Ipai AA All language

THE ALPHABET

The following latter or combination of letters represents the sound of the Diegueno language:

‘, aa, a, ch, e, h, hw, ii, I, k, kw, l, ll, lly, ly, m, n, nn, ny, oo, o, p, q, r, rr, s, sh, t, tt, uu, u, v, w, y. – ,

Once you learn how each one of these is pronounced and remember that in the overwhelming majority of work the last read and pronounce very word In the language. In many cases, the letters or combinations of letters are pronounced in the same way as in English words.

 

The  list below explains how to pronounce each sound, but the very best way to earn correct pronunciation is to listen to someone say the word and try to repeat it. The explanations are meant mostly to make the letters familiar to you Each sound is illustrated by a few simple words containing it. For those of you who know the language, reading the examples will  familiarize you with the writing system used in this book. There is usually only one way to pronounce each letter or combination of letters. So once you know what sound it stand for, you can use it in new words.

 

Read the explanation on the pronunciations carefully and try to say the examples aloud, remembering to accent the last syllable. Do not memorize any of it. When the time come to read Diegueno  words and sentences, refer back to this section when needed.

1 Is not actually a sound, it is a catch in the throat which stops the sound before it or gives a sharp beginning to the sound after it . linguists the two part of the exclamation ‘O’ 00.

Example: ‘u’uu owl, ‘aa my mouth, ta’waa I was sitting, ka’! go!

 

aa is pronounced like the underlined vowel in the English word father , mama. It is a long sound, as opposed to a which is short; the sequence aay is like by, my, I; aaw is like now, cow.

Examples : paataat his father, ‘aasha bird, ‘emaay high,  urnaaw no.

A can vary between the vowel sounds of not and but:

 

It is most often linke the a in Spanish names like Maria, Tijuana. It is always a short sound; ay is like the e in net plus the I in  bit;  aw is like now , but short. There are very few words with the sound aw.

Example : mat self, pam sets there, tap put it down , mateay mountain, yuupaw

He is ahead.

Ch     as in church, chip, chocolate.

Example : Chaap short person, aachanp gets off.

 

e      as in government , finger, broken, sofa. This sound is never the loudest part of the word.

Example:  ‘ emat land, mataat your father, chemaa tastes.

 

h       is a sound that does not exist in English, It is rather harsh sound pronounced

far back in the mouth. It is the sound that ij German is spelled ch, as in Bunch “ book, “ and in Spanish is spelled J as in cajon “big box, “ frijoles, “beans.”

Examples: hemaa sleeps, ‘ehaa water, petah claps hand.

 

Hw       in h followed by w but pronounced quickly, some what like

English why, Which but harsher. It is more like ju in Spanish, as in Tijuana.

Example: ‘ehwatt red, wehwii smells, uuhwag breaks.

 

Ii          as in bee, see , kee, me, tea, or even as in bay, say, weigh, is a long sound. It is really a

sound, exactly between that of bee, and bay. Iiy is more like say than like bee; iiw is like

the vowel of say followed by the vowel of put.

Example: wii he said, ‘ iimaa I dance,’ emii I cry,  ‘ ekwiiy clouds, apesiiw very much.

 

I          as in pin, tip, quit, slip, is always a short sound. Iy is like city, pretty; iw is like the I of pit

followed by the u of put.

Example: ‘ewik west , ‘esich we drink, kewi’ ! do it!,  ‘ ekwiy rain, weyiw he comes.

 

K           as in kick , clik, cup.

Example: kum!  Look! , tekesaa jaw, ‘ emak behind me.

 

Kw         as in quick, qaquaint, queen.

Example: kwilkwil dangling, ‘ ekwak deer, ‘ aakwal I lick.

 

I             as in law, light, kill.

Example: li’! well! , likelick long- necked, hemal, greens.

