The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Mayan pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. This pronunciation guide is based on the phonology of Classic Maya,[1] and is not valid for many contemporary Mayan languages.
IPA |
Examples |
English approximation |
Consonants |
ʔ |
' |
the catch in uh-oh; a glottal stop |
ɓ |
b' |
no English equivalent, somewhat like boy |
tʃ |
ch |
child |
tʃʼ |
ch' |
somewhat like child |
h |
h |
he |
x |
j |
loch |
k |
k |
skin |
kʼ |
k' |
somewhat like kin |
l |
l |
leave |
m |
m |
man |
n |
n |
noodle |
ŋ |
nh |
sing |
p |
p |
span |
pʼ |
p' |
somewhat like pan |
q |
q |
no English equivalent, somewhat like cut |
qʼ |
q' |
as above, but ejective |
r |
r' |
Spanish perro |
s |
s |
sack |
t |
t |
stand |
tʼ |
t' |
somewhat like tan |
tʲ |
ty |
no English equivalent, somewhat like Christian |
tʲʼ |
ty' |
as above, but ejective |
ts |
tz |
cats |
tsʼ |
tz' |
somewhat like cats |
w |
w |
wand |
ʃ |
x |
shoe |
j |
y |
yes |
|
|
Notes