Penobscot Language
Pronunciation Guide

α - is a gutteral sound. (place a finger on the bottom of your throat and say “ah,” when you say alpha the throat is more tense, and the sound is made lower in the throat.
 

a - like a in father
 

e - this is a short “e” like in “hen”
 

e - is a very subtle sound, almost like it isn’t there, like the “a” in idea.
 

č - sounds like the “j”
 

čč - sounds like “ch” as in “chime.”
 

h - there are two types. (1) (unaspirated) sounds like a “y” when it has vowels around it, (2) (aspirated) sound like “h,” we breathe through it more “her”
 

hʷ - like the aspirated “h” but with a quick “w” following
 

I - is always short like in “in”
 

k - sounds like a “g”
 

kk - is the hard “k,” as in “kite”
 

kʷ - sounds like a “g” with a aspirated “w”
 

kkʷ - is the hard “k,” as in “kite,” with a “w” like “quick”
 

l - sounds like an “l”
 

m - sounds like an “m”
 

n - sounds like an “n”
 

o - is the long “o” as in “loon.”
 

p - sounds like “b”
 

pp - sounds like “p”
 

s - sounds like a “z”
 

ss - sounds like “s”
 

t - sounds like “d”
 

tt - sounds like “t”
 

w - sounds like “w”
 

y - sounds like “y”