 

II             is a very unusual sound  which as no English equivalent. It is somewhat hissing, and a

somewhat slurping and to make it right you have to combine the hissing quality of a

sound like s (as in Sam) with the pronunciation of L (as a Law). one nice trick is to try

pronouncing words like slip, slap, as if the sl were on sound. Listen to someone doing it

and keep trying. One clue: the tip of the tongue touches the inside of the mouth above

the upper teeth.

Example: ‘all wide, hemall hear, llapellap flat.

 

LLp         is another difficult one. It sound very much like LL. It combines the hissing quality of sh

(sa in sharp) with the pronunciation of ly (as in will you). The trick is to pronounce sh

and ly together as one sound. There are no words like that in English , but it easy

enough to make some up. Try shlyim, shlyup pronouncing the sh and ly together. Listen

to someone do it and try again. Watch the position of the tongue; the tip of the tongue

is down below the bottom teeth; the rest of the tongue is humped to touch the roof of

the mouth.

Example: ‘ellyaa jmy cousin, ‘emally century, ‘ellya’am I can do it.

 

Ly           is almost like the same combination of letters is will you or LLi in million. It is a single

sound, the postion of the tongue when making it is exactly like when making the LLy

sound but with no hissing.

Example: Lyask light, welyak lies down, ‘emily my leg.

 

M            as in mother, swim, summer.

Example: metaat your father, ‘emii I cry kaam! go awa

 

N            is not quite the sound of English n (as in now), but more like the Spanish n in Tijuana. To

make this sound correctly, aim for an n, but put the tip of youor tonguw against the very

edge of the upper teeth. If you look in a mirror while doing it, the tip of your tongue will

show between your teeth.

Example: nemas racoon, ‘enaah! Let’s go!, paansan his younger sister.

 

Nn          is somewhat more like the English n sound of now, tan. The tip of the tongue touches the

inside of the mouth just above the upper teeth.

Example: nnenii he is mad, ‘aannak I tie it, pemaann they get up.

 

Ny          is like the same combination of letters in canyon. It is very common sound in Spanish, where it

is spelled n, as in manana, “tomorrow.”

Example: nyemii wildcat, ‘enyaa sun, winy he gives.

 

Oo          is the sound is law, caught, thought. It is always long. There are not many words with this sound

In ‘Iipay Aa.

Example: ‘etoo I hit him, henoo he is sick, hoo O.K.

 

O             is the short counterpart of oo. It is very common in Spanish in such words as bonito “good.” It is

very rare in ‘Iipay Aa.

Example: wetoch they hit him, topk he tosses it.

 

P              as in pin, tip, spin.

Example: pilpil flickers, shepap four.

 

Q             is like k, but pronounced farther back in the throat. It is more like the K’s of cook than like those

of kick. The q sound is fairly rare in ‘Iipay As words.

Example: ‘aq my bone, ‘equll long.

 

r              is very close to English r as in right, row, and even more like the r in true, trick.

Example: weraaw hot, rewii alike. ‘erur round

rr             is like the trilled r of Spanish, as in Maria, rama, “branch.”

Example: werraaw sharp, ‘emirr I like it.

 

S               as in sin, sip, kiss.

Example: sekap half, ‘esily salt, ‘ekwas yellow.

 

Sh              is somewhat like English sh in ship, mush, but the tip of the tongue is held higher and tighter

to produce a somewhat whistling sound.

Example: sha’ii buzzard, ‘eshash pretty.

 

T                is different from English t in the same way that n is different from English n. In other words,

try to make a t-like sound but put the tip of your tongue against the very edge of the upper

teeth. The tip of the tongue will show slightly between the teeth. It is like the Spanish t sound

in Tijuana.

Example: tetepach he takes   it out, hetat back, wetup carries piggyback.

 

tt               is much more like English t in two, tie, pat. The tip of the tongue touches the inside of the

mouth above the upper teeth.

Example: wettuk he jumps, ‘ehatt dog.

