Indian language Native Indian nations What's new on our site today!

Sacapulteco Mayan Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Sacapulteco orthography 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.
aa	a·, a:	a	Like a only held longer.
e		e	Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate.
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 note.
oo	o·, o:	o	Like o only held longer.
u	v	u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u·, u:	u	Like u only held longer.

˜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.
ch	č	t	Like ch in chair.
ch'	č'	t	Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
j		x	Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeño.
k	c, qu	k	Like k in key.
k'	c', q'u, qu',		Like k, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
ky	cy	k^j	Like c in cute.
ky'	cy'	k	Like ky, 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.
nh	ŋ, ñ	ŋ	Like ng in sing.
q		q	Like k only pronounced further back in the throat. This is the same sound as the q in Arabic.
q'			Like q, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
r			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'			Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
tz	ts, ¢	ts	Like ts in cats.
tz'	ts', , ¢'	t	Like tz, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
x	š		Like sh in shell.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	7		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Back to the Native Indian Culture homepage
Back to Indian Words
Back to Major Languages of Guatemala

American Indian artists Indiana Muncie Native Indian tattoos

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