Aikana Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Aikanã 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 ~ ə	Like the a in father. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the a in about.
e		ε	Like the e in get.
i		i	Like the i in police.
ö	o	ø	Like ö in German schön, similar to o in English note only pronounced in the front of the mouth.
u		u	Like u in flute.
ü	y	y	Like German ü, similar to u in English flute only pronounced in the front of the mouth.

Nasal Vowels

Nasal vowels don't exist in English, but you may be familiar with them from French (or from hearing people speak English with a French accent.) They are pronounced just like oral ("regular") vowels, only using your nose as well as your mouth. To English speakers, a nasal vowel often sounds like a vowel with a half-pronounced "n" at the end of it. You can hear examples of nasal vowels at the end of the French words "bon" and "Jean," or in the middle of the word "Français."

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:
ã	añ	ã
ẽ	εñ
ĩ	iñ	ĩ
ũ	uñ	ũ

Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b		b	Like b in boy.
d		d	Like d in day.
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu, k	k	Like k in key.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ñ	ny	ñ	Like ny in canyon.
p		p	Like p in park.
r		r	Like the rolling Spanish r.
s	z, c	s	Like the s in sun.
t		t	Like t in time.
ts	c	ts ~ t	Like ts in tsunami or ch in chair.
th			Like th in then.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
y		j ~	Like y in yes. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the zh in garage.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Aikana Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

Aikana picture dictionary
Arawakan language

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