 

uu              is as in bootm Susan, do, and even like bow, open. It is actually a sound exactly in between

the o of do and that of open. It is always long. Uuy is like the vowel of so followed by that of

pit; uuw is like toe, mow.

Example: hemuk three, aashuk he falls, purp different, wemuy he skins it, wenuw

he runs.

 

v                 is a sound intermediate between the v of vine, devil, and the w and we. Try for the sound of v

but put your lower lip close to your upper lip instead of touching the upper teeth. It is the

sound that b and v have in Spanish in such words as pueblo, vivir. This sound is found in

Diegueno only in endings that are attached to words when making sentence. In these words,

accent always comes on the syllable directly before the v.

Example: ‘ematvu (pronounced ‘eMAT vu) the ground, ‘ematvi (prnouned

‘eMATvi) on the ground.

 

W               as in war, wine, now.

Example: wenak he sits, ‘ewuuw I see, ‘ewaaw  I holler.

 

Y                 as in yes, yellow, boy.

Example: yaas he breathes, weyiw he  comes, ‘emaay high.

–                   is not a sound at all, and is used only in the very few cases where words require a sequence

of letters for which there could be more than one pronunciation. For example, aaa could

stand for aa+a of for a+aa we write aa-a and a-aa. There are very few words in which this

happens, but note.

 

‘aa-ap I lay it down, ‘a-aa I take is away ‘uu-ull I pile it up.

Another occasion to use – is when the sounds s and h follow each other in a word. If we

simply write sh, we could expect this to be pronounved as in sharp, but if we write s-h, the

proper pronunciation will be more like in the English word mishap (mis – hap).

Example: mes-hanan stinkbug, mes- haalyap butterfly.

 

ACCENT

You already know that the general rule for accent in ‘Lipay is very simple: the last syllable of the word has the accent. So when saying achpuukwilp “they turn around ,” you say achpuuKWILP, and not ACHpuukwilp or achPUUkwilp. Only when special endings are added to words to make them into sentences will you find words which do not have the accent on the last syllable. If you already know the word, there is no problem; the accent always stays on the same syllable. So when you know that achpuukwilp is pronounced achpuuKWILP, when you find achpuukwilp-wek “if they turn around , “you know this word is pronounced achpuuKWILPvek. If there is a v towards the end of a word, it is always part of an ending.

 

In the early lessons, when some common expressions are introduced which contain endings, we will tell you where the accent goes. So, the first word you will learn is Haawka, ‘hello, “which is pronounced HAAWKa.

Another useful thing to remember is that the letter e never has the accent. So if you see a word like ‘ehattech “the dog (subject)”, this can only be pronounced ‘eHATTech. In fact , no short vowel can end a word and have the accent. So kumna “look at that!” can only be pronounced KUMna and not kumNA. This is why Haawka “hello” is pronounced HAAWka. But when a word ends in a short vowel and a ‘ _ as in kiima’ “dance!”, then the word takes the accent regularly and you say kiiMA’.

 

If all this sounds complicated, don’t worry, you’ll soon learn to pronounce words correctly by hearing them and repeating them. This section is for reference only, of or when you need it.

 

MORE ABOUT VOWELS

This information about pronunciation given above should be sufficient to handle most situations and words. There are few additional details which might be of help and here again, we suggest you read this section casually, just to know the type of information it gives, and use it for reference only if or when you need it.

 

The short vowels, I, e, a, u occasionally sound difference in different words. Sometimes, but very rarely, I sounds like the e of met, get. One word on which it always has this sound is hemilh “is a young man, particularly when it is before or after ch or any of the y sounds (lly, ly, ny, y). For example, it can have that sound in wenyay “he hunts, “ ‘esally “myarm, “ wechach “spreads it out.” As for u, it can sound more like the sound written o when it is before or after the sound h or q. For example, is has that sound in ‘equll “long.” ‘esuq, “ ‘uh “I cough, “ hunn “ it is dark.”

