Ofelia Zepeda
Papago Vowels: The English counter-parts are all approximate.
| a | wako | water | ||
| e | eda | roses | ||
| i | bit | beet | ||
| o | son | short | ||
| u | hud | boot |
In Papago all of the vowels can be pronounced long, that is the vowel sound is dragged out. This long sound is marked by a colon (:).
| a: | ta:ñ | fa |
| e: | me: | There is no sound in English which is close to the Papago e:. An explanation for the e:sound might be to make the u:sound without rounding the lips |
| i: | ki: | key |
| o: | to:n | bow |
| u: | hu:ñ | moon |
| Some of the vowels can be pronounced extra-short. These vowels are marked by ˘ above the vowel. These vowels occur only at the end of a word, as in the following examples: | ||
| bawı | In the case of the extra-short ı, there is of course no English counter-part. This particular sound is much like a whispered vowel, the vowel is literally aspirated | |
| nowĭ | ||
| 'uwĭ | ||
| hehĕ | The extra-short ĕ and ă will vary among speakers, some speakers will aspirate the vowel, some will pronounce them fully as in the first examples of all the vowels | |
Papago "dipthongs"
| ai | bai | bite |
| ei | kei | Again there is no approximate sound in English |
| oi | koi | boy |
| ui | kui | gooey |
| ´ | glotal | stop |
| ´a´an, ´on | The glottal stop is caused by a stoppage of air in the throat |
Papago Consonants: The English counter-parts are all approximate.
| b | bo:l | ball |
| c | ceoj | church |
| d | dai | though |
| d | tad | There is no sound in English which is close to the Papago d. This particular sound is created by having the tip of the tongue curl up to the roof of the mouth very much like the way the English r is made |
| g | ga:t | gun |
| h | hon | how |
| j | je:ñ | jem |
| k | ki: | key |
| l | la:mba | There is no sound in English which is like the Papago l, this sound is made by having the tongue curl up to the roof of the mouth and then coming down quickly to the bottom of the mouth |
| m | mu:ñ | moon |
| n | na:k | no |
| ñ | hu:ñ | canyon |
| ŋ | ca:ŋgo | finger |
| p | priest | |
| s | suck | |
| s | su:sk | There is no sound in English like the Papago s, however the closest sound might be the sh in the word sheep, but the s in Papago again has the tongue curled up slightly toward the roof of the mouth |
| t | tai | thought |
| w | waw | wow |
| y | ya:nda | yes |
As printed in Larry Evers, ed. The South Corner of Time. Tucson, Ariz.: The University of Arizona Press, ©1980, p. 108.
Part of which site