Guajiro Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

˜Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	a·	a	Like a only held longer.
e		ε	Like the e in get.
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.
o		o ~	Like the o in so or the aw in saw.
oo	o·, o:	o~	Like o only held longer.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u·, u:	u	Like u only held longer.
ü	i, 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.
üü	ii, yy	i	Like ü only held longer.

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
j	h	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
l	r		Similar to the ll in English bellow, only pronounced more quickly (so that the tongue only flaps once against the top of the mouth.)
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ñ		ny	Like ny in canyon.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
r	rr	r	Like the rolling r in Spanish rojo.
s		s	Like s in sun.
sh	x		Like sh in shell.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
v	b	β	Like v only pronounced between the two lips, as in Spanish navidad.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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