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Achi Mayan Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Achi orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.

˜Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e		e	Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o	Like the o in note.
u	v	u	Like the u in flute.

˜Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
ay	ai	aj	Like English eye.
ey	ei	ej	Like ey in English they.
oy	oi	oj	Like oy in English boy.
uy	ui	uj	like the uoy in English buoy.

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b'	b	б	Like b in boy, only implosive. To English speakers, it sounds as if Maya speakers are 'swallowing' the b sound, similar to the way b is pronounced in Vietnamese.
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
ch'	č', chh, 'ch	t	Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
h	j	h	Like the h in hay.
j	h, x	x	Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeño.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
k'	c', q'u, qu', , 'c		Like k, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
l		l ~	Like l in light. In some dialects this sound is flapped, like the ll in English bellow* only pronounced more quickly (so that the tongue only flaps once against the top of the mouth.)*
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
q	k	q	Like k only pronounced further back in the throat. This is the same sound as the q in Arabic.
q'	k', , 'k		Like q, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
r			Like Spanish r, somewhat like the tt in English butter.
s		s	Like the s in sun.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
t'	tt		Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
tz	ts, ¢	ts	Like ts in cats.
tz'	ts', , ¢', 'tz	t	Like tz, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
w		w	Like w in way.
x	š, sh		Like sh in shell.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	7		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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