The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, with the Italian sounds. All of these
vowels may be long or short, the long sound being represented by a
doubling of the vowel. Closed syllables do not occur, and every word
ends with a vowel. The vowel o in Lau frequently represents a in
Sa'a: _fou_ rock, Sa'a _hau_; _finau_ hook, Sa'a _hinou_; _loulou_
quick, Sa'a _lauleu_. Where in Sa'a a changes to e in certain words
after a preceding i or u, no such change is made in Lau in the same
words: _ia_ fish, Sa'a _i'e_; _ua_ still, Sa'a _ue_; _i asi_ at sea,
Sa'a i _'esi_.

The diphthongs are ae, ai, ao, eu, ei, ou, as in _sae_, _mai_,
_rao_, _dau_, _mei_, _fou_, pronounced, respectively, as in the
English words eye, iron, hour, how, hey, oh.

The consonants are f, k, g; d, t; b; q, gw; l, r; s; m; mw; n, ng.

The f replaces an h in Sa'a: _fera_ village, Sa'a _hera_ courtyard;
_fuli fera_ village, Sa'a _huli_ bed, _huli nume_ site of house.
The sound represented by f often approximates to v.

Both k and g are hard. The Melanesian g is not heard; as in Sa'a, it
has been dropped in certain words, _ia_ fish, but there is no
noticeable break in the pronunciation. In certain other words this g
is replaced by k: _take_, to stand. Mota _sage_, Sa'a _ta'e_. The g
in Lau may replace a k in Sa'a: _igera_ they, Sa'a _ikire_. A g also
appears in personal pronoun plural 1, excl., where Sa'a has a break:
_igami_ we, Sa'a _i'emi_. A g may also replace an h in Sa'a: _luga_
to loose, Sa'a _luhe_.