Huasteco Maya 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·, a:, ā	a	Like a only held longer.
e		e	Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate.
ee	e, e·, e:, ē	e	Like e only held longer.
i	y	i	Like the i in police.
ii	i, i·, i:, ī	i	Like i only held longer.
o		o	Like the o in note.
oo	o, o·, o:, ō	o	Like o only held longer.
u	v	u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u, u·, u:, ū	u	Like u only held longer.

˜Diphthongs

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b	b'	b ~ б	Like b in boy. Many Maya speakers pronounce this sound implosively, as if they were 'swallowing' the b sound, similar to the way b is pronounced in Vietnamese. At the end of a word this sound often is not pronounced at all.
c	k, qu	k	As in the Spanish alphabet (from which the Huastec alphabet was adapted), both qu and c can represent the k sound in English key.
c'	q'u, k, qu',		Like c, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
ch	č, tch	t	Like ch in chair.
ch'	č', 'ch	t	Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
cu	qu, kw	kw	Like qu in queen.
hu	u, w, gu, v, vu	w	Like w in way.
j	h	h ~ x	Like h in hay. Sometimes it is pronounced more raspily, like the the j in Spanish jalapeño.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
p'	pp		Like p, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
qu	k, c	k	As in the Spanish alphabet (from which the Huasteco alphabet was adapted), both qu and c can represent the k sound in English key.
q'u	k', qu', c',		Like qu, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
r	rr		Like Spanish r, somewhat like the tt in English butter.
s		s	Like the s in sun.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
t'	tt		Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
ts	tz, tx, ¢	ts	Like ts in cats.
ts'	tz', , ¢', 'tz	t	Like ts, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
x	š, sh		Like sh in shell.
y	i	j	Like y in yes.
z	th, s, d, θ	θ	Like the th in think.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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