Pronunciation Differences - Revision history

Erin: /* Q */

2012-11-27T21:48:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:48, 27 November 2012
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	The most obviously different sound (for English speakers) is the sound which is written with the letter ''q''. This sound has a whole range of pronunciations in Mi'gmaq, from the easy-to-pronounce [h]† to the more difficult [q], [χ], [ħ] and [ʕ]. Every possible pronunciation is described in more detail with an audio example on the main page for ''q'', but the most common seems to be [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Con-41b.AIFF [χ]] (pronunciation taken from the online supplement to Ladefoged's ''A Course in Phonetics'').		The most obviously different sound (for English speakers) is the sound which is written with the letter ''q''. This sound has a whole range of pronunciations in Mi'gmaq, from the easy-to-pronounce [h]† to the more difficult [q], [χ], [ħ] and [ʕ]. Every possible pronunciation is described in more detail with an audio example on the main page for ''q'', but the most common seems to be [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Con-41b.AIFF [χ]] (pronunciation taken from the online supplement to Ladefoged's ''A Course in Phonetics'').

	[χ] is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative voiceless uvular fricative], and sounds much like the ''r'' in French ''mettre'', 'to put' (but not like the ''r''s in French ''dernier'', 'last'). It sounds a lot like [h], but is a lot more forceful.		[χ] is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative voiceless uvular fricative], and sounds much like the ''r'' in French ''mettre'', 'to put' (but not like the ''r''s in French ''dernier'', 'last'). It sounds a lot like [h], but is a lot more forceful. See if you can hear it in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tqope%27j/recording1.mp3 ''t'''q'''ope'j''], 'twin'.

	† [Square brackets] indicate a pronunciation of a certain letter. Pronunciations are given in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa International Phonetic Alphabet].		† [Square brackets] indicate a pronunciation of a certain letter. Pronunciations are given in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa International Phonetic Alphabet].

Erin: /* Obstruent Consonants */

2012-11-27T21:44:35Z

Obstruent Consonants

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	\| align="center" \| s		\| align="center" \| s
	\| align="center" \| voiceless		\| align="center" \| voiceless
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/s/sapan/recording1.mp3 ''~~sapan~~'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/s/sapan/recording1.mp3 '''''s'''apan'']
	\| 'paste'		\| 'paste'
	\|-		\|-
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	\| align="center" \| j		\| align="center" \| j
	\| align="center" \| voiced		\| align="center" \| voiced
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/j/jagej/recording1.mp3 ''~~jagej~~'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/j/jagej/recording1.mp3 '''''j'''agej'']
	\| 'lobster'		\| 'lobster'
	\|-		\|-
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	\| align="center" \| b		\| align="center" \| b
	\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated		\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/p/paqtesm/recording1.mp3 ''~~paqtesm~~'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/p/paqtesm/recording1.mp3 '''''p'''aqtesm'']
	\| 'wolf'		\| 'wolf'
	\|-		\|-
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	\| align="center" \| d		\| align="center" \| d
	\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated		\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tia%27m/recording1.mp3 ''~~tia~~'m'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tia%27m/recording1.mp3 '''''t'''ia'm'']
	\| 'moose'		\| 'moose'
	\|-		\|-
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	\| align="center" \| g		\| align="center" \| g
	\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated		\| align="center" \| voiceless but unaspirated
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gajuewj/recording1.mp3 ''~~gajuewj~~'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gajuewj/recording1.mp3 '''''g'''ajuewj'']
	\| 'cat'		\| 'cat'
	\|}		\|}

