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Candoshi Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

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

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Candoshi pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	a·, a:	a	Like a only held longer.
i		i	Like the i in police.
ia	e	e	Like the a in gate.
ii	i·, i:	i	Like i only held longer.
o		o	Like the o in note.
oo	o·, o:, uu	o	Like o only held longer.
u		u	Like the u in flute.

Candoshi Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Candoshi pronunciation:
b	mb, mp	^mb	A nasalized b sound, a little like the one in ember.
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
d	nd, nt	ⁿd	A nasalized d sound, a little like the one in under.
g	ng, nk	^ŋg	A nasalized g sound, like the ng in finger.
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
ll	j, nj, nch, ñ	ⁿd	A nasalized j sound, a little like the one in ninja.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
nts	nds, dz	ⁿdz	A nasalized ds sound, a little like the one in hands.
nx	zh, nzh	ⁿʐ	This sound does not exist in English or Spanish. It is a nasalized retroflex z sound, a little like the nge in French melange.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
s		s	Like s in see.
sh	x		Like sh in shell.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
ts	tz	ts	Like the ts in tsunami.
v	hu, w	w ~ β	Like w in way. Sometimes if is pronounced more like the bilabial v sound in Spanish navidad.
x	ch, chr	tʂ	This sound does not exist in English or Spanish. It is a retroflex ch sound like the cz of Polish.
y		j	Like y in yes.
z	sh, shr	ʂ	This sound does not exist in English or Spanish. It is a retroflex s sound like the sz of Polish.
’	h		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Candoshi Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Candoshi words
   Candoshi picture dictionary
   Candoshi-Shapra numbers
   Arawak language family