The following is an attempt to explain every letter (and letter combination) in the Kumeyaay alphabet as used in this site and in the publications of Ted Couro, Margaret Langdon, and all the others who use their orthography. While it is best to learn the actual pronunciation by listening to native Kumeyaay speech, this guide will simply help you understand which sound(s) each letter is supposed to represent.
Note that this is just one of the proposed orthographies for Kumeyaay, and there is no one "official" or "correct" way to spell things. Once you understand how this orthography is intended to work, you can use it to spell any word in any Kumeyaay dialect based on the sounds you hear. |
The Kumeyaay Alphabet
Letter
|
Description
|
a
|
a is much like the Spanish a in words like manzana. The sound in the words cot and bot is similar, but there is no exact English equivalent.
In some cases, the "a" can sound more like "e" as in elephant, like in the words tenarr "has" and kwash "brown". This might be because when you make an "a" and close your mouth slightly, it becomes an "e". You'll have to hear native speech to know which words have an "a" that sounds more like an "e". Not all speakers might pronounce these a's like e's, so the word is still written with an "a". A similar vowel shift of "a" to "e" is sometimes seen in Arabic. |
aa
|
aa has the same sound as the Spanish a but with twice the length of a short a. Practice holding long vowels for a longer period of time, while not changing the stress: Nyaapúm. (The "aa" sound should be twice as long as the "u")
|
ay
|
ay is the combination of a + i, much like in the word ice, but with a "deeper" a sound. When said quickly, it can sometimes sound like e + i as in the word hey! However, it is usually somewhere in between "Height" and "Hey", so it is best to imitate how native speakers say words like 'iipay "people".
|
aay
|
aay is the long version of ay, and it will always have the low a sound, followed by y, similar to the word "I". For example, the word saay sounds like "sigh", and maay sounds like "my".
|
b
|
b is the same as English, only found in loan words.
|
ch
|
Same as in chip but with caveats: The Kumeyaay ch tends to be "softer" than the English sound in that the mouth is often not as constricted, so the ch is not as loud or as harsh-sounding as it is in English. It can sound very light at the end of words, where it is common, often sounding more like its voiced version, /d͡ʒ/ as in judge. This is why 'enyaach often sounds more like 'enyaaj or 'enyaage.
In fast speech, -ch can be further reduced, sounding like j, d, g, or just a slight constriction at the end of a word. This is supposedly allowed if -ch is a suffix, but not if it is part of the root word. |
d
|
d is the same as in English, found in loan words.
|
e
|
e is the shwa /ə/, the neutral-sounding "default" vowel found in most unstressed syllables. It sometimes sounds like the "e" in met, but most often sounds like our English shwa in approach, assume. The same sound you make when you open your mouth and say "uhhh..."
Sometimes, e sounds like a specific vowel other than a normal shwa, and its sound can be predicted in the following cases: e sounds like "ee" as in see when it precedes a y: weyuuw (wee-yow), 'eyuuchaap (ee-yoo-chaap) e sound like "i" as in infant when before ny: 'enyehatt (in-ya-hatt) and between ch and p like in chepesii (chip-uh-see) and chephuk (chip-hook). It can be argued that in cases like the one above, the shwa "e" should be written as the vowel it actually sounds like: chipesii instead of chepesii. Indeed, you are free to make such modifications to your spelling if you feel they are helpful. However, there are various grammatical reasons why the shwa "e" is used to stand in for what sounds like other vowels. For one, in this orthography, the "e" is the only vowel that can be deleted from within a word when a prefix is added: sepir "is strong" becomes kuspir "the strong one". If it was spelled sapir, one might not know that the "a" is a shwa and can be deleted through prefixation. The letter e is also used as a filler vowel between words and their affixes: yip "hears" becomes meyip "you hear". If we changed the spelling to miyip (closer to how it sounds), a reader might be confused and think that the i in "mi" is part of the root word. Plus, it would make prefixation rules a lot more complicated than they currently are. While the current orthography has room for improvement, we should understand why things are spelled the way they are before rushing to change them. |
ee
|
ee is a long "e" sound like in the word "end". It usually represents the Spanish "e" sound in loan words. Oftentimes, what sounds like an "e" is written as an "a". This is because Kumeyaay's "true" native vowels are a, i, u; and "e" is seen as simply a slightly distorted "a".
|
f
|
f as in fish, only in loan words.
|
g
|
g as in gopher, only in loan words.
|
h
|
h in Kumeyaay is a velar fricative, similar to Spanish j in jamás, stronger and harsher than the English h. You can make it with a slight constriction in the back of the mouth. This sound is written as x in Tiipay.
