THE GUUGU YIMITHIRR ALPHABET: HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE LETTERS

 

In the table below letter pronunciations are described as being ‘similar to’ a sound we know, ‘in between’ sounds we are familiar with or ‘like’ an English sound. Describing sounds is difficult and the guidelines provided are only approximations: English and Guugu Yimithirr don’t sound the same! The best way to learn how to pronounce Guugu Yimithirr is to listen to the example words by using the audio links provided and practice pronouncing the sounds out loud.

 

Letter	Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation / Sound
a	bayan, house		This sound is similar to a short: pasta, cup (Australian pronunciation, Macquarie Dictionary)
	gaban, book
	awuun!, good!
aa	yuwaal, beach		This sound is similar to a long: father, start (Australian pronunciation, Macquarie Dictionary)
	gudaa, dog
	waandaar, white cockatoo
b	bama, people		This sound is pronounced in between an English B and a P.
	bubu, country
	biiba, father
	galbay, long
d	dagil, to build		This sound is pronounced in between an English D and a T.
	diini, red
	gudaa, dog
g	guugu, language, speech		This sound is pronounced in between an English G (as in ‘great’) and a K.  It is never pronounced as in ‘giraffe’
	gugaa, kookaburra
	gumbiin, string
	murruga, car
	gudaa, dog
i	bidi, forehead		This sound is similar to: piano, happy (Macquarie Dictionary)
	birra, leaf, paper
	jirimandi, coconut
ii	miil, eye		This sound is like: green, bean
	diini, red
	biiba, father
j	juugaar, sand		This sound is similar to: jam, fridge However, it is pronounced pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
	jirimandi, coconut
	bujuur, feather
l	biililil, paddling		This sound is like: light, love
	nambal, stone, money
	yulmbu, island
m	miil, eye		This sound is like: mother, some
	murruga, car
	nambal, stone, money
n	bayan, house		This sound is like: night, fin
	nambal, stone, money
	manu, neck, throat
nh	nhundu, you (one person)		This sound is pronounced like an English N while pressing the tip of the tongue between the front teeth.
	wanhu, who
	nyinhinhi, groper fish
ny	gaanyi-gaanyi, too fat		This sound is similar to: canyon, onion
	nyinda, shallow
ng	gangurru, black kangaroo		This sound is like: singer, wrong It is never pronounced as in ‘finger, dingo’
	ngurraar, black cockatoo
	nguman, taipan snake
r	waandaar, white cockatoo		This sound is like: right, red It is never silent like in Australian English: car, mortar (Macquarie Dictionary)
	jirimandi, coconut
	baari, chin
rr	garrgu, later		This sound is like a Scottish or Spanish ‘rolled r’
	ngurraar, black cockatoo
	birrbirr, parrot
th	yimithirr, with this		This sound is pronounced in between an English D and a T while pressing the tip of the tongue between the front teeth This never sounds like ‘th’ in English.
	thalun, sea, blue
	buthu, maybe
u	bubu, country		This sound is similar to a short: book, put
	yugu, tree, wood, fire
	burriwi, emu
uu	guuju, fish		This sound is similar to a long: boot, fruit
	buurraay, water
	guugu, language, speech
w	waan, crab		This sound is like: word, want
	awuun!, good!
	yuwaal, beach
y	yugu, tree, wood, fire		This sound is like: yellow, you
	mayi, food
	bayan, house
y at the end of a word	buurraay, water		This sound is like: boy, buy

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

LETTERS / SOUNDS OF THE ALPHABET

Summary and useful tips – VOWELS

The vowels of Guugu Yimithirr don’t match the ones of English. To spell vowels, instead of using A, E, I, O, U like in English, in Guugu Yimithirr we use A, AA, I, II, U, UU. 

Some vowels are short: A, I, U. Others are long: AA, II, UU.

• Short vowels

The short vowels in Guugu Yimithirr are A, I, U:

A is pronounced similarly to: pasta, cup 

I is pronounced as in: piano, happy

U is pronounced similarly to: put, book

This is different from what we are used to. For example, in English the letter A isn’t always pronounced with the sound we find in ‘pasta’. Think of: ‘cat’, ‘because’, ‘bean’, etc. Also, in English many words that have the sound that we find in ‘pasta’ are spelt with a different letter: for example, ‘cup’ (Australian English).

Pay attention to how the short vowels are pronounced and spelt in Guugu Yimithirr.

