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Welcome to our Arikara alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Arikara orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Arikara pronunciation: |
a | ~ a | Like the a in what or the a in father. | |
aa | a | Like the a in father, only held longer. | |
e | ε | Like the e in get. | |
ee | e | Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate. | |
i | I | Like the i in hit. | |
ii | i | Like the ea in heat. | |
u | u | Like the u in flute. | |
uu | u | Like the u in flute, only held longer. |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Arikara pronunciation: |
č | ĉ, ch, c | t | Like ch in chair. |
h | h | Like h in heart. | |
k | k | Like k in skate. | |
n | n | Like n in night. | |
p | p | Like p in spill. | |
r | Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter. | ||
s | s | Like s in sing. | |
š | ŝ, sh | Like sh in shell. | |
t | t | Like t in sty. | |
ts | ts | Like the ts in tsunami. | |
w | w | Like w in way. | |
x | ch, kh | x | Guttural sound that doesn't exist in English. Like ch in German ach. |
’ | A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh." |
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