Lak̇ot̄a Basic Vowels:
a e i o u
Lak̇ot̄a Nasal Vowels:
aƞ iƞ uƞ
Lak̇ot̄a Consonants:
b ċ c’ g ġ h ḣ ḣ’ j k k̇ k’ l m n p ṗ p’ s ṡ s’ ṡ’ t ṫ t’ w y z
note: each basic and nasal vowel represents one syllable
example: oile = oh-ee-lay
Pronunciation
a - as in father
wayawa, wana, wa, lala, wagna
aƞ - “a” as in father + nasal n
ohaƞ, haƞ, wohaƞ, lowaƞ, hehaƞ
b - as in baby
buya, bubu, iblable, waƞbli
ċ - “ch” as in church and chips
ċiċi, ċeye, ċoċo, eċuƞ
c’ - a short, explosive “ch” sound
ic’iƞ, ic’ic’u, blihemic’iye, omic’iye
e - as in met
el, lel, ble, he, we
g - as in girl
gli, igmu, gmigma, waglula
ġ - gutteral “g” sound
ġi, hoġaƞ, niġe, ġaƞ
h - as in help
he, hiya, hiƞhaƞ, hehaƞ
ḣ - guttural “h” sound
ḣe, ḣaƞ, ḣwa, ḣliḣlila
ḣ’ - combination of a guttural “h” and a glottal stop
iḣ’e, wiċoḣ’aƞ, yuḣ’i, ḣ’aƞhi
i - as in the “e” in me
wopila, lila, ile, ilale, wapiye
iƞ - “e” as in me + nasal n
Iƞyaƞ, wiƞyaƞ, hiƞ, hiƞhe, ohiƞhe
j - the “s” in confusion
wojaja, jiji, jojo, najiƞ
k - as in kite
iku, keya, maku, hokuwa
k̇ - guttural “k” sound
wak̇aƞ, k̇aƞ, k̇a, k̇ola
k’ - “k” as in keep with a glottal stop
ak’iƞ, k’e, k’a, k’u
l - as in like
lila, ole, lena, hel
m - as in milk
miye, oma, maya, mani
n - as in nice
niye, nuni, wani, wana
o - as in oak
ole, ogle, wohe, oile
p - as in peace
pi, opiya, wapiye, wopila
ṗ - guttural “p” sound
ṗasu, waṗaha, ṗahiƞ, ṗoġi, wiṗe
p’ - as in peace with glottal stop
p’o, nap’in, nap’o, p’eċaƞ
s - as in see
si, sla, osni, slolwaye
ṡ - as in the “sh” in she
ṡiyo, ṡap̄e, ṡa, ṡuƞk̄a
s’ - as in see with glottal stop
s’e, s’a, mas’aṗe
ṡ’ - as in the “sh” in she with glottal stop
ṡ’e, waṡ’ak̄e, miṡ’eya, ṡ’agya
t - as in tell
ti, tima, temni, oti
ṫ - guttural “t” sound
ṫalo, ṫuƞwiƞ, ṫuƞk̄aṡila, ṫaƞk̄e
t’ - as in tell with glottal stop
t’e, ot’e, ot’iƞt’iƞ, t’uƞgye
u - as in chute
uwa, iku, kuwa, hokuwa, yau
uƞ - “u” as in chute + nasal n
ex: uƞweya, ouƞye, uƞni, uƞti, uƞhi
w - as in way
ex: wau, wati, wala, wayawa
y - as in yell
yawa, yati, yau, yagli
z - as in zoo
zi, wazi, zomi, wazilye