In the examples below, you’ll notice how some words are very similar but their meaning changes depending on which sound/spelling we use:

A (pasta)	Audio links	U (put)	Audio links
mala, culprit   magu, before		mula, honey   mugu, back
A (pasta)		I (piano)
birra, leaf, paper   barrbil, camp		birri, creek   birrbal, to collect
U ( put)		I (piano)
wagul, flying fox   walu, like		wagil, to cut   wali, around

• Long vowels

The long vowels in Guugu Yimithirr are AA, II, UU:

AA is pronounced similarly to: father, start

II is pronounced as in: green, bean

UU is pronounced similarly to: boot, fruit

Pay attention to how the long vowels are pronounced and spelt in Guugu Yimithirr.

In the examples below, you’ll notice how some words are very similar but their meaning changes depending on which sound/spelling we use:

AA (father)	Audio links	UU (boot)	Audio links
gugaa, kookaburra		guguur, mouse
AA (father)		II (green)
gudaa, dog		gudiir, mosquito	gudiir
UU (boot)		II (green)
muunh, dark		miinh, guess what!

• Short vs. long vowel sounds

In Guugu Yimithirr we need to pay attention to the difference between:

the short vowels A, I, U  and the long vowels AA, II, UU. 

This is similar to the difference we have in English between the short vowel sound in ‘bin’ and the long vowel sound in ‘bean’. The vowel sounds used in these two words are very similar but pronouncing a short vowel or long vowel changes the meaning of the words. 

In Guugu Yimithirr the short vowels A, I, U are different sounds from the long vowels AA, II, UU.

Using one or the other changes the meaning of the words: 

A (pasta)	Audio links	AA (father)	Audio links
nhila, now, today		nhilaa, new
bayan, house		bayaan, single, unmarried
I (piano)		II (green)
buli, fell		bulii, will fall
U (put)		UU (boot)
buthu, maybe		buuthuu, parrot fish

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

LETTERS / SOUNDS OF THE ALPHABET

Summary and useful tips – CONSONANTS

We have seen that the Guugu Yimithirr vowels are: A, AA, I, II, U, UU. All the other letters of the alphabet are the consonants. We have also seen that some of these sounds are kind of similar to English ones, while others do not exist in English.

When reading and writing Guugu Yimithirr we need to pay attention to the consonant sounds (and their spelling) that we are not used to perceiving as different from one another:

• R and RR

Both sounds are familiar to English speakers, in English we can easily use one in place of the other. However, remember that in Guugu Yimithirr ‘r’ and ‘rr’ are different sounds that change the meaning of words. We need to pronounce them and spell them the right way:

R (right)	Audio links	RR (rolled R)	Audio links
bira, certainly		birra, leaf, paper
maral, girl		marral, bottle

• NH and N

NH doesn’t exist in English, we pronounce it like the sound N while pressing the tip of the tongue between the front teeth. NH can sound quite similar to N for a beginner Guugu Yimithirr learner and the two sounds can easily be confused. Pay attention to the difference between N and NH both in sound and in spelling, using one or the other changes the meaning of words:

NH (N while pressing the tip of the tongue between the teeth)	Audio link	N (night)	Audio link
wanhu, who?		wanu-wanu, mischievous

• TH and D

The sound TH doesn’t exist in English, we pronounce it like the sound in between a D and a T while pressing the tip of the tongue between the front teeth. TH can sound similar to D, which we pronounce as in between an English D and a T. Pay attention to the difference between TH and D both in sound and in spelling, using one or the other changes the meaning of words:

TH (sound between D and T while pressing the tip of the tongue between the front teeth)	Audio links	D (sound between D and T)	Audio links
thagu, left hand		dagu, thing
gathii, far away		gadii, come!

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

SPELLING / PRONUNCIATION RULES – Part 1

As we have seen, in Guugu Yimithirr one letter generally corresponds to one sound. However, there are some exceptions:

• Spelling ‘i’ or ‘y’ at the end of a word

At the end of a word I and Y are pronounced the same way, as in ‘happy’. We use I after a consonant and Y after a vowel.

I at the end of a word, after a consonant	Audio links	Y at the end of a word, after a vowel	Audio links
gaari, not		ngaabaay, head
birri, creek		balay, flat
babi, father’s mother		gulnguy, boat
wali, around		yawuuy, still, serious, sad

• Pronunciation of ‘ay’

We have seen that A is pronounced as in ‘pasta’, ‘cup’.

