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*    The use of the nasalisation-mark has also been strictly limited in the



*case of nasalised vowels preceding ʋ̃. Not every vowel preceding ʋ̃ is



*nasalised: in the following cases they have little or no nasalisation―



*(1) in nominal prefixes, such as u-ʋ̃ɛ [ ˩ \ ] “salt”, ɔ-ʋ̃a [ ˩ \ ] “man”;



*(2) conjunctive pronouns, e.g. i-ʋ̃ɛ [ ˩ / ] “I have”; (3) originally un-



*nasalised verbal stems in nouns of action of the type prefix u＋stem



*＋ʋ̃ɛ, e.g. ukɔʋ̃ɛ [ ˩ \ ˩ ] “act of planting”. In all other cases, vowels



*preceding ʋ̃ within the same word are nasalised. As ʋ̃ is rather frequent



*in the nominal and verbal suffix -ʋ̃ɛ (assimilated -ʋ̃a, -ʋ̃i, -ʋ̃ɔ, -ʋ̃u), the



*omission of the tilde (～) goes a long way towards simplifying the appear-



*ance of the written word, and it should not be difficult to remember in



*which words the vowel is nasalised if the above rule is kept in mind.



*    It is, however, necessary to mark nasalisation in originally nasalised



*vowels of verbal stems occurring in nouns of action of the type prefix u



*＋stem＋ʋ̃ɛ, e.g. ukɔ̃ʋ̃ɛ [ ˩ \ ˩ ] “foolishness”. (This word is derived from



*kɔ̃ [ ˥ ] “to be foolish”, while the above-mentioned ukɔʋ̃ɛ is derived



*from kɔ [ ˥ ] “to plant”.)



*    The following diphthongs occur in Bini: ia, ie, iɛ, io, iɔ, ua, ue, uɛ,



*uo, uɔ, ae, ɔe, oi, and the nasalised ones iã, iɛ̃, iɔ̃, uã, uɛ̃, uɔ̃, aɛ̃, ɔɛ̃, oĩ.



*    The triphthongs in Bini are iae, iɔe, ioi, uae, uɛe, uɔe, uoi; and the



*nasalised ones iaɛ̃, iɔɛ̃, uaɛ̃, uɔɛ̃. Here, also, nasalisation is not marked



*after nasals.



*    Initial i and u are often semi-vowels, especially in other than very



*slow speech; final e, ɛ̃, i are usually very short; in triphthongs the



*middle part is usually the most prominent.



*    CONSONANTS



*    The plosives p, t, k (slightly aspirated) and b, d, g need no comment,



*nor do the labio-dental fricatives f and v.



*    ʋ is a voiced bilabial fricative (written vb in literature already



*published).



*    ʋ̃ is a nasalised bilabial fricative. It is a separate nasal phoneme,



*distinct from ʋ and m (mw in literature already published).



*    s and z are sometimes heard palatalised, e.g. in the speech of J. U.



*Egharevba. s and z are substituted for Yoruba ʃ and j, and English



*xxxxx



*ch, sh and j in loan-words. There is evidence, however, that the more



*advanced section of the community do pronounce English ch and j in



*modern importations. The affricates j (dy) and dʒ occur, however, in



*onomatopoeic words.



*    There are two l-phonemes, one being the English “clear” l, and the



*other a flapped variety, ɽ, which is a sound intermediate between r and l;



*this has not been distinguished from r in existing publications, though



*some Bini speakers are conscious of this inadequacy.



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