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Akawaio Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

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

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Akawaio Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Akawaio pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e	ee	e ~ ε	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate. In an unstressed syllable it is often pronounced more like the e in get.
i	ii	i ~ I	Like the i in police. In an unstressed syllable it is sometimes pronounced more like the i in bit.
ï	y, i	i	This sound does not exist in English. It sounds like the i in police only pronounced further back in the mouth. If you've ever heard a Slavic language like Russian or Polish being spoken, it is the same "dark i" sound from those languages.
o	oo	o ~	Like o in note. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the au in naughty.
ö		ø ~ ə	Somewhat like the ay in say, only pronounced with rounded lips. This is the same ö sound used in German. In an unstressed syllable it is often pronounced more like the a in about.
u	uu	u	Like u in flute. In an unstressed syllable it is sometimes pronounced more like the u in put.

Akawaio Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Akawaio pronunciation:
ai	ay	aj	Like English eye.
au		aw	Like ow in cow.
ei	ey	ej	Like ay in say.
oi	oy	j	Like oy in English boy.

Akawaio Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Akawaio pronunciation:
b		b	Like b in boy.
ch		t	Like ch in cheese.
d		d	Like d in day.
g		g	Like g in good.
j		d	Like j in jar.
k	c, qu	k	Like the soft k sound in English ski.
kw	qu	kw	Like qu in queen.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ñ		n	Like ny in canyon.
ng		ŋ	Like ng in sing.
p		p	Like the soft p in spin.
r	l		Similar to the ll in English bellow, only pronounced more quickly (so that the tongue only flaps once against the top of the mouth.)
s		s	Like the s in sun.
sh			Like sh in shell.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
y		j	Like y in yes.
z		z	Like the z in zoo.
zh	rr		Like the ge at the end of garage.
’	, ?, k		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Akawaio Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   An introduction to Akawaio and Arekuna (Amazon affiliate link)
   Akawaio dictionary
   Akawaio animals
   Venezuela tribes
   Carib culture
   Kapon