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Yaqui Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Yaqui spellings 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. In English, it is midway between the vowel sounds in met and mate.
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		u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u·	u	Like u only held longer.

˜Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
bw	bu, b	b^w	Like English b only with the lips rounded--similar to the b in boo.
ch	č, c	t	Like ch in chair.
h		h	Like h in hay.
k		k	Like the soft k in sky.
kt	tk		A little like the ct in act, but in Yaqui, the k and t sounds are double-articulated--pronounced simultaneously. This is very difficult for English speakers to pronounce correctly. Try arranging the back of your tongue as if you are about to say a k and the front of your tongue as if you are about to say a t, then pronouncing both at the same time.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m ~	Like m in moon. At the end of a sentence or phrase, it is pronounced more breathily.
n		n ~	Like n in night. At the end of a sentence or phrase, it is pronounced more breathily.
p		p	Like the soft p in spy.
r			Like r in ring.
s		s	Like s in see.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
v	b	v ~ β	Like v in vine, or the v in Spanish navidad.
w	gu, g	w ~ g^w	Like w in way, or the gu in Spanish guapo.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	?, h		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

˜Stress

Yaqui has less pronounced word stress than English does. In English, unstressed vowels are often weakened to schwas, which makes the stress sound very strong. (An example of this is the word "rebel." When "rebel" is a noun, the stress is on the first syllable and the word is pronounced REH-bəl. When "rebel" is a verb, the stress is on the second syllable and the word is pronounced rə-BELL.) But in Yaqui, all vowels are pronounced fully regardless of stress. If you weaken an unstressed vowel to a schwa you may change the meaning of the word, so be careful not to do this!

Although stress is less pronounced than it is in English, it is still present. Generally speaking, the stress is on the first long vowel of a Yaqui word, or in a word with no long vowels, on the first syllable of the word.

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