1.1: Pronunciation - The Hul'q'umi'num' Alphabet

The following chart introduces the sounds of Hul'q'umi'num' and the new alphabet.


' (apostrophe) 'unuhw glottal stop stop (3K) 'Unuhw is a catch in the throat, a sudden beginning or end.
a thathun mouth mouth-vb (1K) a is pronounced much like the a in the English word "father".
aa spaal' raven raven-vb (2K) aa is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' a, but it is held longer.
ch chukuns chicken chicken-vb (2K) ch is pronounced as in the English word "cheap".
ch' ch'ekwxul's frying fry-vb (2K) ch' is pronounced like ch, but it is glottalized, so it is made with a popping sound. This sound is quite rare in Hul'q'umi'num'.
e sq'ewum knee knee-vb (1K) e has three main pronunciations. In most contexts it is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "bet" or "bait". When it is at the end of a word, or followed by q, q', x, or 'unuhw, e is pronounced like the vowel in the English word "bat".
ee smeent mountain mountain-vb (2K) ee is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' e, but it is held longer.
h hilum to fall
(from a height)
fall-vb (2K) h is pronounced as in the English word "heat".
hw hwulmuhw First Nations 1st-nations-people-vb (5K) hw is pronounced much like the wh in the English word "which" for speakers who pronounce "which" differently from "witch". The back of the tongue is in the position for k, but it does not quite touch the roof of the mouth, so a hissing sound is produced. The lips are rounded as in making a w sound.
i suplil bread bread-vb (2K) i is similar to the vowel sound in the English words "meet" and "meat".
ii siiye'tun widows elders-vb (3K) ii is similar to the Hul'q'umi'num' i, but it is held longer.
k kupou coat coat-vb (2K) k occurs in borrowed words such as kupou "coat" (from French), and is pronounced as in the English word "key".
kw kwasun star star-vb (3K) kw is pronounced the same as qu in the English word "queen".
kw' kw'aant' dolphin, porpoise dolphin-vb (1K) kw' is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' kw, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
l lelum' house house-vb (2K) l is pronounced like the l in the English word "long".
lh lhqelts' moon moon-vb (2K) lh is made by holding the tongue as in l but producing a sound more like sh. This is done by holding one or both sides of the tongue a little ways away from the back teeth so some air can pass by, making a hissing sound.
m mumuxelh caterpillar caterpillar-vb (3K) m is pronounced as in the English word "meet".
n nuts'a' one one-vb (1K) n is pronounced as in the English word "neat".
o' s'ey'o' abalone shell abalone o' is used in preference to uw' at the end of words or syllables. There is no English equivalent to this sound.
Note: The Cowichan Tribes spell this word s-ey'o'.
oo qw'oon' ear ear-vb (2K) oo is pronounced as in the English word "moon", but it is held longer. It is the long version of ou.
ou pous cat cat-vb (2K) The letter pair ou is pronounced like the oo in the English word "hoot" (but without the w sound at the end). Hul'q'umi'num' words with this sound have come in from French, Chinook Jargon, or English.
p putenum to sail sailboat-vb (2K) p is pronounced like the p in the English word "put".
p' p'utth'tun needle needle-vb (2K) p' is pronounced like p, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
q qeq baby baby-vb (5K) q is pronounced a bit like the English k sound, but the tongue is pulled much farther back in the throat. The back of the tongue touches the soft palate near the uvula.
qw qwal speak, talk talk-vb (2K) qw is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' q, with the lips rounded as when making the w sound.
q' q'e'mi' girl (teenage) teenage-girl-vb (3K) q' is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' q, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
qw' qw'uyulush to dance dance (2K) qw' is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' qw, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
s s'axwa' butterclam clam-vb (5K) s is pronounced like the s in the English word "sit" (never like the z sound in "hose").
Note: The Cowichan Tribes spell this word s-axwa'.
sh shuptunknife knife-vb (1K) sh is pronounced as in the English word "shore".
t telumoney money-vb (2K) t is pronounced as in the English word "take".
t' t'xumsix six-vb (2K) t' is pronounced like t, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
th thqettree conifer-vb (1K) th is pronounced as in the English word "thin" (but never as in "then").
tl' tl'elhumsalt salt-vb (1K) tl' is made by holding the tongue as for an l sound and making a sort of clicking sound by releasing the side or sides of the tongue.
ts tselushhand hand-vb (2K) ts is pronounced as a single sound, much like in the English word "bats".
ts' ts'e'wi' dish, bowl, plate bowl1-vb (2K) ts' is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' ts, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
tth tthu si'lu the grandfather old-man-vb (1K) tth is pronounced as a single sound which is much like the English t plus th in the phrase "cut thin". This sound only occurs in Hul'q'umi'num' in a small number of grammatical marker words called articles. Some speakers use a plain t sound in the articles - e.g., tu si'lu.
tth' tth'upsi'athun' squirrel squirrel-vb (5K) tth' is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' tth, but it is glottalized, so it pops.
u 'un' swetu your sweater sweater (2K) u is pronounced much like the u in the English word "butter".
w wech watch watch-vb (2K) w is pronounced as in the English word "will".
x xul'tun pen, pencil pencil-vb (1K) x is pronounced with the back of the tongue near the back of the roof of the mouth. The tongue does not actually touch the roof of the mouth, so a hissing sound is produced.
xw xwi'lum' rope rope-vb (4K) xw is pronounced like the Hul'q'umi'num' x, but with the lips rounded as when making the w sound.
y yunus teeth teeth-vb (2K) y is pronounced as in the English word "yellow" (never as in "why").