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Welcome to our Tojolabal alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Tojolabal Maya 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: | Tojolabal pronunciation: |
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. |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Tojolabal pronunciation: |
ay | ai | aj | Like English eye. |
ey | ei | ej | Like ey in English they. |
oy | oi | oj | Like oy in English boy. |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Tojolabal pronunciation: |
b | b ~ б | Like b in boy. Many Maya speakers pronounce this sound implosively, as if they were 'swallowing' the b sound, similar to the way b is pronounced in Vietnamese. At the end of a word this sound often is not pronounced at all. | |
ch | č | t | Like ch in chair. |
ch' | č', chh, 'ch | t | Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
h | j | h | Like h in hay. |
j | h | x | Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeño. |
k | c, qu | k | Like k in key. |
k' | c', q'u, qu', , 'c | Like k, 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. | |
p | p | Like the p in pie. | |
p' | pp | Like p, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) | |
s | s | Like the s in sun. | |
t | t | Like the t in tell. | |
t' | tt | Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) | |
ts | tz, ¢ | ts | Like ts in cats. |
ts' | tz', , ¢', 'tz | t | Like ts, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
w | u, hu | w | Like w in way. |
x | š, sh | Like sh in shell. | |
y | j | Like y in yes. | |
’ | A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh." |
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