6. i is not lowered before dentals: káhit though, ákin my, pígil compulsion. It is usually kept high also before velars: sahìg flooring, siŋsìŋ ring. Some words ending in velars more or less 30regularly have the lowering: pútik, pútek mud; so especially some proper names: Intsèk Chinese, Lóleŋ Lola.
Even in other cases the higher variants of i are commoner than the lower; hindìʾ not, kamì we, gabì night, mulìʾ again are commoner than these words with e; a very few words, such as ulèʾ again have oftener e than i; others, such as itèm black are fairly regular in their variation.
7. Within a closely unified phrase the lowering is as a rule omitted: ulí sya again he (ulèʾ), Hintú na! Stop! (hintòʾ). In 5this regard the habits are variable; the form chosen depends mostly on the speaker’s momentary attitude toward the closeness of joining of the words.
A dissimilative factor also seems to be involved: a following i or u favors the lowering:
10Natùtúlug aŋ áso. The dog is sleeping.
Natùtúlog si Hwàn. Juan is sleeping.
8. o occurs in a number of words as the vowel in the last two syllables: in all of them the intervening consonant is the glottal stop: óʾo yes, doʾòn there; boʾòʾ whole has occasionally buʾòʾ. 15The raised variant is not used within the phrase: Óʾo pòʾ. Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am. doʾòn sya there he.
e occurs in the same way in leʾèg neck, beside liʾìg.
9. In word-formation, when, by the addition of suffixes, the i or u is no longer final, it is not lowered: lútoʾ cook, lutúin be 20cooked; itèm black, itimàn be made black. Occasionally, however, the lowered vowel is retained: táo human being, ka-taó-han mankind, beside kataúhan, tao-taó-han manikin, pupil of the eye, beside tautaúhan.
The words with oʾo (§ [8]) keep the lowered vowel when uncontracted: 25pina-roʾon-àn was gone to (doʾòn there); these words are also reduplicated with o: kinà-dò-roʾon-àn is been in.