However, when a word ends in ‘ay’ we always pronounce the A as in ‘day, may’:

Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation
balay, flat		AY is pronounced like in: day, may
galbay, long
gurray, said
yiway, here
bamangay, people (plural)

Mid-word, when ‘ay’ is at the end of a syllable, it is also pronounced as in day, may:

[WHAT IS A SYLLABLE? Look at the box at the end of this section]

‘ay’ at the end of a syllable (day)	Audio links
thaymburr, generous thay-mburr
daygarr, nut day-garr
yayngarr, sound yay-ngarr

Notice how, when AY isn’t at the end of a syllable, but A and Y are divided between two syllables (A being the end of one syllable and Y being the beginning of the following syllable), A is pronounced as usual, as in ‘pasta’, ‘cup’.

‘ay’ in all other cases, A (pasta)	Audio links
bayan, house ba-yan
mayi, food ma-yi
ngayu, I nga-yu

Finally, notice how the pronunciation changes between:

• ‘ay’ at the end of a syllable: A (day) 
• ‘ay’ in any other case: A (cup) 
• ‘aay’: AA (father)

‘ay’ (day) at the end of a syllable:	Audio links	‘ay’ (cup) in any other case	Audio links	‘aay’ (father):	Audio links
bagay, poked, dug		bayan, house		bagaay, keelback snake
buday, ate		mayi, food		buurraay, water
yiway, here		ngayu, I		ngaabaay, head
daygarr, nut		gayal, raw, unripe		dabaaygu, tomorrow	DABAAYGU

WHAT IS A SYLLABLE?  All words have syllables. A syllable is a sound unit in a word, a unit of pronunciation.  For example, in English we have: – 1 syllable words such as ‘yes’, ‘house’ – these words cannot be divided into smaller units. – 2 syllable words such as ‘finish’: fin-ish, ‘learning’: learn-ing  – 3 syllable words such as ‘bicycle’: bi-cy-cle, ‘difficult’: dif-fi-cult – 4 syllables in words such as ‘dictionary’: dic-tio-na-ry And so on. In Guugu Yimithirr we have: – 1 syllable words such as ‘miil’, eye or ‘waan’, crab – these words cannot be divided into smaller units. – 2 syllable words such as ‘bubu’, country: bu-bu, ‘bayan’, house: ba-yan, ‘ngaabaay’, head: ngaa-baay. – 3 syllable words such as ‘gangurru’, black kangaroo: ga-ngu-rru, ‘yimithirr’, with this: yi-mi-thirr – 4 syllables in words such as ‘jirimandi’, coconut: ji-ri-man-di. And so on.

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

SPELLING / PRONUNCIATION RULES – Part 2

• Pronunciation of MB, NB

We have seen that in Guugu Yimithirr the letter B is pronounced in between an English B and a P. In Guugu Yimithirr B is one sound rather than two.

When we find M, N right before B, we need to pay attention to our pronunciation:

Spelling	Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation
mb	nambal, stone, money		This sounds like: number In this case, the letter B sounds like an English B.
nb	ganbi, blood		This sounds like: unbreakable  In this case, the letter B sounds like an English B.
	bayanbi, at home, in the house

Pay attention to the pronunciation of B in the examples below:

After M and N B is pronounced like English B	Audio links	Pronunciation of B in all other cases	Audio links
nambal, stone, money		bubu, country
thaymburr, generous		bayan, house
ganbi, blood		biiba, father
gunbu, song		milbi, story

• Pronunciation of ND

We have seen that in Guugu Yimithirr the letter D is pronounced in between an English D and a T. In Guugu Yimithirr this is one sound rather than two.

When we find N right before D, we need to pay attention to our pronunciation:

Spelling	Examples	Audio link	Pronunciation
nd	gundal, to hit		This sounds like: handy In this case, the letter D sounds like the English D.

Pay attention to the difference in the pronunciation of D in the examples below:

After N D is pronounced like D	Audio links	Pronunciation of D in other cases	Audio links
gundal, to hit		gudaa, dog
bandil, to pronounce, to chop		diini, red
yindu, other, another	yindu	dambun, medicine man

• Pronunciation of N-G and NGG

We have seen that in Guugu Yimithirr G is pronounced in between an English G (as in ‘great’) and a K. In Guugu Yimithirr this is one sound rather than two.

