Pronunciation
Vowels
| Kunwok | IPA | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | ɑ | mah (ok) | a as in father |
| e | ɛ | kunkeb (nose) | e as in pet (not before ng) |
| e | æ | bebmeng (arrived) | a as in bang (before ng) |
| i | i | bininj (man) | e as in beet (but with the tongue body pushed up) |
| o | ɒ | kunwok (language) | o as in not (UK, Australian) or thought (US) |
| u | u | kundulk (tree) | u as in boot (US, UK), u as in book (Australian) |
Consonants
| Kunwok | IPA | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | b | bobo (bye) | b as in baby |
| d | d | daluk (woman) | d as in dog |
| dj | ɟ | djedje (woman's child) | j as in jam (but with tongue body against hard palate) |
| rd | ɖ | wurdurd (child) | like d but with tongue tip curled back |
| h | ʔ | yoh (yes) | glottal stop, like tt in bottle in some English dialects |
| k | k | daluk (woman) | k but with no aspiration (at end of syllable) |
| k | g | kured (camp) | g as in game (at start of syllable) |
| l | l | delek (white clay) | l as in long |
| rl | ɭ | berluh (aunty) | like l but with tongue tip curled back |
| m | m | manme (food) | m as in man |
| n | n | nayin (snake) | n as in nose |
| ng | ŋ | ngalyod (rainbow serpent) | ng as in sing |
| nj | ɲ | njale (what) | gn as in gnocchi |
| rn | ɳ | birriwern (everyone) | like n but with tongue tip curled back |
| r | ɻ | kured (camp) | r as in red (but with tongue tip curled back further) |
| rr | ɾ or r | djarrang (horse) | t as in water (said like a fast d) or else rolled r as in Scottish English |
| w | w | wakwak (crow) | w as in wet |
| y | j | yoh (yes) | y as in yes |
Diphthongs
| Kunwok | IPA | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| ay | aj | malaywi (morning) | pronounced like aye in Scottish English |
| aw | aw | yawkyawk (girl) | ou as in ouch |
| ey | ɛj | kunngey (name) | a as in name |
| ew | ɛw | kudjewk (wet season) | like el in elk but with rounded lips instead of the l |
| iw | iw | kundiw (liver) | pronounced like iii-ooo, but quickly |
| oy | ɔj | doydoy (kin term) | pronounced like 'oy!' |
| ow | ow | rowk (all) | ow as in row |
| uy | uj | mannguy (flower) | pronounced like ooo-iii, but quickly |
Notes:
- the second column uses the international phonetic alphabet (IPA); click on the IPA letters for more information
- consonants are not aspirated like they are sometimes in English (no puff of air after k)
- some words have doubled consonants like ngabba (father); take care to lengthen these, e.g. ngap.pa
- sometimes it helps to break words down into syllables before trying to pronounce them, e.g. kun.ngey (name), be.rluh (aunty), kun.de.nge (foot), mo.djarrk.ki (freshwater crocodile)
- rd is usually written d when we can predict an rd is required, e.g. rdird~dird (moon), kuwardrde~kuwardde (stone country)
- d is pronounced rr when it appears between two vowels and when the following syllable is not stressed, e.g. Yirrurndi (you went back) vs. birridurndi (they went back)
- Kunwok placenames sometimes have an English spelling that is distinct from the Kunwok spelling, e.g. Gunbalanya~Kunbarlanjnja