Erin: /* E and O */

2012-11-27T21:43:47Z

E and O

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	! Sounds Like… \|\| Spelling \|\| Example \|\| Translation		! Sounds Like… \|\| Spelling \|\| Example \|\| Translation
	\|-		\|-
	\| align="center", ~~colspan~~="2" \| English ''e''		\| align="center", rowspan="2" \| English ''e''
	\| align="center" \| e		\| align="center" \| e
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/egel/recording1.mp3 '''''e'''g'''e'''l'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/egel/recording1.mp3 '''''e'''g'''e'''l'']
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	\| 'he or she is present'		\| 'he or she is present'
	\|-		\|-
	\| align="center", ~~colspan~~="2" \| English ''o''		\| align="center", rowspan="2" \| English ''o''
	\| align="center" \| o		\| align="center" \| o
	\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tuop%27ti/recording1.mp3 ''tu'''o'''p'ti'']		\| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tuop%27ti/recording1.mp3 ''tu'''o'''p'ti'']

Erin: Created page with "This page aims to give information about the differences in pronunciation between Mi'gmaq and English to help language learners learn to pronounce the language better. It is also..."

2012-11-27T21:42:52Z

Created page with "This page aims to give information about the differences in pronunciation between Mi'gmaq and English to help language learners learn to pronounce the language better. It is also..."

New page

This page aims to give information about the differences in pronunciation between Mi'gmaq and English to help language learners learn to pronounce the language better. It is also meant to be a useful resource for language teachers so that they can help their own students with pronunciation if it becomes an issue.

This page is roughly divided into two sections - one dealing with the pronunciation of new kinds of sounds that are not present in English, and one dealing with the smaller differences between the languages that are nonetheless important for speaking and understanding Mi'gmaq.

=Sounds in Mi'gmaq that aren't in English=

Mi'gmaq has three sounds that are unfamiliar to speakers of English. These are written in the Listuguj [[Spelling|spelling system]] as ''q'', ''gw'', and ''qw''. In addition to these sounds, Mi'gmaq also makes a distinction between '''long''' and '''short''' sounds. These are all discussed below.

==Q==

''Main page: [[Pronunciation of Q]]''

The most obviously different sound (for English speakers) is the sound which is written with the letter ''q''. This sound has a whole range of pronunciations in Mi'gmaq, from the easy-to-pronounce [h]† to the more difficult [q], [χ], [ħ] and [ʕ]. Every possible pronunciation is described in more detail with an audio example on the main page for ''q'', but the most common seems to be [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Con-41b.AIFF [χ]] (pronunciation taken from the online supplement to Ladefoged's ''A Course in Phonetics'').

[χ] is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative voiceless uvular fricative], and sounds much like the ''r'' in French ''mettre'', 'to put' (but not like the ''r''s in French ''dernier'', 'last'). It sounds a lot like [h], but is a lot more forceful.

† [Square brackets] indicate a pronunciation of a certain letter. Pronunciations are given in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa International Phonetic Alphabet].

==GW and QW==

''Main page: [[Relating G and Q with GW and QW]]''

Two other obviously different sounds are those which are written as ''gw'' and ''qw''. Most often, ''gw'' sounds just like it's spelled - as a ''g'' or a ''k'' followed by a ''w'', like in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gi%27gwesu/recording1.mp3 ''go' '''gw'''esu''], 'muskrat' (similar to English ''Gwen'') or in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/ejgwit/recording1.mp3 ''ej'''gw'''it''], 'he or she hiccups' (similar to English ''quiet''). However, when it is at the end of a word, it sounds a bit different, like in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gisigui%27sgw/recording1.mp3 ''gisigui's'''kw'''], 'old woman'. To make this sound, it's easiest to imagine trying to blow out a candle while making a ''kw'' sound.

The sound ''qw'' behaves very similarly - just imagine adding a ''w'' to the end of ''q'' in rather than ''g'' or ''k''. The usual case is exemplified by [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/elenqwe%27set/recording1.mp3 ''elen'''qw'''e'set''], 'he or she scoots towards' - like a more forceful pronunciation of ''hwhat'' in English. It is rare to have ''qw'' at the ends of words, so no example of the pronunciation is currently available.

==Length==

''Main page: [[Sound Length]]''

The last of the obvious differences between Mi'gmaq and English lie within the length difference between sounds. English has no meaningful difference in length between sounds - a longer ''m'' does not make the word ''camel'', for example, mean something different (there is no word ''cammel'' that does not just sound like a mispronunciation of ''camel''). In Mi'gmaq, however, changing the length of the sound ''can'' make a difference, like in ''[http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/epit/recording1.mp3 '''e'''pit] [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/e%27pit/recording1.mp3 '''e''''pit]'', 'the woman is sitting'.