When we find N and NG right before G we need to pay attention to our pronunciation:

Spelling	Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation
n-g	nhin-gal, to sit, to be		N-G sound is like: ungrateful, unglazed It is pronounced as the sound N followed by the sound G (as in ‘great’).
	balin-ga, echidna
	ban-gun, elbow
ngg	bunggu, knee		NGG is pronounced as NG+G (as in great). It sounds like English ‘dingo’.
	balawunggal, cyclone
	thunggul, snake

Pay attention to the difference in the pronunciation of G in the examples below:

After N and NG, G is pronounced like G (great)	Audio links	Pronunciation of G in other cases	Audio links
balin-ga, echidna		gulnguy, boat
ban-gun, elbow		yugu, tree, wood, fire
wanggar, up		gaban, book
balawunggal, cyclone		guga, kookaburra
thunggul, snake		gumbiin, string

IMPORTANT SPELLING RULE: We use a hyphen in between the two letters N-G to make sure we don’t confuse the two letters/sounds ‘N’ and ‘G’ with NG, which is one letter/one sound in Guugu Yimithirr.  Notice how N-G and NG are different and their pronunciation changes the meaning of words: N-G  Pronounced as in: ‘ungrateful’ Audio links NG  Pronounced as in: ‘singer’ Audio links biluun-gu, next to biluungu, about the hip

• Pronunciation of NTH and NHTH

We have seen that in Guugu Yimithirr the letter TH is pronounced in between an English D and a T, while pressing the tip of the tongue between the teeth. In Guugu Yimithirr this is one sound rather than two.

When we find N, NH right before TH, we need to pay attention to our pronunciation:

Spelling	Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation
nth	thalunthirr, Guugu Yimithirr coastal dialect		This sounds like: handy, while pressing the tip of the tongue in between the front teeth for the TH sound only.  The tongue needs to shift position between the pronunciation of the N and TH. In this case, the letter TH sounds like the English D, while pressing the tip of the tongue in between the front teeth.
nhth	nganhthaan, we		This sounds like: handy, while pressing the tip of the tongue in between the front teeth for both the NH and the TH sound. In this case, the letter TH also sounds like the English D, while pressing the tip of the tongue in between the front teeth. .
	wanhtharra, how?

Pay attention to the difference in the pronunciation of TH in the examples below:

After N and NH, TH is pronounced like D, while pressing the tip of the tongue in between the front teeth	Audio links	Pronunciation of TH in all other cases	Audio links
thalunthirr, Guugu Yimithirr coastal dialect		yimithirr, with this
muyanthirr, ashamed		dulbiilthirr, sad
nganhthaan, we		buthaal, lying
wanhtharra, how?		tharramali, thunder

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

LETTERS AND LETTER COMBINATIONS THAT LOOK SIMILAR BUT SPELL DIFFERENT SOUNDS

There are a few letters / letter combinations that we need to pay attention to when reading and writing Guugu Yimithirr. It is important not to confuse them with other letters of the alphabet or similar letter combinations, as they spell different sounds.

We have already listed two of these in the ‘Spelling/Pronunciation – Rules 2’ section, but we have added them here again to have the complete series of ‘tricky letters/letter combinations’ in one place:

• N-G and NG

We use a hyphen in between the two letters N-G to make sure we don’t confuse the two letters/sounds ‘N’ and ‘G’ with NG, which is one letter/one sound in Guugu Yimithirr. 

Notice how N-G and NG are different and their pronunciation changes the meaning of words:

N-G  Pronounced as in: ‘ungrateful’	Audio link	NG  Pronounced as in: ‘singer’	Audio link
biluun-gu, next to		biluungu, about the hip

• NGG and NG

In Guugu Yimithirr there is an important difference between: NGG (as in ‘dingo’) and NG (as in ‘singer’).

In English we spell both sounds the same way and so we might get confused about how to pronounce them correctly in Guugu Yimithirr.

Spelling	Example	Audio links	Pronunciation
ngg	wanggaar, up		NGG is pronounced as NG+G (as in great) It sounds like English ‘dingo’
ng	ngayu, I		This is pronounced as in English ‘singer’

Get used to hearing the difference between the two sounds by pronouncing the words out loud. Notice how these two sounds/spellings are different and the meaning of words changes depending on which one we use:

NGG (dingo)	Audio link	NG (singer)	Audio link
wanggaar, up		wangarr, white person, ghost

• NNG and NGG

In English we do not have this combination, but in Guugu Yimithirr NNG and NG are different sounds. 

