Chapter 1: Pronunciation Practice Flashcards
Say each word out loud. Try to pronounce the accents correctly.
What are the five Tahitian vowels?
a e i o u
parau
to speak
matau
hook
marō
dry
nana
herd
mati
match
fefe
twisted
pepe
butterfly
‘i
by, at
‘api
page
poro
corner
pupu
group
tutu
kind of tree
‘ua
past tense marker
pārau
pearl
mātau
to know
māro
to be stubborn
nāna
for him
māti
March
fēfē
a boil
pēpē
to wound
‘ī
full
‘apī
new
pōro
a marble
marō
dry
maro
royal belt
pūpū
sea-shell
tūtu
a cook
ūa
rain
What are the eight Tahitian consonants?
f h m n p r t v
What is a glottal stop?
It consists of blocking the air-stream with the glottis. It is similar to the sound heard, for example, in the cockney pronunciation of the word “butter”, where the “tt” is not sounded, but replaced by a glottal stop, thus “bu’er”.
What are the four pronunciations of the initial vowel in Tahitian?
(i) The vowel may be short and preceded by a glottal stop, as in: ’oe you ’umara sweet potato ’uri dog ’amu eat
(ii) The vowel may be long and preceded by a glottal stop, as in: ’au to swim ’/a to steal
(iii) The vowel may be short, not preceded by a glottal stop, as in: au I, me atua God
(iv) The vowel may be long, not preceded by a glottal stop, as in: ao world, day ciu nice, good.
What is a syllable in Tahitian?
The syllable in Tahitian consists of + C + N, where C equals a consonant or glottal stop, and N equals either a short vowel, a long vowel (i.e. two identical vowels), or a sequence of two different vowels. + indicates that the consonant is optional, while + indicates that the vowel or sequence is obligatory in the syllable.
What is the first stress rule?
(i) In words containing either a sequence of different vowels or a long vowel, the stress falls on the first vowel of the sequence, or on the long vowel.
Examples: tiare flower raiti rice tia ’a shoe pahi ship tamarii boy tamahine daughter
What is the second stress rule?
(ii) With words containing two such sequences (i.e. sequences of different or same vowels, that is, long vowels), then the stress falls on the first of the sequences in the word.
Examples: feia group
tamaroa boy
faraoa bread
What is the third stress rule?
(iii) With words not containing long vowels or sequences of vowels, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable. Examples: fare house; tima’o shark; ta’ata person; ’ohipa work
What is the fourth stress rule?
(iv) With compound words, usually polysyllabic, each part of the compound takes its own stress. Examples: pua’a-niho goat; pua’a-horo-fenua horse
pua’a
pig
ueue
to shake
nui
big, immense
‘uo’ou
clean
‘apo’o
hole
ī’oa
name
ha’ari
coconut
