Igbo vs Lak

Sound inventory comparison

Only in Igbo

Shared

Only in Lak

Only in Igbo 46

˥ ˧ ˩ d̤ ɾ ɾʲ o ɔ ʊ ũ õ m̩ ʊ̃ ɔ̃ b̤ ɓ bʲ b̤ʲ v ĩ d̠ʒ d̠ʒ̤ ɲ e ɛ ɣ ŋ ã ɛ̃ ŋʷ ẽ ɡʷ ɡ̤ ɡ̤ʷ t ɗ̥ p pʲ pʲʰ ɓ̥ hʷ hʲ f t̠ʃ k kʷ

Shared sounds 19

l n z d w u m b j i a ɡ s tʰ pʰ h t̠ʃʰ kʰ kʷʰ

Only in Lak 50

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

What this means for learners

Igbo and Lak share 19 sounds — roughly 28% of Lak's inventory overlaps with Igbo. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 50 sounds found only in Lak represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Igbo 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, Igbo has 46 sounds not used in Lak. Native Lak speakers learning Igbo 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

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