Klamath Tribes
Language Project

waq dal ?i gee ?ewksiknii ?elGank
How do you say that in Klamath?

EJECTIVES

     One of the characteristics of most of the Indian languages
in the west are the popping sounds called ejective's.
These are represented by the symbols p', t', c', k' and q'.

p'		p'as = food p'aGa = smoke	t'		t'at'aksni = children t'apaq = leaf
c'		c'ooks = leg c'waam = sucker, mullet	k'		c'ik'as = bird k'ot'as = lice
q'		q'ay = no pq'oliip = grandmother (mothers mother)

 

THE GLOTTAL STOP

     All words begin with a consonant in Klamath.
Sometimes the consonant is merely the sudden
opening of the vocal chords. This sound is called a
glottal stop and is symbolized by a question mark, e.g. (?)

	?anko = wood		?iwam = huckleberry
	?i = you		?onaa = yesterday

 

     In Klamath the glottal stop also occurs in the middle of words.

	se?eets = Saturday		?ee?alGa = read
	gaa?aak = long time ago		sle?ii = See!

 

CONTINUENTS

     The consonant sounds represented by m, n, l, w,
and y can be classed together as continuents.
They are pronounced much the same as in English.

m		maksa = basket pom = beaver	n		noo = I napal = egg
l		loldam = winter lac'as = house	w		waytas = day won = elk
y		yaas = willows yaama = blow from the north

 

     In Klamath these sounds sometimes occur
before other consonants at the beginning of a word,
a combination unfamiliar to speakers of English.

	mboosant = tomorrow		wso = chest
	nqena = shout		ngak = turtle
	lmena = thunder		wnak = son
	ndan = three		wdomcn'a = swim
	nkas = stomach

 

     Continuents are often glottalized in Klamath. They
are symbolized by the use of an apostrophe.

m'		m'ok'aak = baby hom'as = like this	n'		n'ep = hand n'os = head
l'		baal'aa?as = bread l'iml'iml'i = roan (horse)	w'		w'iqw'iqs = magpie w'an = red fox weew'ans = women
y'		y'ayn'a = mountain y'amsii = Yamsey (a place)

 

     Klamath also has what are known of as voiceless resonants . Barker represents these sounds with upper case letters. Care should be taken here, for the tendency of those learning the language is to pronounce M, N and L as normal English. Klamath W sounds like English wh in where, when and why. And Klamath Y sounds like the initial sound in the English words huge, human and Huron.

M		s?aaMaks = relatives q'iMaac = ant	N		Naas = one c'iNeeks = mosquito
L		Las = feathers Loops = soup	W		Weeqs = mallard duck goWasgi = Get out of here!
Y		meYas = trout Yakc'a = hiccough

     Finally there are left the sounds represented by s, s? and h. Only the s? should prove difficult for the second language learner. In Barker's Klamath Dictionary s? is treated as s plus ?.

s		seesas = name som = mouth	s?		s?abas = sun s?aLam = autumn
h		hiswaqs = man lilhanks = deer

 

MINIMAL CONTRASTS

     Sometimes words which are very different to Klamath ears
sound the same to one who knows only English. It is therefore
 important to realize that not properly distinguishing all the
sounds described above could result in a misunderstanding.
Note for example the difference between these.

l versus L		walGa = answer		waLGa = hide and wait
g versus G		goy'a = talk with an accent		Goy'a = crawfish
w versus w'		gawal = walk around on top		gaw'al = find
b versus p'		balla = liver		p'alla = steal
c versus c'		ciqa = leak		c'iqa = take liquid out

 

     There are also many words that sound alike to those
that do not speak Klamath but which differ in more
than one sound. Here are a few examples.

	waw'aaks = eye mucus		w'aw'aaqs = ear
	paga = bark (of a dog)		p'aGa = smoke (as a pipe)
	goGa = climb		GoGe = river
	c'oqs = blackbird		c'ooks = leg
	q'aljijiks = spider		joyjiks = strawberries

Vowels - Consonants - Ejectives - Vocabulary - Sentences & Phrases - Grammar

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