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Baniwa Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

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

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Baniwa pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	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.

Baniwa Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Baniwa pronunciation:
b		b	Like b in boy.
d		d	Like d in day.
dz	ds, j	dz~d	Like ds in Edsel or j in jar.
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like the soft k in ski.
kh		k^h	Like the hard k in key.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ñ		n^y	Like ny in canyon.
p		p	Like the soft p in spy.
ph		p^h	Like the hard p in pie.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
rr	r	r	Like the rolling r in Spanish perro.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
th		t^h	Like the hard t in tar.
ts	ch	ts~t	Like ts in cats or ch in chair.
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."

Baniwa Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   La lengua Baniwa (Amazon affiliate link)
   Baniwa vocabulary
   Baniwa picture dictionary
   Amazon language
   Arawak people