3min chapter

Conlangery Podcast cover image

Conlangery #74: Vowel Harmony

Conlangery Podcast

CHAPTER

What's the Difference Between K and Q in Arabic?

Most languages that borrow from Arabic don't have this uvular stop, that's spelled with a Q. What Turkish does is it renders K and Q exactly the same. But oddly enough, if it borrows from a word that ends in an Arabic K, wherever the vowels are, it takes front-bell harmony. If it borrowed a word that ended in a Turkish Q, whatever the vowels were, it took back-bell harmony - even though they both sound the same.

00:00

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode