Spelling & Pronunciation
with some audio samples
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Vowels  ||  Pronunciation guides for vowels  ||  Consonants  ||  Pronunciation guides for consonants
Voiced and unvoiced stops  ||  Sound symbolism

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In this section:

Vowels  ||  Pronunciation guides for vowels
Consonants  ||  Pronunciation guides for consonants
Voiced and unvoiced stops  ||  Sound symbolism

Language Section Index:

Spelling & Pronunciation  ||  Vocabulary  ||  Verbs
Interrogative words  ||  Commands  ||  Audio samples
A reservation conversation  ||  Main page  ||  Español

Site index  ||  Main page  ||  Español

Underlined words have links to audio samples in mp3 format.
You will need an mp3 player, such as WinAmp.

Many thanks to Konstantin Hmelnitski for his kind collaboration.

_________________________________________________________ Overall pronunciation guide: The stress or accent in Lakhota words is: usually on the second syllable sometimes on the first syllable (in 20-30% of the words) never elsewhere (with the exception of the word tuktená) Some words have the same spelling, but different intonations change the word's meaning, and therefore accents are important. Here, a stressed syllable will be marked with an acute accent. For example: pahá (hills), táku (what, something). Words without a visible accent are stressed on the second syllable. _________________________________________________________ Vowels There are eight vowels in Lakhota, of which five are basic: Vowel English example Lakhota example a father luhá (you have) e step he (that, horn) i me hi (tooth, he came) o hawk istó (arm) u book hu (bone) And three are nasal: Vowel Lakhota example an han (yes) in pehin (hair) un kun (covet) __________________________________ Pronunciation guides for vowels: When a vowel begins a word, be it basic or nasal, the sound is articulated clearly. When two or more basic vowels are written together, each vowel is pronounced separately. When a basic vowel and a nasal vowel are written together, each vowel is pronounced separately. Lakhota words have the same number of syllables as they have vowels. Therefore, by counting the total vowel sounds (basic and nasal) one can identify the number of syllables. When any basic vowel follows the letters m or n, the vowel is pronounced with a nasal sound (except for e, as me and ne are never nasalised). However, despite the pronunciation, one does not write the nasal vowel. Nasal vowels that precede the letters b or p naturally create the sound of the letter m when pronounced together (as in wanbli). However, the word is still spelled with the Lakhota nasal vowel. When nasal vowels precede the letter k the ng by-sound is added (as in thathanka). Nasal vowels are absent in English. The only hint for their pronunciation is the "nasal twang" that you can hear in the words "twang", "man". Actually, you utter nasalized vowels "through the nose", like French "encore" or "bon ton". It is not two sounds (vowel + ng, as in "meeting"); it is one nasalized vowel. We will spell these vowels with two letters (vowel + n) _________________________________________________________ Consonants There are 32 Lakhota consonants: Consonant English Lakhota Meaning b back bluhá I have c latch can tree ch cherry chanté heart c' — omic'iye I help myself to something g girl shungmánitu wolf gh — ghi brown, rusty h hat he that, horn h^ — h^e mountain h^' — ih^'e stones, rocks j pleasure janján jar, bottle, glass k kite hánska long, tall kh — kholá male friend of a male k skill ka that over there k' — k'u he/she gives l love luhá you have m moon mázaska money n nice nachéce maybe p peace pehin hair ph — phejúta medicine p spend pilámayaye thank you p' — p'o foggy s step sápa black s' — as'in he/she wishes for something sh shoe sha red sh' — wash'ake he/she is strong t tell tanyán well t' — t'e she/he/it is dead t stay típi house th — thaló meat w wonder wanblí eagle y you yámni three z zoo zi yellow __________________________________ Pronunciation guides for consonants: The consonant j is a voiced sh, as in pleasure. There are other spellings for this letter, for instance, z^ or zh in NetSiouan. We will use the letter j, as in janján (jar, glass). The consonant gh is a voiced h^ ("voiced velar fricative") which also occurs in Greek ("gamma") and some Slavic languages. Another similar sound is the Spanish j, as in the word "jalea" (jelly). Yet gh is by far more tense and back than greek and slavic analogs: gh is more back (uvular) and gamma is velar fricative. In fact, gh before i is pronounced almost as the French r, but with more aspiration. Examples: Sichánghu (Rosebud Lakhota tribe), ghi (brown, rusty, gray), maghá (goose). The h^ sound is another unheard-of Lakhota consonant. The closest sound is the Mexican x in Mexico, the German ch in Achtung! (attention!), and the Russian x in xorosho! (good!). You may hear the difference between h and h^ here. _________________________________________________________ Voiced and unvoiced stops _________________________________________________________ Unvoiced stops p, t, c, k are like English p in spit, t in stack, ch in latch, k in ski. They are never aspirated (accompanied with a puff of air), as in pity, tack, chew, and keep. For example: Pahá Sápa (Black Hills), he táku he? (what's this?), he wicáwala shni! (I don't believe him/that!), shíca (bad), kilákhota kte h^cin (a "wannabe"). _________________________________________________________ Aspirated stops These are the consonants p, t, c, and k plus aspiration. Rood&Taylor (authors of "Colorado University Lakhota Project") transcribe these consonants as ph, th, ch, and kh. Native speakers use either an apostrophe resembling the little c ( p‘, t‘, c‘, k‘) or do not show aspiration at all. They write Wakan Tanka instead of WakhaN' ThaN'ka or Wak‘an T‘anka. Aspiration is heavy (h^-like) before a, an, o, and un. For example: pha (head), thánka (big), Lakhóta, thunkáshila (grandfather). It is soft (h-like) before i, in, and u. For example: pilámayaye (thank you), nuphín (both), khúje (sick). Aspiration is always soft after c. For example: chatká (left-hand(ed)), chetán (hawk), machúwita (I feel cold). There are many words in Lakhota whose meaning depends on the aspiration and accent. For instance: thóka (enemy) — thoká (first) — tókha shni (that's alright, nothing's the matter) makhá (the earth) — maká (skunk) pahá (hill(s)) — phahá (scalp). You may hear the difference between c and ch in this example, and between p and ph here and here. _________________________________________________________ Glottal stops The consonants c, h^, k, p, s, sh, and t can be uttered with a glottal stop, which is a pause in breathing, a consonant pronounced alone without the aid of a vowel, and accompanied with an intense outburst of air. Here it is depicted with an apostrophe ('). For example: p'o (fog), t'e (he/she is dead), chic'ú (I gave you that), mak'ú wo (give me that, man speaking), wash'áka (strong). _________________________________________________________ Sound symbolism _________________________________________________________ Some words differ only in one consonant, namely s / sh / h^ or z / j / gh. This is called sound symbolism. It occurs when some quality is expressed by a word, with s/z to the least extent, x/gx to the greatest, and sh/zh as intermediate. Examples: sóta (not fully transparent) shóta (smoke) h^óta (grey) zi (yellow) ji (reddish) ghi (brown)

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