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Toba Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

Welcome to our Toba alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Toba 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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Toba Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Toba pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	a:	a:	Like the a in father, only held longer.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate.
ee	e:	e:	Like the a in gate, only held longer.
i		i	Like the i in police.
ii	i:	i:	Like the i in police, only held longer.
o		o	Like the o in note.
oo	o:	o:	Like the o in note, only held longer.

Toba Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Toba pronunciation:
ch	č, c	t	Like ch in chair.
d		d	Like the d in day.
g		g	Like the g in gold.
g	G	G ~	This is a voiced uvular sound that does not exist in English. Some speakers pronounce it like a hard "g" sound pronounced in the back of the throat, while others pronounce it more like a French "r."
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
k	c, qu	k	Like the soft k in sky.
l		l	Like l in light.
ly	ʎ, ll	l^y	Like lli in million.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
ny	ñ	n^y	Like Spanish ñ, somewhat like ny in canyon.
p		p	Like the soft p in spy.
q		q	Like English "k," only pronounced further back in the throat.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
s	z, c	s	Like the s in sun.
sh	š, x		Like the sh in shell.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
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."

Toba Stress

With few exceptions, the last syllable of a Toba word is always stressed.

Toba Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Toba words
   Guaicuruan languages
   Native Americans of South America