Spelling	Example	Audio link	Pronunciation
nng	baanngaa, to cry		This is pronounced as the sound N followed by the sound NG (as in ‘singer’)

Notice how different these sounds are in the words below:

NNG (N + NG as in singer)	Audio link	NGG (NG as in singer + G as in great)	Audio link
baanngaa, to cry		banggal, to lift (shoulders in pride), to puff (chest)	banggal

• NYJ and NG

Spelling	Examples	Audio links	Pronunciation
nyj	manyjal, mountain		This sound is similar to: dungeon N.B. To learn the correct pronunciation of this sound, listen carefully to the example words
	banyji, brother-in-law, sister-in-law
	janyjil, to bathe, to dive

Notice how these two sounds are different and their pronunciation changes the meaning of words:

NYJ (dungeon)	Audio link	NG (singer)	Audio link
manyjal, mountain		mangal, hand

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

LANGUAGE VARIATION

 

• Same language different words

Just like English speakers sometimes use different words, depending on where they come from (for example, American people use ‘vacation’ and British people use ‘holiday’ to describe the same thing), Guugu Yimithirr speakers may use different words to refer to the same item:

English	Thalunthirr (coastal dialect)	Audio links	Waguurrga (inland dialect)	Audio links
moon	giitha		waarigan
head	gambuugu		ngaabaay
stake	thunggul		thaarba

A LITTLE HISTORY – When Guugu Yimithirr started being used in church, the Thanlunthirr word for ‘sky’ was used as a translation for ‘Heaven’. Nowadays everybody uses the original Thalunthirr word for ‘Heaven’ and the Waguurga word for ‘sky’.

		Traditional meaning	Today’s meaning
Thalunthirr (coastal dialect)	jiiri	sky	Heaven
Waguurrga (inland dialect)	wangunh	sky	sky

• Same language different sounds

Just like English speakers pronounce words differently, depending on where they come from (for example, think of how differently Americans and British people pronounce the word ‘cat’), Guugu Yimithirr speakers don’t pronounce all words exactly the same.

Below are listed some sound variations in Guugu Yimithirr. Some people pronounce words using one sound or the other, while others use one sound as well as the other, depending on the situation. Both spellings are in use:

English translation	sound/spelling ‘nh’	Audio links	sound/spelling ‘ny’	Audio links
she/he	nhulu		nyulu
always	nhuumaar		nyuumaar

English translation	sound / spelling ‘th’	Audio link	sound / spelling ‘ j’	Audio link
younger sister	thin-gurr		jin-gurr

English translation	sound / spelling ‘nhth’	Audio link	sound / spelling ‘nyj’	Audio link
dry	banhthil		banyjil

English translation	sound / spelling ‘rr’	Audio link	sound / spelling ‘l’	Audio link
quickly	dindaarrgu	DINDAARRGU	dindaalgu	DINDAALGU

English translation	sound / spelling ‘rr’	Audio links	sound / spelling ‘n’	Audio links
to knead	thirrmal	THIRRMAL	thinmal	THINMAL
to scream	baarrnggal	BARRNGGAL	baanngal	BANNGAL

• Same language different spellings

The writing system described here was formalised by linguist John Haviland in 1991. It is now taught and used in the Hope Vale primary school during Guugu Yimithirr classes. However, this isn’t the only way Guugu Yimithirr has been written in the past and even today you will find people still use different spellings, since the language has been written a few different ways through the years.

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.

For questions and feedback please contact: srendina@pamalanguagecentre.org.au

PRONUNCIATION and SPELLING practice

1. Play the audio for each word from the list below and practice writing the words using correct spelling.
2. Read the words out loud, and then play the audio to check the correct pronunciation for each word.

buurraay, water		buday, ate
mala, culprit		mula, honey
magu, before		mugu, back
birra, leaf, paper		birri, creek
wagul, flying fox		wagil, to cut
bala, skin		baalaa, thin-leaved Condoo tree
buli, fell		bulii, will fall
buthu, maybe		buuthuu, parrot fish
guyu, milk, breast		guuju, fish
dagu, thing		thagu, left hand
gadii, come!		gathii, far away
madi-madi, maggot		maji, matches
budal, to eat		burral, top
wanu-wanu, mischievous		wanhu, who?
ganhil, song		gaanyil, in-law
ngigan, vain		nyinda, shallow
mangal, hand		manyjal, mountain
wangarr, white person, ghost		wanggaar, up
bunhthi, mud	BUNHTHI	bunyji, tea leaf	BUNYJI
bira, certainly		birra, leaf, paper
maral, girl		marral, bottle
ganhaarr, crocodile		gaanhaal, older sister
mugur, mother’s younger brother		mugul, old
guuju, fish		guugu, language, speech

We thank Mrs Lillian Bowen for kindly providing all Guugu Yimithirr audio recordings and her language expertise.