Phonology

 
Pronunciation

The rule for the pronunciation of Cubeo words is that the main stress of Cubeo words occurs on one of the first four syllables. The second syllable has the main stress in most words. Therefore, the main stress is only indicated by an acute written accent, as used in Spanish, in words that have the main stress on the first, third or fourth syllable. Some words that are spelled the same differ in pronunciation because in one the third syllable has a secondary accent and in the other it does not, for example:
doreyʉ 'nibble' y doreyʉ 'inedible ant that stings with its tail' are spelled the same because both words have the main stress on the second syllable. The entries for these words indicate the difference in pronunciation:
doréyʉ 'nibble' y doréyʉ́ 'inedible ant that stings with its tail'.

Nasalization

Nasalization is marked in spelling according to these rules: A tilde is always written above the first nasalized vowel of a classifier if it does not begin with a nasalized consonant, for example:
-cũ 'rounded on one side and flat on the other side' and -tṍcu 'box shaped', but -me 'thread-like' y -mu 'like a creeper'.
It does not matter whether it occurs in an oral or nasalized root, for example:
jiad̶ocũ (oral root) and tãucũ (nasalized root).
On the other hand, with other suffixes and with subjects (two or more compound roots), the tilde is not written if the preceding syllable is nasalized, for example:
da-rãjaramu (oral root), nʉ-rajaramu (nasalized root), and abujuõreñʉ (primary oral root), ãioreñʉ (primary nasalized root).

Dialect variations

If a word is used in one or two of the dialects but not in all three dialects, it is indicated by an abbreviation in parentheses following the word. The Vaupés river dialect is indicated by (V), the Cuduyarí river dialect by (C), and the Querarí river dialect by (Q). Words not marked with these abbreviations are known in all dialects. Sometimes the dialect variations are alternative forms and sometimes they are synonyms. Two or more words are considered alternate forms when the difference between them is a vowel or consonant; a single syllable other than the first syllable; two contiguous syllables that do not include the first syllable; a morpheme, whether a classifier suffix or another morpheme; the main accent and/or nasalization. In other cases, words are considered synonyms.

 

Alternative forms

Alternative forms have a main form, which is the form that is most frequently used, and if there is no more frequently used form, the main form is the first in alphabetical order. If two or more alternate forms would be given contiguously in alphabetical order, only the main form is given. Only the main form has the information about a word that has alternate forms. Therefore, you must always look for the main form. Below are some examples:

ãcʉriojʉmecacʉ (Q, V) 'a type of tree', alternative form: ãcʉriojomecacʉ (C); the difference is the variation in the vowels ʉ and o.

bojʉyayʉ 'performing the rites of puberty', alternative form: bojudayu; the difference is the variation in the consonants yand d̶.

abujuõrejipobʉ 'seed of a type of banana', alternative form: abujuõretoart; tõa are two contiguous syllables not including the first syllable; -bu and -ru are classifiers.

abujucorivebo 'sawfish', alternative form: abujucorivedʉ; -bo and -du are classifiers.

abujutataroco 'black devil butterfly', alternative form: abujuco; tataro is the morpheme meaning 'butterfly'.

caivayʉ 'get fat', alternative form: caiyóvayʉ; the difference is the main stress and also an additional syllable.

macacãmidʉ 'freshwater crab', alternative form: mácacãmidʉ; the difference is the main accent.

comeóijarabo 'lock of the traps cobobʉ 'trap' and ẽmido 'trap', alternative form: cõmeóijarabo; the difference is the nasalization.