Editing Kot Wawa (section)

==Word structure==
Native unit word: (C*V)*C*VC*

Permissible unit loan word: (C|V)*

Compound word: (unit word)(unit word)

The combination of sounds into words is based on an alphabetic principle followed by a “unit word” principle.
The alphabetic principle: first you allow any string of consonants and vowels, and then insert schwas after consonants or glottal stops between vowels wherever required to make the word pronounceable, or just easier to say.
Then the unit word principle: Every utterance to be used is grouped into unit words, which each have a beginning and an end, and contain a sequence of syllables (at least one).
Any unit word beginning with a vowel is equivalent to the same word with a glottal stop prefixed to it.
The final syllable is the main syllable of the word. Every syllable before it is a minor syllable.
For the end, if the last sound is a vowel, it is said long (a → a:).
Syllable stress is on the final syllable, or evenly spread across the syllables. It is less important than tone and vowel length.

In a transition from one word to another, where the second word begins with a vowel, or the first word ends with a vowel, the division must be made clear. This can be done via the extra length of a final vowel, a tone change, an inserted glottal stop, creaky voice on the vowel starting the second word, a stop consonant on the end of the first word not being released etc.

The native words do not have long vowels before the end, and only ever carry a non-mid tone on the first syllable. The equivalent rules for loanwords are a bit more flexible, and will be described later.

Due to these rules, the rhythm of Kot Wawa sentences can end up quite different to Toki Pona.