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Tlahuica Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Tlahuica 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	Like a only held longer.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate.
ee	e:	ε	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		u	Like the u in flute.
y	i, ü	i	Somewhat like the u in lettuce... like i but further back in the throat.

˜Glottalized Vowels

All ten Tlahuica vowel sounds can also be given a glottalized pronunciation. To English or Spanish speakers, glottalized Tlahuica vowels sound guttural or creaky. Vowel glottalization does not appear to be phonemic in Tlahuica and rarely if ever changes the meaning of a word. However, glottalization is frequently represented in orthographies, either by drawing a slash through the vowel or by writing a small glottal symbol above or beside it, like this:

ø
ỏ
o

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
b		b	Like the b in boy.
ch	ch	t	Like ch in chair.
d		d	Like the d in day.
g		g	Like the g in gate.
j		h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like the k in key.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ñ		n^y	Like Spanish ñ, somewhat 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	z, c	s	Like the s in sun.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
ts	tz	ts	Like ts in cats.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
x	sh		Like sh in shell.
y		j	Like y in yes).
z		z	Like z in zoo).
’			A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

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