Vowels Flashcards
How many vowels in Yolŋu languages?
6 vowels - three long and three short
What are the short vowels?
a, i, u
What are the long vowels?
ä, e, o
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘a’?
Similar to the sound ‘a’ in the English word “ago”. Remember to make it short.
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘ä’?
Same as the the short ‘a’, but slightly longer. It is similar to the ‘a’ in the English word “father”.
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘u’?
Similar to the sound ‘u’ in the English word “put” or “good”. It is not an ‘oo’ sounds as in “goo”. It is not a ‘u’ sound as in “but”.
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘o’?
Same in quality as the short u, but slightly longer, as in the English words ‘law’ or ‘bought’. It is not like the ‘o’ sound in “pot” or “over”.
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘i’?
Similar to the sound ‘i’ as in the English word “tin”. Be careful not to lengthen it to ‘ee’ as in the English word “keep”, especially when it occurs at the end of the word. For example, compare English “billy” with Yolŋu “bili”. In the English word the second vowel is lengthened. In the Yolŋu word they are both the same length and quality.
How do you pronounce the vowel ‘e’?
The long or doubled version of the short i. There is no easy English equivalent. It is NOT like ‘ee’ in “sleep”, nor it is like ‘e’ in “net”, but is somewhere between the two. It is like the vowel sound in the word ‘care’, but with no vowel ‘glide’. When trying to pronounce it, start by saying the short sound i and then lengthen it slightly.
