Tlingit Myths and Texts/Phonetic Key

PHONETIC KEY

ā a longer and shorter forms of the Continental a, like a in far

â as in fall

ᴀ as in final; a close approximation to u in cut

ē e longer and shorter forms of the Continental e, like a in fate

ê as in bell

ī i longer and shorter forms of the Continental i, like ee in street

î as in hit

ō o longer and shorter forms of English o, as in flow

ū as in rule

u as in put

ᵘ ᵒ barely formed o and u sounds; rather qualities of the preceding consonant sounds than independent vowels

q the velar k, not found in English

g̣ the velar g corresponding to the preceding, not found in English

ỵ a sound similar to but deeper than the preceding, pronounced by the younger Indians almost like English y

x the velar spirant, pronounced like Spanish j or German ch

x̣ the palatal spirant, often mistaken for h

c like English sh in short

dz as in adze

ts as in sits

dj like English j and dg in judge

tc like English ch in church

ʟnot found in English, but resembling a rapid pronunciation of t and l, or of k and l

ʟ̣ not found in English, but resembling a rapid pronunciation of d and l

ł a spirant belonging to the same series as the preceding; not found in English though often represented by thl or hl

t, d, n, s, k, g, h, w, y approximate the sounds for which they stand in English though the agreement is by no means absolute

t!, s!, ts!, tc!, ʟ!, k!, q! are similar to t, s, ts, tc, ʟ, k, q, but are accompanied by a catch in the breath which sometimes gives the impression of a pause, and sometimes sounds like a sharp click

k˙! when k! is pronounced very far forward in the mouth it is sometimes set off in this way, but the distinction between the two sounds is by no means clear

Labials are found only in a few words of foreign origin