Kumeyaay words like aa "his mouth" and etuu "his stomach" which start with a vowel with no glottal stop can sometimes sound like they begin with the breathy English "h" sound. Through listening, you will find that the actual h sound in Kumeyaay is quite distinct. |
hw
|
h followed by w, or a "breathy" w, like some east coast speakers say in the words "white", "why", etc. You can compare it to the "ju" sound in Tijuana, with an "h" that is somewhat harsh.
|
i
|
i is similar to the English i in the words "spit", "lick", etc.
|
iy
|
iy is a short sound like the single i, but always sounds like "ee" as in see, key, etc.
Ex: 'ekwiy "rain", pronounced "uh-KWEE" |
ii
|
The long ii sounds like "ee" in bean, seed, lead.
|
iiy
|
iiy is like ii but sounds more like (but not exactly like) the diphthong in say, they.
|
k
|
k as in stick or skittle. Kumeyaay vowels are not aspirated, which means there is no strong puff of air that goes with the "k" sound as in the English words kite, cat. It is instead more like how you would say copa in Spanish.
|
kw
|
kw is the same as "qu" in English: quick, queen. This of course means that "qu" in Kumeyaay does not sound the same as "qu" in English!
While all k's in Kumeyaay are technically voiceless (there is no voiced velar stop, or "g" sound, except in loan words), when said quickly or in certain environments, a "k" might turn out sounding like a "g". Thus why kwa'tay (the big one, in certain dialects) can come out sounding like guatay. It should still be spelled with a "k" considering there is no native "g". |
l
|
l as in lake, lie, etc.
|
ll
|
ll is known as the voiceless "lateral fricative". This sound is like a voiceless "l", made by placing your tongue at the roof of your mouth, as if to make an "l", and blowing. The air flowing around the sides of your tongue makes the sound heard in wellich "bad".
|
ly
|
ly is l + y, like the sound in William or "well yeah". May occur at the end of words like mes-haapuuly "fly", where the "y" may not be fully heard, but the "l" will sound different as a result of you positioning your mouth to make the "ly" sound. In such words, the full "ly" sound will likely come out if the word is followed by another word beginning with a vowel.
|
lly
|
lly is like "ll", but with more constriction. Make the same shape in your mouth as for "ly", but blow with no voice. You can also make an "ll" with a "y" at the end. Mellya'am. You can do it!
|
m
|
m is the same as in man, mom, etc.
|
n
|
The single n is dental, made with your tongue against the back of your upper teeth or even slightly under them. Similar to a Spanish n.
|
nn
|
The double nn is more like a regular "n" in English nail, made with your tongue against the alveolar ridge, the front top part of your mouth behind your teeth. Native Kumeyaay speakers are able to tell the subtle difference between the sounds "n" and "nn", giving rise to distinctions such as weman "flies" and wemann "gets up". Nn is less common than n, and is very rare at the beginning of words.
|
ny
|
ny is like Spanish ñ, or the sound in canyon. Like "ly", it can come at the end of words like siny "woman", where the "y" part is not very distinct, and mainly comes out when it is followed by another sound, especially a vowel. However, a native speaker would still be able to tell the difference between n and ny, so ny will always sound slightly different.
|
o
|
o is like in Spanish: hola. It is rare in Kumeyaay, which seems to prefer u, a sound between Latin u and o. It is not like the English o, which is really more of a diphthong: we tend to say "ohw" instead of a pure "o", like in Spanish. The English "o" sound in Pope is spelled "uw" (see below).
|
oo
|
oo is the same "o" but stretched out for twice the length. Imagine a Spanish speaker saying "Noooo.."
Langdon's description in the 1973 dictionary compared this sound to that in "caught", but to modern English speakers in southern California, that word has a totally different sound. In Ted Couro's recordings, "oo" sounds pretty much like a long Spanish "o". |
p
|
p like in spit, or the "p" in Spanish. Do not aspirate!
|
q
|
q is like "k", but with your tongue touching further back in your mouth. Seen in languages like Quechua and Arabic. Langdon said this rare sound was only "unambiguous" in one of her Kumeyaay consultants (probably Christina Hutcheson), which may indicate that it was already fading out of the language. However, we can preserve it in the instances where it was recorded to the best of our ability.