Although there is no real length distinction between sounds in English, English speakers can still ''recognize'' a length distinction - in fact, there appears to be one in the word ''meanness'', where the [n] is pronounced long. The reason this does not count as a true length distinction is that it only happens when prefixes or suffixes are added to already existing words (that is, it is separable into ''mean'' and ''-ness'') - there are no prefix- or suffix-less words that have this distinction.

Of course, this can occur in Mi'gmaq as well - to form the plural of the word ''wigatign'', book, the ''n'' is lengthened to form ''wigatignn'', 'books'. The difference is that ''all'' sounds are regularly lengthened in other places within words - like in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/etteg/recording1.mp3 ''e'''tt'''eg''], 'it (inanimate) is ripe', [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/m/mijjit/recording1.mp3 ''mi'''jj'''it''], 'he or she eats', and [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gu%27gu%27gwes/recording1.mp3 ''g'''u''''g'''u''''gwes''], 'owl'. A full list of the length differences can be found on the main page.

When pronouncing these sounds, the learner needs to try to pronounce them with about the same length as the two ''n''s in ''meanness'' - this is the length that will feel most natural, and it will make the length distinction stand out.

=The Small Differences=

In addition to the very obvious differences between Mi'gmaq and English listed above, there are a few that are not so obvious, but are still crucial to learning to speak Mi'gmaq. These involve the correct pronunciations of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstruent obstruent] consonants and of ''e'', ''o'', ''a'', and [[schwa]], which are discussed in more detail below.

==Obstruent Consonants==

''Main page: [[Obstruents]]''

At first, it may sound like Mi'gmaq has many of the same sounds as Enlgish - there is a ''p'' and a ''b'', a ''t'' and a ''d'', a ''k'' and a ''g'', an ''s'' and a ''z'', a ''ch'' and a ''j''. However, when Mi'gmaq is written, only half of these (''p'', ''t'', ''g'', ''s'' and ''j'', to be exact) are ever used! This is because, in Mi'gmaq, ''b'', ''d'', ''k'', ''z'', and ''ch'' are alternate pronunciations, or '''allophones''', of ''p'', ''t'', ''g'', ''s'', and ''j''.

All of these sounds can be separated into two main groups: '''voiced''' sounds, like ''b'', ''d'', ''g'', ''z'', and ''j'', and '''voiceless''' sounds, like ''p'', ''t'', ''k'', ''s'', and ''ch''. The voiced sounds are produced with vocal chord vibrations; the voiceless ones without these vibrations - you can feel this if you put your hand on your throat and say ''ssssss'' and ''zzzzz''. This is summed up in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Voiceless || Voiced
|-
| p, t, k, s, ch
| b, d, g, z, j
|}

In Mi'gmaq, the ''voiceless'' sounds are the defaults, while the ''voiced'' sounds usually only show up between vowels (like in [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/glitaw/recording1.mp3 ''gli'''t'''aw''], 'strawberry' - see ''[[Spelling]]'' and the main page for more examples) - this means that ''g'' and ''j'' are actually pronounced more like ''k'' and ''ch'' most of the time.

Where this gets a bit tricky is when these sounds appear at the beginning of a word. The letter ''s'' is almost always pronounced like ''s'' in English. Likewise, the letter ''j'' is almost always pronounced like ''j'' in English. ''p'', ''t'', and ''g'' ''sound'' like English ''b'', ''d'', and ''g'' here, but they are not quite the same! In English, these sounds are ''partially voiced'' word-initially, while they are ''entirely voiceless'' in Mi'gmaq. The reason you don't hear it as a voiceless ''p'', ''t'', or ''k'' is because ''p'', ''t'', and ''k'' are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspiration_%28phonetics%29 aspirated] (pronounced with a small puff of air) when word-initial in English. They are ''not'' pronounced with this puff of air word-initially in Mi'gmaq. To see the difference, try saying ''pair'', ''tail'', and ''care'' while holding a hand in front of your mouth - you'll feel the puff of air. Now try saying ''spare'', ''stale'', and ''scare'' - the puff will be gone. These last three sounds are the word-initial pronunciations of ''p'', ''t'', and ''g'' in Mi'gmaq. This is summarized in the table below:

