Sound Combos
Sound Combos
The above units have introduced you to all the sound of Hul’q’umi’num’. This unit discusses some special problems that arise in pronouncing words that have certain sequences of sounds.
Consonant Clusters
Many consonants in Hul’q’umi’num’ are difficult to pronounce. These sounds are even harder if they come next to another consonant.
English allows some consonant clusters—two or more consonants in a row—for example in splash or depth. In Hul’q’umi’num’, consonant clusters are very frequent and sometimes require extra practice.
Pronunciation: Clusters with s
Listen and pronounce the following words.
| ‘salmon’ | |
| ‘inner cedar bark’ | |
| ‘bow of boat’ | |
| ‘spring salmon’ | |
| ‘bone’ | |
| ‘herring’ | |
| ‘axe’ | |
| ‘fierce thing’ | |
| ‘deck of cards’ | |
| ‘potlatch’ | |
| ‘feast, party’ |
Pronunciation: Initial Clusters
Listen and pronounce the following words.
| ‘sauce pan’ | |
| ‘to crawl’ | |
| ‘to ask’ | |
| ‘comb’ | |
| ‘to be tired’ | |
| ‘us’ | |
| ‘to stand’ | |
| ‘’six’ | |
| ‘shoe’ | |
| ‘stingy’ | |
| ‘rock cod’ | |
| ‘to wash it’ | |
| ‘bighouse’ | |
| ‘Douglas fir’ |
Diphthongs
In Hul’q’umi’num’, just like in English, vowels can be followed by a w or y to make a special sound sequence called a diphthong. A diphthong starts out like a vowel but the mouth quickly changes to adjust to a w or y. For example the oy in the English “boy” is a diphthong. Also the sound spelled as i in the word “ride” is really a combination of a + y.
Pronunciation: uy, ay, ey, uw, ew, and iw
Listen and pronounce the following words.
| ‘shoe’ | |
| ‘deer’ | |
| ‘good’ | |
| ‘to make it’ | |
| ‘to go upstream’ | |
| ‘to kill it accidentally’ | |
| ‘to die’ | |
| ‘to sell’ | |
| ‘to bend it’ | |
| ‘green’ | |
| ‘to kill them’ | |
| ‘work’ | |
| ‘Snuneymuxw’ | |
| ‘Douglas fir wood’ | |
| ‘“cedar tree’ | |
| ‘ling cod’ | |
| ‘dog’ | |
| ‘river’ | |
| ‘arm’ | |
| ‘skin’ | |
| ‘beaver’ | |
| ‘potato’ | |
| ‘bighouse’ | |
| ‘to get ready, prepare yourself’ | |
| ‘horse’ | |
| ‘inside’ |