Oówaptaya Olówaŋ
The Lakota alphabet has 38 letters, here they are in a song…
Oówaptaya Olówaŋ
Alphabet Song
Children's Song
Children's Song
(Lakota)
(English)
A, aŋ, be, ču, čhi, č’o, e,
gli, ǧú, ha, ȟe, i, iŋ, ku,
kȟa, khi, k’o, la, ma, na, o, pu,
pȟa, phi, p’o, sa, še, tu, tȟa,
thi, t’o, u, uŋ, wa, ya, za, že,
Waŋná slolwákiye.
A, aŋ, be, ču, čhi, č’o, e,
gli, ǧú, ha, ȟe, i, iŋ, ku,
kȟa, khi, k’o, la, ma, na, o, pu,
pȟa, phi, p’o, sa, še, tu, tȟa,
thi, t’o, u, uŋ, wa, ya, za, že,
Now I know.
Notes
Notes about the pronunciation:
"a" as in "father"
"e" as in "bed"
"i" = ee
"o" as in "rob"
"u" = oo
Aŋ, iŋ, uŋ are nasal vowels, they're pronounced by raising the soft palate while uttering the corresponding "a, i, u" oral vowels.
"č" = "ch".
"ǧ" as a French "r".
"ž" as "s" in "Asia, leasure…".
"h" as in English- should be pronounced after a consonant (name of the letters ending in "i").
"ȟ" as a Mexican "j" - should be pronounced after a consonant (name of the letters ending in "a").
The apostrophe corresponds to a glottal stop and must always been pronounced.
Comments
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