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Tarahumara Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

Welcome to our Tarahumara alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Tarahumara orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.

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Tarahumara Vowels

Character
We Use:
Sometimes
Also Used:
IPA symbol: Tarahumara pronunciation:
a    a Like the a in father.
aa  a:  a Like a only held longer.
e    e Like the e in bet or the a in bat.
ee  e:  e Like e only held longer.
i    i Like the i in police.
ii  i:  i Like i only held longer.
o    o Like the o in note.
oo  o:  o Like o only held longer.
u   o ~ u Like the u in flute.
uu  u:  u Like u only held longer.

Tarahumara Consonants

Character
We Use:
Sometimes
Also Used:
IPA symbol: Tarahumara pronunciation:
b  p  b ~ p Like b in bar or p in par.
ch  c, ts  ts Like ts in cats.
h  j  h Like h in hay.
k  g, k, c, qu  g ~ k Like g in gate or k in skate.
m    m Like m in moon.
n    n Like n in night.
p    p Like the soft p in spy.
r    r ~ l Like r in right or l in light.
s  z  s Like s in see.
t  d  d ~ t Like d in day or t in stay.
w    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."

Tarahumara Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Tarahumara Indian words
   Tarahumara picture dictionary
   Uto-Aztecan Indians
   Tribes of the Southwest
   Mexico Native languages

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