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Welcome to our Shuar alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Shuar orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Shuar pronunciation: |
a | a | Like the a in father. | |
e | |
Like the i in police, only pronounced further back in the throat. If you've ever heard a Slavic language like Russian or Polish being spoken, it is the same "dark i" sound from those languages. | |
i | i | Like the i in police. | |
u | u | Like the u in flute. |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: |
ã | ą, añ | ã |
ẽ | ę, eñ | |
ĩ | į, iñ | ĩ |
ũ | ų, uñ | ũ |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Shuar pronunciation: |
ch | č | t![]() |
Like ch in chair. |
j | h | h ~ x | Like h in hay. Sometimes the Shuar pronunciation sounds more raspy, like the j in Spanish jalapeño. |
k | c, qu | k | Like k in key. |
m | m | Like m in moon. | |
n | n | Like n in night. | |
ng | ŋ | Like ng in sing. | |
ñ | ny | ñ | Like ny in canyon. |
p | p | Like the p in pie. | |
r | ![]() |
Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter. | |
s | s | Like s in see. | |
sh | x | ![]() |
Like sh in shell. |
t | t | Like the t in tell. | |
ts | ts | Like the ts in tsunami. | |
w | hu | w | Like w in way. |
y | j | Like y in yes. | |
’ | ![]() |
A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh." |
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