰ t̠ʃʷʰ t̠ʃʷʼ t̠ʃʼ t̠͈ʃ t̠͈ʃʷ ʃ ʃʷ ʃ͈ ʃ͈ʷ ħ χ χʷ χ͈ χ͈ʷ qʰ qʷʰ qʷʼ qʼ q͈ q͈ʷ x xʷ x͈ x͈ʷ kʰ kʷʰ kʷʼ kʼ k͈ k͈ʷ

What this means for learners

Dan and Lak share 16 sounds — roughly 17% of Lak's inventory overlaps with Dan. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 53 sounds found only in Lak represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Dan 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, Dan has 76 sounds not used in Lak. Native Lak speakers learning Dan 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

Dan vs Lahu Dan vs Dafla Dan vs Yao Dan vs Hakka Chinese Dan vs SEDANG Dan vs Kharia Dan vs Bhumij Dan vs Kota Dan vs Burushaski Dan vs Kabardian Dan vs Ket Dan vs Garo