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Damana Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

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

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Damana pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o	Like the o in note.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
u	ə, i, ü, ï	ə ~ i	Like the a in English about. Sometimes it is pronounced higher in the mouth, like the Russian "dark i" sound.

Damana Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Damana pronunciation:
b		b ~ β	Like b in boy. Between vowels it is often pronounced like the bilabial v in Spanish navidad.
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
d		d	Like the d in day.
g		g ~	Like the g in girl. Between vowels it is often pronounced like the raspy g in Spanish saguaro.
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like the k in kiss.
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.
rr	r	r	Like the rolling rr in Spanish perro.
s		s	Like s in sun.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
w		w	Like w in way.
y	j	d	Like j in jar.
zh	ž		Like the ge in garage.

Damana Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Wiwa words
   Damana picture dictionary
   The Chibchan languages