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Kaqchikel Maya Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Kaqchikel spellings 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.
ä	a, y, i	ə ~ i	In some dialects it is pronounced like the a in about. In others, it is pronounced higher in the mouth like the "dark i" sound of Russian or Polish.
e		e	Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate.
ë	e	ε ~ ə ~ e	Like e in get. Most Kaqchikel dialects pronounce this sound the same as ä or e, and even Kaqchikel speakers who do pronounce this sound distinctly often spell it as "e."
i		i	Like the i in police.
ï	i	I ~ i	Like the i in hit. In some dialects this sound is pronounced the same as the i sound.
o		o	Like the o in note.
ö	o	~ o	Like the au in caught. In some dialects this sound is pronounced the same as the o sound.
u	v	u	Like the u in flute.
ü	v	U	Like the u in put.

˜Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
ay	ai	aj	Like English eye.
ey	ei	ej	Like ey in English they.
oy	oi	oj	Like oy in English boy.
uy	ui	uj	like the uoy in English buoy.

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b'	b	б	Like b in boy, only implosive. To English speakers, it sounds as if Maya speakers are '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.
ch		t	Like ch in chair.
ch'	chh	t	Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
h	j	h ~ x	Like h in hay. Some speakers pronounce it more raspily, like the j in Spanish jalapeño.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
k'	k,		Like k, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
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.
r			Like Spanish r, somewhat like the tt in English butter.
q		q	Like k only pronounced further back in the throat. This is the same sound as the q in Arabic.
q'	k,		Like q, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
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.)
tz	ts	ts	Like ts in cats.
tz'	ts', dz,	t	Like tz, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
w	b, v	w ~ b ~ β	Usually like w in way, but in some dialects it is pronounced like b in boy or the bilabial v in Spanish navidad instead.
x	š, sh		Like sh in shell.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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