Suprasegmentals: features that extend beyond individual sounds

Syllable:

Smallest sequence of that can stand on its own, often considered the building blocks of words. Note that a division of words into syllables does not apply to all languages, but it’s useful enough for Klingon.

Onset, Anlaut:

First sound(s) of a syllable, necessarily a in Klingon (except for the suffix -oy)

Nucleus, Kern:

Most prominent part of the syllable. Has to be a vowel in Klingon, but can be a consonant in some languages (i. e. Slovak “krv” (meaning blood, the nucleus is “r”) or the second syllable in English “little”; for some speakers, the nucleus is the “l”). Every syllable must consist of at least a nucleus.

Coda, Auslaut:

Last sound(s) of a syllable, usually a (or several) consonant(s). Klingon syllables do not need to have a coda.

Boundary:

Onset or coda or both. Can also be the nucleus, if a syllable lacks either onset or coda.

Rhyme:

Nucleus and coda (if present) taken together

Open (free) vs. closed (checked) syllable:

A syllable without a coda is said to be open, a syllable with a coda is closed. Both are possible in Klingon.

Phonotactics:

A language’s rules how to combine into . Klingon phonotactic rules are:

• - (CV)

• Consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC)

• Consonant-- (CV{w,y})

• Consonant-vowel-rgh (CVrgh)

Consonant cluster:

Two or more consonants pronounced without in-between. Only three consonant clusters are possible in Klingon, namely w, y (though these are debatable) and rgh, and all of these only in the . Note that consonants neighbouring across syllables (f.ex. Eng-lish or tlh Han-Dogh) may not be considered clusters, unless there are rules governing them.

Stress, accent:

General word to denote relative emphasis given to a part of a word or sentence. Stress is in English (compare “minute” and “minute”) and can be phonemic in Klingon where it distinguishes from (compare Dabej and Dabej)

Word stress:

Emphasis on a in a word, usually marked by increased loudness, vowel length, full articulation of a vowel or tone/pitch.

Sentence stress, prosodic stress:

Emphasis on a word or word-part in a .