Phonology
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Fricative | f v | (s) | h | |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |
| Liquid | l (r) |
is an allophone of /t/ before front vowels (both long and short /i/ and /e/; this most likely arose from the affrication of /t/ to before these vowels and subsequent change of to . While older foreign borrowings (such as tī from English tea) underwent this change along with (or perhaps by analogy with) native words, words borrowed into Niuean after this development retain the original (for example, telefoni and tikulī from telephone and degree).
/r/ and /s/ are marginal phonemes, only appearing in foreign borrowings. Some speakers substitute and, respectively.
Read more about this topic: Niuean Language