Navaho vs SEDANG

Sound inventory comparison

Only in Navaho

Shared

Only in SEDANG

Only in Navaho 41

˥ ˩ l n ˀn z oː ˀm ɔ̃ õː iː ɪ ˀj ĩː ɪ̃ ʒ aː ɛː ɣ ãː ã ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː tsʰ tsʼ ts ɬ s t tʰ tʼ tɬ tɬʰ tɬʼ hʷ t̠ʃʰ t̠ʃʼ x xʷ kʷʰ kʼ

Shared sounds 13

w ɔ m j a ɛ p h ʔ t̠ʃ ʃ k kʰ

Only in SEDANG 42

l̪̥|l̥ n̪̥|n̥ r̪̥|r̥ m̥ j̥ ɲ̥ ŋ̥ l̪|l l̪̰|l̰ n̪|n n̪̰|n̰ n̪d̪|nd d̪̰|d̰ r̪|r r̪̰|r̰ o u o̰ ṵ ɔ̰ w̰ m̰ mb b̰ i ḭ j̰ n̠d̠ʒ ɲ ɲ̰ e a̰ ḛ ɛ̰ ŋ ŋ̰ ŋɡ s̪|s t̪ʰ|tʰ t̪|t ʍ pʰ

What this means for learners

Navaho and SEDANG share 13 sounds — roughly 24% of SEDANG's inventory overlaps with Navaho. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 42 sounds found only in SEDANG represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Navaho 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, Navaho has 41 sounds not used in SEDANG. Native SEDANG speakers learning Navaho 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

Navaho vs Lahu Navaho vs Dafla Navaho vs Yao Navaho vs Hakka Chinese Navaho vs Kharia Navaho vs Bhumij Navaho vs Kota Navaho vs Burushaski Navaho vs Kabardian Navaho vs Lak Navaho vs Ket Navaho vs Garo