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Apalai Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Apalai spellings 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 Spanish e, somewhat like the a in gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o	Like the o in note.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
y	i, ü	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.

˜Nasal Vowels

Nasal vowels don't really 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	eñ
ĩ	iñ	ĩ
õ	oñ	õ
ũ	uñ	ũ
	ĩ, yñ	ĩ

˜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	’		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."
H	h	h	Like h in hay.
j	y, i	j	Like y in yes.
k	c, qu	k	Like the soft k in sky.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the soft p in spin.
r			Like the tt in English butter.
s		s	Like the s in sun.
x	š, sh		Like the sh in shell.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
w	u	w	Like w in way.
z		z	Like the z in zoo.

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