Indian languages Indian tribes What's new on our site today!

Quapaw Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Quapaw spellings we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites. You may also like to visit our Sioux Languages homepage to see how Quapaw relates to other languages from the Siouan family.

˜Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in English gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o	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, ą, aN	ã
iⁿ	ĩ, į, iN	ĩ
oⁿ	õ, , oN	õ

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b		b	Like b in bill.
č	c, ch, ć	t	An unaspirated, 'soft' ch sound, like the ch in filching or the t in vulture.
čh	ch	t^h	An aspirated, 'hard' ch sound, like the one in chair.
č'	č’, c'	t'	Like ch in char, but with a catch after it (like ch'ar).
čč		č	Like the č, only held longer and/or pronounced higher-pitched.
d		d ~ d	Like d in English die. Sometimes it sounds more like a combination of d and the th in other.
g	, gh, ğ		Like the raspy g in Spanish saguaro..
h	x	h~x	Like h in hay.
k		k	Like the unaspirated k in ski..
kh		k^h	Like the aspirated k in key.
k'	k’	k'	Like k in key, but with a catch after it (like k'ey).
kk		k	Like the k, only held longer and/or pronounced higher-pitched.
m		m	Like m in English moon.
n		n	Like n in English night.
p		p	Like the unaspirated p in spin.
ph		p^h	Like the aspirated p in pin.
pp		p	Like the p, only held longer and/or pronounced higher-pitched.
s		s	Like s in so.
s'	s	s'	Like s in so, but with a catch after it (like s'o.)
š	c, sh		Like sh in show.
š'	c', sh'	'	Like sh in show, but with a catch after it (like sh'ow.)
t		t	Like the unaspirated t in sty.
th		t^h	Like the aspirated t in tie.
t'	t’, ţ	t'	Like t in tie, but with a catch after it (like t'ie).
tt		t	Like the t, only held longer and/or pronounced higher-pitched.
w		w	Like w in English way.
x		x	Guttural sound that doesn't exist in English. Like ch in German ach.
x'	'	x'	Like ch in German ach, but with a catch after it.
z		z	Like z in zoo.
ž	zh, j		Like a French j. In English, you can hear this sound at the end of words like garage.
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Back to the Amerindian language homepage
Back to Native American Pronunciation
Learn more about the Quapaw Indian tribe.

Native Americans Wampanoag history Shinnecock Indians Cayuga language Indian dwellings

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages?