Maasai phonology

The Maasai variety of ɔl Maa as spoken in southern Kenya and Tanzania has 30 contrasting sounds, which can be represented and alphabetized as followsː a, b, ch (a variant of sh), d, e, ɛ, g, h, i, ɨ, j, k, l, m, n, ny, ŋ, o, ɔ, p, r, rr, s, sh (with variant ch), t, u, ʉ, w, wu (or ww), y, yi (or yy), and the glottal stop  '  (or ʔ).

Tone is extremely important for conveying correct meaning in the Maasai language.

Consonants
In the table of consonant phonemes below, phonemes are represented with IPA symbols. When IPA conventions differ from symbols normally used in practical writing, the practical orthography symbols are given in round brackets.

For some Maasai speakers the voiced stop consonants are not particularly implosive (e.g. IlKeekonyokie Maa), but for others they are lightly implosive or have a glottalic feature (e.g. Parakuyo Maa). The p consonant in Arusha Maa is pronounced differently than in other Maa varieties. In Arusha Maa, it is typically a voiceless fricative, but in some words it is even a voiced trill. People who read and write Swahili or English may think of sh and ch as separate sounds, but in Maasai varieties of Maa (at least in native Maa words), they are in complementary distribution: ch occurs directly after consonants, and sh elsewhere.

For some speakers the voiced stops may be realized as implosive consonants, but often the implosion is very light to nonexistent.

Vowels
Like the other Maa languages, Maasai has advanced tongue root vowel harmony. There are nine contrasting vowels, with the vowel being "neutral" for harmony.