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Yukpa Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

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

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Yukpa pronunciation:
a		a	Like the a in father.
e		e	Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate.
i		i	Like the i in police.
o		o	Like o in note.
u		u	Like u in flute.
ü	y, ï, u	i~	This sound does not exist in English. It sounds like the i in police only pronounced further back in the mouth. Examples of such sounds in Eurasian languages include the "dark i" of Russian or the undotted ı of Turkish.

Yukpa Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Yukpa pronunciation:
ai	ay	aj	Like English eye.
au		aw	Like ow in cow.
ei	ey	ej	Like ay in say.

Yukpa Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Yukpa pronunciation:
ch		t	Like ch in cheese.
h	j	h	Like h in hay.
j	x	x	Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeno.
k	c, qu	k	Like the soft k sound in English ski.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the soft p in spin.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
s		s	Like the s in sun.
sh			Like sh in shell.
t		t	Like the soft t in star.
ts		ts	Like the ts in tsunami.
v	w, b	β ~ b	Like v only pronounced between the two lips, as Spanish speakers pronounce navidad. Sometimes it is pronounced more like b in boy, especially before the vowel o.
w	hu	w	Like w in way.
y		j	Like y in yes.

Yukpa Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Yukpa words
   Yukpa picture dictionary
   The Cariban tribes