Appendix:Navajo pronunciation

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Navajo pronunciations in Wiktionary entries.

See Navajo phonology for detailed discussion of the phonology of Navajo.

Consonants
IPA Navajo orthography Approximations in English or another European language
ʔ ʼ (not written word-initially) _uh-_oh
ɣ gh Spanish luego
ɣʷ w
gh (before o)
Spanish agua
j y yam
k g scan
k backhand (Aspirated consonant)
kʷʰ kw
k (before o)
back wheel (heavily aspirated)
None; see Ejective consonant
l l lamb
ɬ ł Welsh llan
m m man
n n nan
p b span
p top hand (heavily aspirated)
s s Sam
ʃ sh sham
t d Stan
t hot hand (heavily aspirated)
None; see Ejective consonant
t͡l dl Atlantic
t͡ɬʰ Welsh tlws
t͡ɬʼ tłʼ None; see Ejective consonant
t͡s dz hats
t͡sʰ ts hits hard (heavily apirated)
t͡sʼ tsʼ None; see Ejective consonant
t͡ʃ j eschew
t͡ʃʰ ch hitchhiker (heavily apirated)
t͡ʃʼ chʼ None; see Ejective consonant
x h
x (after g, s, ts, z)
loch (Scottish English)
hw
h (before o)
Spanish juego
z z zap
ʒ zh measure
Vowels and syllabic consonant
IPA Navajo orthography Approximation in English or another European language
ɑ a pot (General American)
ɑː aa father
ɑ̃ ą French vente (short)
ɑ̃ː ąą French vent (long)
ɛ e best
eː ee pay
ɛ̃ ę French sainte (short)
ẽː ęę Portuguese bem (long)
ɪ i kit
iː ii bee
ɪ̃ į lint
ĩː įį Portuguese vim (long)
n button
o o goat
oo mowed
õ ǫ Portuguese ponte (short)
õː ǫǫ Portuguese bom (long)
Tone
IPA Navajo orthography Explanation
´ ´ over the vowel (á, é, í, ó etc.) High tone
` Unmarked (a, e, i, o etc.) Low tone

Notes

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