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Baniva del Guainia Pronunciation and Spelling (Avani, Ayane)

Welcome to our Baniva alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Baniva del Guainia 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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Baniva Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Baniva pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	a·, a:	a	Like a only held longer.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate.
ee	e·, e:	e	Like e only held longer.
i		i	Like the i in police.
ii	i·, i:	i	Like i only held longer.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u·, u:	u	Like u only held longer.

Baniva Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Baniva pronunciation:
b		b	Like b in boy.
d		d	Like d in day.
dz		dz	Like the ds in Edsel.
g	gu	g	Like the g in go.
j	h	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like the k in king.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the p in pin.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
sr			This sound does not exist in English. It sounds a little like the sh of shell, only pronounced with the tongue curled back. If you are familiar with Russian, this is the dark "sh" sound used in Russian.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
ts		ts	Like the ts in cats.
w	gu, hu	w	Like w in way.
y		j	Like y in yes.
zr			This sound does not exist in English. It sounds a little like the ge of garage, only pronounced with the tongue curled back. If you are familiar with Russian, this is the "zh" sound used in Russian.

Baniva Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Baniva vocabulary
   Baniva picture dictionary
   Baniva alphabet and pronunciation
   The Arawak language family
   Languages of the Amazon