Appendix:Wokuthízhű pronunciation
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The Wokuthízhű language has 26 consonants, 6 vowels and 3 glides.
Standard Romanization
| Letter | IPA | English example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | father | |
| b | b | bog | |
| ch | tʃ | watch | |
| ch' | tʃ’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| dh | ð | this | |
| e | e | bait | |
| f | f | food | |
| f' | f’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| i | i | machine | |
| j | dʒ | jog | |
| k | k | skill | This sound features no aspiration. Aspiration is the puff of air that occurs in the "k" in "key". Compare this with the "k" in "sky", which has no aspiration. |
| k' | k’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| l | l | left | |
| m | m | man | |
| n | n | no | |
| ng | ŋ | ring | |
| ny | ɲ | onion | |
| o | o | moat | |
| p | p | span | This sound features no aspiration. Aspiration is the puff of air that occurs in the "p" in "poke". Compare this with the "p" in "spoke", which has no aspiration. |
| p' | p’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| s | s | see | |
| sh | ʃ | sheep | |
| t | t̪ | — | Like the t in Spanish teléfono. The sound is pronounced with the tongue at the teeth and features no aspiration. Aspiration is the puff of air that occurs in the "t" in "take". Compare this with the "t" in "stake", which has no aspiration. |
| t' | t̪’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| th | θ | thin | |
| th' | θ’ | — | Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. |
| ts' | ts’ | — | Produced by saying ts as in "pits" while holding your breath. |
| u | u | rude | |
| ü | y | — | Like the i in "machine" pronounced with rounded lips. |
| v | v | voice | |
| w | w | wet | |
| y | j | yes | |
| ɥ | — | Like the y in "yes" pronounced with rounded lips. | |
| z | z | zoo | |
| zh | ʒ | casual |
Notes:
- Tone: High tone is marked with an acute accent over the vowel; a double acute accent is used in the case of ü, i.e. ű. An unmarked vowel has a low tone.
Phonetics
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ny [ɲ] | ng [ŋ] | ||
| Plosive | plain | p | t [t̪] | ch [tʃ] | k | |
| ejective | p' | t' [t̪’] | ts' | ch' [tʃ’] | k' | |
| voiced | b | j [dʒ] | ||||
| Fricative | plain | f | th [θ] | s | sh [ʃ] | |
| ejective | f' | th' [θ’] | ||||
| voiced | v | dh [ð] | z | zh [ʒ] | ||
| Approximant | w | l | y [j], [ɥ] | |||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i, ü [y] | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Tone
Wokuthízhű is a register tone language. Vowels take low or high tone.