Phonology
Vowels
Tabaru has a simple five vowel system: a, e, i, o, u.Consonants
Syllable structure and stress
On the surface level, Tabaru only allows syllables of the type (C)V. Words with an underlying final consonant add an echo vowel: (/ngowak/) ′child′, (/oker/) ′drink′, (/sarim/) ′paddle′, (/odom/) ′eat′, (/palus/) ′answer′. The echo vowel is dropped when a suffix is added: (/woisen/) ′hear′, but (/woisen/ + /oka/) ′heard′. Stress regularly falls on the penultimate syllable, but shifts to the antepenultimate when the word takes an echo vowel.References
North Halmahera languages {{Indonesia-stub