HADZA vs Lak

Sound inventory comparison

Only in HADZA

Shared

Only in Lak

Only in HADZA 39

ŋ̥ǀ͓ˀ ŋ̥ǁ͓ˀ ŋ̥ǃ̠ˀ dz ndz n̪ d̪ n̪d̪ o̞ mb ŋǀ͓ ŋǁ͓ ŋǃ̠ d̠ʒ n̠d̠ʒ ɲ e̞ ŋ ŋɡ ts ɬ t̪ t̪ʰ tɬ tɬʰ tɬʼ n̪t̪ʰ p mpʰ kǀ͓ kǀ͓ʰ kǁ͓ kǁ͓ʰ kǃ̠ kǃ̠ʰ f t̠ʃ k kʷ

Shared sounds 23

l w u m b j i a ɡ tsʰ tsʼ s pʰ pʼ h ʔ t̠ʃʰ t̠ʃʼ ʃ kʰ kʷʰ kʷʼ kʼ

Only in Lak 46

n z d r uː ø̞ˤ iː ʒ ɢ ɢʷ aː e̞ˤ æˤ tsʷʰ tsʷʼ t͈s t͈sʷ s͈ tʰ tʼ t͈ p͈ t̠ʃʷʰ t̠ʃʷʼ t̠͈ʃ t̠͈ʃʷ ʃʷ ʃ͈ ʃ͈ʷ ħ χ χʷ χ͈ χ͈ʷ qʰ qʷʰ qʷʼ qʼ q͈ q͈ʷ x xʷ x͈ x͈ʷ k͈ k͈ʷ

What this means for learners

HADZA and Lak share 23 sounds — roughly 33% of Lak's inventory overlaps with HADZA. 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 Lak represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for HADZA 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, HADZA has 39 sounds not used in Lak. Native Lak speakers learning HADZA 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

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