 

But the most troublesome of all is the vowel we write e. It is always O.K. to pronounce it as the e in government, brother, as long as you remember it never has the accent and is therefore pronounced very softly. But is can also on occasion sound like any of the other short vowels (I, u, a, o), again with no accent. The reason we write it e is to indicate that e is always a good pronunciation and that others are possible. So take a word like welyak “lies down.” This can be pronounced weyak, but also wilyak or wulyak, with the I or u pronounced very softly. No matter how it is said , it is still the same word. On the other hand, the I’s of likelik “long-necked, “the u’s of lukeluk “flickers, “and the a’s of llapellap “flat” are always pronounced I, u, or a, and never e. in many cases when an e is not in the first syllable of the word, you can even leave it out altogether, in lesson One, you will learn to say “how are you?” which is

 

Memeyuu temewaa?

It is perfectly O.K. to drop some of the e’s and say

Memyuu temwaa?

 

This happens a lot when people speak fast and we mention it so you will not be surprised when you hear different people saying the same word in different ways. There are a lot of words with e in the language and you will soon develop a good feeling for how they sound.

One last remark about vowels. When a word starts with a vowel, it often sounds as if is has a very soft h-like sound in front of it, somewhat like the h in English have. So aa “his mouth” sounds like ^haa. This is different from ‘aa “my mouth “which starts sharply with a catch in the throat.

 

SPANISH AND ENGLISH WORDS

 A NUMBER OF Spanish words have been adopted into the Diegueno language and actually sound more like Diegueno words than Spanish words. Many Spanish sounds are very much like Diegueno sounds so that in general we can use the alphabet proposed here. There are, however, a few additional sounds that are needed for these Spanish words. They are b in such a word as buurr (=Spanish burro) “donkey,”

In such a word as dorraas (=Spanish durazno) “peach, “f as in frrihool (=Spanish frijoles) “bean, “” a as in gaat (=Spanish gato) “cat. “ We will also use ee for a Spanish vowel as in skweel (=Spanish escuela) “school.”

Occasionally, you will hear people using an English word or phrase  right in the middle of a Diegueno sentence. These can simply be spelled as in English orthography.

 

TO THOSE READERS WHO ALREADY KNOW DIEGUENO

 The words and sentences in this book are in the language of Mesa Grande, because the teacher, Ted Couro, is from there. If you kow Diegueno, whether you speak it fluently, a little, or only understood it when spoken by others, chances are you are not from Mesa Grande but from one of the other Dieguneo communities in San Diego County. You also know then that not all speakers of the language talk the same and should not be surprised if some words in this book are not the ones you know. The differences may be of various kinds.

 

1. 1. You may use a totally different word from the one given here. For example.\, you may say ‘iipach instead of ‘iikwich for “man, “ uuyaaw instead of nur for “he know , “ peshkwak instead of wamp for “he walks.”
   2. You may use a word that is partly the same , so you may say ‘iishaa instead of ‘aashaa for “bird,” or metiipay or tiipay instead of ‘iipay for “people, “ or shpaa instead of ‘ihpaa for “eagle.”
   3. You may not use the sounds oo, o or q at all, so that you may say ‘ekull instead of ‘equll for “long, “ak instead of aq for “bone,” ‘etuu instead of ‘etoo for “I fight , “ henuu instead of henoo for “ he is sick.”
   4.  

Many things, however, should be the same or close enough for you to recognize, especially the grammar and the way sentences are made. If you are from Santa Ysabel or Barona, the differences should not be too many; if you are from Campo or Baron Long, they should be greater.

 

We believe, however, that the writing system used in this book can be readily adopted to all dialects of the language. If you learn the principles of this writing system (which is based on the idea that the same sound should always be written the same way), you should be able, not only to write the words in this book he way you say them, but you should be able to write any word in the language at all. You might find it interesting to write your own word next to the one you find in this book and so make it more complete and useful to you.