Exceptions to accent placement and length rules
Some common exceptions to the rules of accent placement are described below.
- Also see the pages on Vowel length, Counting syllables, Non-neutral statements.
Vowels before the endings -kˀah and -sˀah are always accented and long (even when odd-numbered):
ganǫhsá:kˀah beside the house
onǫhsatgí:sˀah an ugly house
The first vowel of the ending -shǫ́:ˀǫh /-sǫ́:ˀǫh or -shǫ́:ˀah / -sǫ́:ˀah is always accented and long, even when odd-numbered.
gwęnihshǫ́:ˀǫh change (money)
The vowels in some words are always accented and long, regardless of whether they are odd- or even-numbered, even if they are followed by < h > or < ˀ >.
knó:haˀ my mother
hahé:haˀ he sets it
The vowel < a > can sometimes be accented and lengthened even if it is odd-numbered, as long as it is followed by only one consonant; this is particularly true if < a > is the first vowel of a two-vowel word.
gá:yęˀ it is lying there
sá:węh it is yours
Other exceptions to lengthening
Other exceptions to lengthening are described in the pages on Vowel length and on Counting syllables.