When a suffix is added to a root with a stressed final syllable, the
tendency is to drop the vowel of the final syllable of the root:
dakup /dakúp/ arrest + -an = dakpan /dákpan/ be arrested
pisik /pisík/ splash + -an = piskan /pískan/ be splashed
lakat /lakát/ go + -unun = laktunun /laktunún/ errand
This occasionally also happens to roots with stressed penults:
kalímut /kalímut/ forget + -i = kalimti /kalímti/ forget it
5.13 Adding of /h/ or /ʔ/ to roots ending in a vowel when a suffix
is added
Some roots which end in a vowel add /ʔ/ before a suffix, some roots
add /h/, other roots add either /ʔ/ or /h/ (depending on which
suffix):
bása /bása/ read + -un = basáhun /basáhun/ be read
adtu /ʔádtu/ go + -un = adtúun /ʔadtū́ʔun/ gone to get
kabaláka /kabaláka/ worry + -an = kabalak-an /kabalákʔan/ s.t. to
worry about (with the vowel of
the final syllable of the root
dropped—5.12).
sulti /súlti/ talk + -un = sultíhun /sultī́hun/ talk it out
sulti /súlti/ talk + -ánay = sultiánay /sultiʔā́nay/ conversation