Lesson 8: Pronunciation

01

Pronunciation

  • The following exercises have been prepared to demonstrate and provide drill for all vowel combinations which occur in the language. Since Maya has only five vowels, it is clear that if we could find examples of all two-vowel combinations, there would be twenty-five such vowel sequences. Actually there is only one such sequence missing: u+u. All twenty-four others are to be found. Listen and repeat:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 1

  • máʾ síʾiʾ
  • máʾ letíʾiʾ
  • le síʾeʾ
  • letiʾ e naloʾ
  • le síʾaʾ
  • u tiáaj
  • le síʾoʾ
  • u tióoj
  • u chíʾ u papaj
  • tíʾ u papaj
02

Pronunciation

  • The following exercises have been prepared to demonstrate and provide drill for all vowel combinations which occur in the language. Since Maya has only five vowels, it is clear that if we could find examples of all two-vowel combinations, there would be twenty-five such vowel sequences. Actually there is only one such sequence missing: u+u. All twenty-four others are to be found. Listen and repeat:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 2

  • máʾ jéʾiʾ
  • máʾ bejiʾ
  • le jéʾeʾ
  • le bejeʾ
  • le jéʾaʾ
  • le bejaʾ
  • le jéʾoʾ
  • le bejoʾ
  • jéʾ u tàaleʾ
  • le u nàaleʾ
03

Pronunciation

  • The following exercises have been prepared to demonstrate and provide drill for all vowel combinations which occur in the language. Since Maya has only five vowels, it is clear that if we could find examples of all two-vowel combinations, there would be twenty-five such vowel sequences. Actually there is only one such sequence missing: u+u. All twenty-four others are to be found. Listen and repeat:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 3

  • máʾ náʾiʾ
  • máʾ najiʾ
  • le náʾeʾ
  • le najeʾ
  • le náʾaʾ
  • le najaʾ
  • le náʾoʾ
  • le najoʾ
  • le u náʾ u tsìimnaʾ
  • le u mèesáj u papaj
04

Pronunciation

  • The following exercises have been prepared to demonstrate and provide drill for all vowel combinations which occur in the language. Since Maya has only five vowels, it is clear that if we could find examples of all two-vowel combinations, there would be twenty-five such vowel sequences. Actually there is only one such sequence missing: u+u. All twenty-four others are to be found. Listen and repeat:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 4

  • má tóʾiʾ
  • máʾ lìibrojiʾ
  • le tóʾeʾ
  • le lìibrojeʾ
  • le tóʾaʾ
  • le lìibrojaʾ
  • le tóʾoʾ
  • le lìibrójoʾ
  • le toʾ u tíʾaloʾ
  • le u lìibroj u papaj
05

Pronunciation

  • The following exercises have been prepared to demonstrate and provide drill for all vowel combinations which occur in the language. Since Maya has only five vowels, it is clear that if we could find examples of all two-vowel combinations, there would be twenty-five such vowel sequences. Actually there is only one such sequence missing: u+u. All twenty-four others are to be found. Listen and repeat:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 5

  • máʾ túʾiʾ
  • ʾu ʾujil
  • le túʾeʾ
  • le ʾujeʾ
  • le túʾaʾ
  • le ʾujaʾ
  • le túʾoʾ
  • le ʾujoʾ
06

Pronunciation

  • In certain instances you will find clusters of three vowels. Listen and repeat the following:

Vowel Clusters

Pronunciation exercise number 6

  • le tiójaʾ
  • máariájeʾ
  • le tiájoʾ
  • máʾ tiójiʾ
  • máʾ tiájiʾ
07

Pronunciation

  • The following pronunciation exercise is designed to demonstrate two things: (1) the alternation of b and kʾ with ʾ before a consonant, and (2) the contrast between VʾC... and VʾVC...

Contrast between VCʾC and VʾC, and between VʾC and VʾVC

Pronunciation exercise number 7

  • mayab tʾàan
  • mayaʾ tʾàan
  • máʾ yáʾab tʾàaniʾ
  • lúubsej
  • lúuʾsej
  • múʾutsʾij
  • líikʾsej
  • líiʾsej
  • síʾis
  • nikʾlóʾob
  • niʾlóʾob
  • kéʾelóʾob
  • lukʾsej
  • luʾsej
  • lúʾukʾij
  • sublak
  • suʾlak
  • xúʾulij
08

Pronunciation

  • Observe the following phrases taken from the Basic Sentences: 15. ʾa ʾìijoj wá lelaʾ 16. letíʾeʾ chéen in ʾámigoj - Note that the initial ʾ of the words ʾìijoj and ʾámigoj does not drop out when preceded by a dependent pronoun. Since with these words of Spanish origin, and with several others, the ʾ is never lost, we must conclude that these words function as though they had a consonant-initial (and they do--a firm ʾ) and require the pre-consonantic variants of the personal particles (ʾin ʾa ʾu).

Firm Initial ʾ

Pronunciation exercise number 8

  • in w àakʾ
  • ʾin ʾámigoj
  • ʾa w àakʾ
  • ʾa ʾámigoj
  • ʾu y àakʾ
  • ʾu ʾámigoj
  • k ʾàak
  • k ʾámigoj
  • ʾin w ìikʾ
  • ʾin ʾìijoj
  • ʾa w ìikʾ
  • ʾa ʾìijoj
  • ʾu y ìikʾ
  • ʾu ʾìijoj
  • k ʾìikʾ
  • k ʾìijoj
  • ʾin w àalakʾ
  • ʾin ʾajaw
  • ʾa w àalakʾ
  • ʾa ʾajaw
  • ʾu y àalakʾ
  • ʾu ʾajaw
  • k ʾàalakʾ
  • k ʾajaw