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Aweti Pronunciation and Spelling Guide (Awiti)

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

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Aweti pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e		e	Like Spanish e, pronounced somewhat like the a in gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o ~	Like the o in note. In some dialects the Guaraní pronunciation sounds more like the au in caught.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
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.

Aweti 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	ą, añ	ã
ẽ	ę, eñ	ẽ
ĩ	į, iñ	ĩ
õ	, oñ	õ
ũ	ų, uñ	ũ
ỹ	ĩ, ïñ	ĩ

Aweti Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Aweti pronunciation:
ay	ai, aj	aj	Like the English word eye.
oy	oi, oj	oj	Like the oy in boy.

Aweti Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Aweti pronunciation:
h	j	h	Like the h in hay.
g		g	Like the g in go.
k	c, qu	k	Like the k in kite.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ng	g	ŋ	Like the ng in wing.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
r			Like a Spanish r, similar to the tt in English butter.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
ts		ts	Like the ts in cats.
w	hu, v	υ ~ w	This is an approximant v sound that doesn't exist in English. If you've ever heard Scandinavian languages such as Norwegian, Danish or Finnish being spoken, it is the same v sound from those languages. It sounds like a cross between a v and a w to English speakers. In some words it sounds more like the w in English way.
z		z ~	Like the z in zoo or the ge at the end of garage.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Aweti Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Aweti words
   Tupi Guarani language family
   Aweti culture