Note that the "q" does NOT combine with "u" to make the English "qu" sound. A "u" after "q" will be its own vowel: equll "is long". |
r
|
Like the English r in truck, roar. Maybe not exactly the same, but very similar.
|
rr
|
rr is like the Spanish "trilled" r in rojo and arroz, or the "tapped" r in trabajo. This sound is the difference between weraaw "is hot" and werraaw "is sharp".
|
s
|
s like in sick, sap, etc.
|
sh
|
sh like in shoe, "but more whistling" (Langdon 1973).
|
t
|
t like in Spanish Tijuana, unaspirated, with the tongue at the tip of your teeth.
|
tt
|
tt is more like the English t, still unaspirated, but with the tongue on the alveolar ridge (the top of your mouth behind your teeth). Appears in the middle or at the end of words if at all.
|
u
|
u often, but not always, sounds like the vowel in put or foot. Can sometimes sound like "u" as in soup, like in 'emat kunkun "hills". At other times, it sounds much like an "o", like in kupaay "is from", and 'uuchechu? "what is it?"
The Kumeyaay sound written as "u" has been described as something in between an "u" and an "o" in the Latin/Spanish alphabet. With listening practice you may find this to be true. When in the suffix ku- in nominalized verbs, ku- can sometimes sound more like kwe-. |
uw
|
The letters uw, often appearing at the end of words, combine the Kumeyaay "u" with "w" and make a sound similar to the English "o". This spelling is the cause of confusion for English speakers because what we know of as "o" in the words "so, Joe, mow", is not one sound, but two: A regular "o" vowel followed by a "w" sound. Compare Spanish "no" to English "no": The English ends with a "w" sound, while the Spanish maintains the pure "o" sound.
In Kumeyaay, the diphthong in English "low, slow, bro" is written out fully as "uw": chuukuw "bites" is pronounced "Choo-KO". Wenuw "runs" is pronounced "wuh-NO". |
uu
|
uu is a long "u", usually sounding like oo in "hoop", but subject to sounding more like an "o", or something in between, as described for the letter "u". The true sound, as described by Langdon, is "exactly in between" the oo in food and the o in Spanish oso "bear".
|
uuw
|
uuw is like "uw", sounding like the o in toe, mow, but longer: Memeyuu temeyuuw? "How are you (standing)?" sounds like: "Muh-muh-YOO tuh-muh-YO?" However, rather than always sounding like an English "o", it can also sound more like "uu" with a "w" at the end, as in ewuuw "sees", pronounced with a "woo" as in Wuhan.
|
v
|
Aside from in loan words, the sound v only appears in the definite article suffixes -vech, -vu, -vek, etc. Sounding similar to an English "v", it is thought to be a reduced form of "p", with those -v suffixes originating from puuch, puu, etc. This might be why the suffixes are -pu and -pech in some dialects, and may even sometimes sound like that in Ted Couro's speech.
|
w
|
w like in English walk, water. Forms special combinations when it comes after vowels, as described above.
At the beginning of verbs, w- or we- signifies third person. we- in these cases can sometimes sound like "u". |
x
|
If you see x in Kumeyaay, that means the text is in Tiipay, or it is using a different writing system, where x usually represents what is "h" in this orthography.
|
y
|
y is the consonant in "yeah", "yikes". Never a vowel like in "my" or "happy". Often comes after vowels, making combinations like ay, aay, iy, iiy, uy, uuy.
|
'
|
The apostrophe ( ' ) represents the glottal stop, which is where you stop the flow of air in your throat. You make a glottal stop between the syllables in "Uh-oh", and it is found in Kumeyaay words like sha'ii "turkey vulture". When the glottal stop is at the end of words like kiima'! "Dance!", you pronounce the vowel, and then quickly shut off the flow of air from your throat.
English speakers normally add a glottal stop at the beginning of words that begin with a vowel, without even realizing it. If you pronounce apple slowly, you'll see that your throat is closed before you pronounce the "a" sound. That's a word-initial glottal stop. In Kumeyaay, an apostrophe ' at the beginning of a word like 'ehtaay "crow" means it begins with a glottal stop. If a word does not begin with a glottal stop, like ewuuw "he sees", we need to distinguish it somehow. This can be done by starting the word with a soft, breathy "h" sound, which is the result of you allowing your breath to freely exhale before you begin to produce the vowel sound. Some examples of words that begin with a vowel with no glottal stop can be heard in Christina Hutcheson's recording Making Shawii. With practice, you will learn to hear the difference between words with no glottal stop like ewuuw (he sees) and words with a glottal stop like 'ewuuw (I see). You may find that vowels preceded by a glottal stop have a certain force or reverberation behind them that vowels without the ' do not have. |
-
|
A dash or hyphen (-) is used to separate two letters in writing so that you do not make the sound that those letters would normally make if they were combined. For example, mes-haalyap "butterfly" is pronounced "mess-haa-lyap" and not "mesh-aa-lyap". It is also used to separate adjacent identical vowels so you know where to split them, as in a-aam, "takes away". It might not be the prettiest solution but it prevents the writing system from getting any more complicated.
|