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Cashinahua Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Cashinahua orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.

˜Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e	i, ë, ï, y	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.
i		i	Like the i in police.
u	o	~ o	Like the u in put. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the o in note.

˜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:
an	ã	ã
en	ẽ	ĩ
in	ĩ	ĩ
un	õ	õ

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b	v	b	Like b in boy.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
d	r	d ~	Like d in day. Between two vowels, it is pronounced like the tt in American English butter.
j	h	h	Like h in hand.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
s		s	Like s in sun.
t		t	Like t in tie.
ts	tz	ts	Like ts in cats.
v	w	w~ β	Like w in way. Sometimes it is pronounced more like the bilabial v in Spanish navidad.
x	sh, shr	~ ʂ	Like sh in shell, or a retroflex sh sound like the sz of Polish.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	, ?		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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