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Andoa Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

Welcome to our Andoa alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Andoa 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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Andoa Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Andoa pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e	y, ï, 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.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o			Like the aw in saw.
u	o	u ~ o	Like the u in flute. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the o in note.

Andoa 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	a, a	ã
ẽ	e, e	ĩ
ĩ	i, i	ĩ
õ	o, o
ũ	u, u	ũ

Andoa Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Andoa pronunciation:
ch	č	t	Like ch in child.
d		d	Like d in day.
j	h	h	Like h in hay.
k	g, c	k	Like k in king.
kw	qu	kw ~ k^w	Like qu in queen.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p	b	p	Like p in pine.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
s		s	Like s in see.
sh	š, x		Like sh in shell.
t	d	t	Like t in time.
ts		ts	Like ts in cats.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	, ?		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Andoa Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   The Amazonian Languages (Amazon affiliate link)
   Andoa words
   Andoa picture dictionary
   Zaparoans
   South American indigenous languages