The Austroasiatic languages are further characterized as having unusually large vowel inventories and employing some sort of register contrast, either between modal (normal) voice and breathy (lax) voice or between modal voice and creaky voice.
ðɪ ˌɔːstɹoʊsɪˈæɾɪk lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz ɑːɹ fˈɜːðɚ kˈæɹɪktɚɹˌaɪzd æz hˌævɪŋ ʌnjˈuːʒuːəli lˈɑːɹdʒ vˈaʊəl ˈɪnvəntˌoːɹiz ænd ɛmplˈɔɪɪŋ sˌʌm sˈɔːɹt ʌv ɹˈɛdʒɪstɚ kˈɑːntɹæst, ˈiːðɚ bᵻtwˌiːn mˈoʊdəl nˈoːɹməl vˈɔɪs ænd bɹˈɛθi lˈæks vˈɔɪs ɔːɹ bᵻtwˌiːn mˈoʊdəl vˈɔɪs ænd kɹˈiːki vˈɔɪs.