{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Letter || Sounds Like… || Kind of Sound || Example || Translation
|-
| align="center" | s
| align="center" | s
| align="center" | voiceless
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/s/sapan/recording1.mp3 ''sapan'']
| 'paste'
|-
| align="center" | j
| align="center" | j
| align="center" | voiced
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/j/jagej/recording1.mp3 ''jagej'']
| 'lobster'
|-
| align="center" | p
| align="center" | b
| align="center" | voiceless but unaspirated
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/p/paqtesm/recording1.mp3 ''paqtesm'']
| 'wolf'
|-
| align="center" | t
| align="center" | d
| align="center" | voiceless but unaspirated
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tia%27m/recording1.mp3 ''tia'm'']
| 'moose'
|-
| align="center" | g
| align="center" | g
| align="center" | voiceless but unaspirated
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/gajuewj/recording1.mp3 ''gajuewj'']
| 'cat'
|}

==E and O==

Another main difference between English and Mi'gmaq pronunciation lies with the vowels ''e'' and ''o''. In English these two sounds are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphthong '''diphthongs'''] - they move from one vowel sound to another. So ''e'' is pronounced like the ''ay'' in ''say'' and ''o'' is pronounced like ''ow'' in ''low''. In Mi'gmaq, these sounds are '''monophthongs''' - they start at the same place as the English sounds, but never move into another vowel sound like ''y'' or ''w''. To say them, say ''say'' and ''low'' slowly - you will probably feel your jaw move up slightly (if not, look in a mirror and watch your jaw). Then, try to say them without moving your jaw - you will make a sound much closer to the Mi'gmaq monophthong.

Mi'gmaq also has diphthong-like sounds that are similar to English ''e'' and ''o'' - these are spelled as ''ei'' and ''ow'' in Mi'gmaq, and are considered to be different sounds from the ''e'' and the ''o''. A comparison between them is made in the table below: see if you can hear the differences!

{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Sounds Like… || Spelling || Example || Translation
|-
| align="center", colspan="2" | English ''e''
| align="center" | e
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/egel/recording1.mp3 '''''e'''g'''e'''l'']
| 'occasionally'
|-
| align="center" | ei
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/e/eig/recording1.mp3 '''''e'''ig'']
| 'he or she is present'
|-
| align="center", colspan="2" | English ''o''
| align="center" | o
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/t/tuop%27ti/recording1.mp3 ''tu'''o'''p'ti'']
| 'window'
|-
| align="center" | ow
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/g/guow/recording1.mp3 ''gu'''ow''''']
| 'pine'
|}

==A and Schwa==

''Main pages: [[Laxed Vowels]] and [[Schwa]]''

Finally, there is one last thing to be careful of in Mi'gmaq pronunciation - the difference between [[schwa]] and the vowel ''a''.

In English, there are roughly two ''a'' sounds: the ''a'' in ''cat'' and the ''a'' in ''father''. There are also two pronunciations of schwa (one which sounds like a short ''u''): a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_%28linguistics%29 stressed] one, like in ''cut'', and an unstressed one, like the first vowels in ''about'' or ''police''.

Mi'gmaq only has one ''a'', but this ''a'' can be pronounced like either of the Engish ''a''s (although the ''father'' pronunciation is favoured), or like the short ''u'' in ''cut''. Schwa has its own set of separate pronunciations - it will ''never'' be pronounced like the ''u'' in ''cut''. This poses a small problem for learners, since they will often mistake some ''a''s with schwas when listening to others speak.

=References=
* [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/ Mi'gmaq Talking Dictionary]