Phonology
Sekko features both consonant and vowel gemination. Geminated sounds are notated by writing the same letter twice (e.g. "nn" for /nː/ and "aa" for /aː/). Consonant and vowel charts in IPA are given below, with Latin letter orthography in wide angle brackets.
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | (ɲ) | ŋ ⟨q⟩ | ||
| Plosive | p ⟨p⟩ b ⟨b⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ d ⟨d⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ g ⟨g⟩ | ʔ ⟨x⟩ | ||
| Fricative | s ⟨s⟩ z ⟨z⟩ | ʃ ⟨c⟩ ʒ ⟨j⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ | |||
| Approximant | (w) | l ⟨l⟩ | (j) | |||
| Tap | ɾ ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Trill | r ⟨rr⟩ |
The geminated form of ɾ ⟨r⟩ is r ⟨rr⟩.
The sounds ɲ, ʔ ⟨x⟩, h ⟨h⟩, w and j are forbidden from geminating, and are canonically pronounced short.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ⟨i⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ | |
| Close-mid | o ⟨o⟩ | ||
| Open-mid | ε ⟨e⟩ | ||
| Open | a ⟨a⟩ |
All vowels may geminate.
Diphthongs
The following diphthongs are permitted: iV, Vi, uV, Vu, where V represents any vowel. It is permitted to pronounce the diphthong either with hiatus (two syllables), or with glide (one syllable). Diphthongs involving i use the approximant j, and u with w.
In the cases where the diphthong is iV or uV, and the diphthong is pronounced with glide, the preceding consonant will be palatalized or labialized respectively. Sequences of niV may be pronounced as ɲV.
N-phthongs are permitted so long as all adjacent vowels are valid diphthongs (i.e. the nucleus aieua is permitted as ai, ie, eu, and ua are valid diphthongs).
Vowel gemination is forbidden in diphthongs.
Phonotactics
Words cannot begin and end with geminated sounds.
Words cannot begin with vowels.