American Indian languages American Indian tribes Indian kids

Zaparo Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

Welcome to our Zaparo alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Zaparo orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.

Sponsored Links

Zaparo Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Zaparo pronunciation:
a		a ~ æ	Like the a in father. Sometimes the Zaparo pronunciation sounds more like the a in cat.
e	y, ï, i	i	This sound does not exist in English. It sounds like the i in police only pronounced further back in the mouth. If you've ever heard a Slavic language like Russian or Polish being spoken, it is the same "dark i" sound from those languages.
i		i	Like the i in police.
u	o	u ~ o	Like the u in flute. Sometimes the Zaparo pronunciation sounds more like the o in note.

Zaparo Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	Zaparo pronunciation:
ch	č	t	Like ch in child.
j	h	h	Like h in hay.
k	g, c	k	Like k in king.
kw	qu	kw ~ k^w	Like qu in queen.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p	b	p	Like p in pine.
r			Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter.
s		s	Like s in see.
sh	š, x		Like sh in shell.
t	d	t	Like t in time.
ts		ts	Like ts in cats.
w	hu, v	w ~ β	Like w in way. Before i it is pronounced like the bilabial v in Spanish navidad instead.
y		j	Like y in yes.
’	, ?		A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

Zaparo Indian Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Záparo words
   Zaparo picture dictionary
   The Zaparo alphabet
   Zaparoan language