Mi'kmaq language/Phonology
The Mi'kmaq language's phonology consists of 6 short vowels and 5 long vowels as well as 11 consonants. In Mi'kmaq, each letter represents a sound.
The tables below show the Mi'kmaq characters in Francis-Smith and Listuguj orthographies (see Chapter 3 for more details) and their pronunciation using the symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Vowels
[edit | edit source]| Francis-Smith | Listuguj | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| a | a | ɑ |
| a' | a' | ɑː |
| e | e | e |
| e' | e' | eː |
| i | i | i |
| i' | i' | iː |
| ɨ | ' | ə |
| o | o | o |
| o' | o' | oː |
| u | u | u |
| u' | u' | uː |
Diphthongs
[edit | edit source]| Francis-Smith | Listuguj | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| aw | aw | au |
| ay | ay | aj |
| ew | ew | eu |
| ey | ey | ej |
| iw | iw | iu |
Consonants
[edit | edit source]| Francis-Smith | Listuguj | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| j | j | tʃ or dʒ |
| k | g | k or g |
| kw | gw | kw or kʷ |
| l | l | l |
| m | m | m |
| n | n | n |
| p | p | p or b |
| q | q | x or ɣ |
| qw | qw | xw or xʷ |
| s | s | s or z |
| t | t | t or d |
| w | w | w |
| y | y | j |
When consonants are doubled, they must be pronounced with double length, as if there were a word break between the two consonants. Also note that in Mi'kmaq, the consonants l, m and n can also form syllabic peaks like vowels. As such, words don't need to have a vowel, as it is the case with "kmtm" (or "gmtm" depending on the orthography) meaning "mountain" for example.
