MBA-NE vs Lak

Sound inventory comparison

Only in MBA-NE

Shared

Only in Lak

Only in MBA-NE 24

l̪|l n̪|n d̪|d n̪d̪|nd ɗ̪|ɗ o ɔ mb ɓ ɡb ŋmɡb v d̠ʒ n̠d̠ʒ n̠ e ɛ ŋɡ t̪|t p kp f t̠ʃ k

Shared sounds 7

w u b j i a ɡ

Only in Lak 62

l n z d r uː ø̞ˤ m iː ʒ ɢ ɢʷ aː e̞ˤ æˤ tsʰ tsʷʰ tsʷʼ tsʼ t͈s t͈sʷ s 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

MBA-NE and Lak share 7 sounds — roughly 10% of Lak's inventory overlaps with MBA-NE. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 62 sounds found only in Lak represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for MBA-NE 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, MBA-NE has 24 sounds not used in Lak. Native Lak speakers learning MBA-NE 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

MBA-NE vs Lahu MBA-NE vs Dafla MBA-NE vs Yao MBA-NE vs Hakka Chinese MBA-NE vs SEDANG MBA-NE vs Kharia MBA-NE vs Bhumij MBA-NE vs Kota MBA-NE vs Burushaski MBA-NE vs Kabardian MBA-NE vs Ket MBA-NE vs Garo