Margi phonology

Margi is noted for having a vertical vowel system, with only two vowels, and, in native vocabulary. (Loan words also distinguish and .) There are two tones, high and low, with some syllables unmarked for tone. Margi also has a large consonant inventory, with a number of labialized consonants and unusual phones such as a labiodental flap. Hoffmann (1963) describes 84 consonantal phonemes, an enormous number compared to that of most languages - equivalent to that of Ubykh as the largest inventory of any language without clicks. However, Hoffmann's list of consonants includes all onsets in the language, many of which other researchers have since analyzed as sequences, such as and. What remains are 66 consonants if labialization is counted separately, or 54 if it is interpreted as a /Cw/ sequence.

and are palatalized allophones of  and, the latter of which is closer to an approximant. The closely related language Bura is similar but has a palatalized lateral series as well. is used in mimesis rather than in lexical vocabulary. The glottalized consonants have been described as either creaky voiced or implosive; according to Maddieson, they are evidently both, as in Hausa.

The sequences which Hoffmann included in his consonant inventory are all labial–coronal: