Karuk Language Resources on the Web
Pronunciation Guide: Consonants
| Consonant | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| r | R is not quite the same as English “r”; it is made with a flap of the tongue-tip, like Spanish “r” in toro “bull”. Many native English speakers mistake the Karuk 'r' for the sounds of 't' or 'd'.Náa Káruk Araar “I'm a Karuk person.” |
| v | V is a sound like something halfway between English “v” in “vine” and English “w” in “water”. In fact it is just like the Spanish “v” in lavar ‘to wash’.Náa vúrayav. “I'm just fine.” |
| x | X is a sound that doesn’t exist in English; it is the 'hawking' or 'hocking' sound a person makes when trying to expel something from one’s throat, like Spanish “x” in the name José.yáxa “Look!” |
| ' | The glottal stop is written with an apostrophe. This is the sound which we pronounce in English, but do not write, in the middle of a word like “oh-oh!” It is made by shutting off the flow of air in the throat for a moment.hã'ii! - an expression of fear or annoyance |
All Karuk Consonants
CH is like English “ch” in “church”.
cháas “younger brother”
kêech “big”
F is like English “f” in “fine”.
fáan “guts”
chánchaaf “foam”
H is like English “h” in “how”.
hóoy “where”
áhoo “walk”
K is similar to English “k” in “kind”.
ikuk “log”
kachakâach “bluejay”
M is like English “m” in “may”.
máruk “uphill”
áama “salmon”
N is like English “n” in “now”.
náanach “older sister”
ánav “medicine”
P is similar to English “p” in “pipe”.
páah “boat”
sáap “steelhead”
R is not quite the same as English “r”; it is made with a flap of the tongue-tip, like Spanish “r” in toro “bull”. Many native English speakers mistake the Karuk 'r' for the sounds of 't' or 'd'.
Káruk “upriver”
Araar “person”
Náa Káruk Araar “I'm a Karuk person.”
S is similar to English “s” in “sing”.
sáap “steelhead”
ásip “bowl”
SH is like English “sh” in “ship”.
ishkêesh “river”
píshiip “first”
T is similar to English “t” in “tight”.
táat “mother”
píit “new”
TH is like English “th” in “thin”.
fíthi “foot”
éeth “slug”
V is a sound like something halfway between English “v” in “vine” and English “w” in “water”. In fact it is just like the Spanish “v” in lavar ‘to wash’.
vishvaan “belly”
yav “good”
X is a sound that doesn’t exist in English; it is the 'hawking' or 'hocking' sound a person makes when trying to expel something from one’s throat, like Spanish “x” in the name José.
úux “bitter”
Y is like English “y” in “yes”:
yáfus “dress”
ikyáar “tool”
One last consonant sound of Karuk is called a glottal stop; it is written with an apostrophe. This is the sound which we pronounce in English, but do not write, in the middle of a word like “oh-oh!” It is made by shutting off the flow of air in the throat for a moment.
pa’áraar “the person”
mu’áka “her father”
ni’áamti “I’m eating”
More on Consonants
Some Karuk speakers lengthen certain consonants in many words, and many people who have written Karuk have indicated this by doubled consonant letters. For instance, ásip ‘basket, bowl’ may be written as ássip.
Most consonants may be lengthened in this way, but a few may never be. The consonants that are never lengthened are h, r, v, y, and the apostrophe (glottal stop).
There are two situations where consonants are often lengthened. One of them is after an accented short vowel; so ákah ‘father’ may be pronounced ákkah, and ípih ‘bone’ may be pronounced íppih.
The other situation is when a consonant is at the beginning of a noun or verb stem that consists of a single syllable, when this is preceded by the vowel of a prefix. Thus the stem meaning ‘to bite’ is par, and lengthening occurs in forms like nipárati = nippárati ‘I’m biting’ or upárati = uppárati ‘he’s biting’.