Jiwarli Consonants



The following letters in Jiwarli have much the same sound as they do in English:

j

jina

(foot)

l

wurrumalu

(place name)

m

mantharta

(person)

n

yini

(name)

w

winthi

(murderer)

y

yartingka

(river)


Some letters are used in a way which is a little different from English spelling:

 

p, t, and k are pronounced differently depending on their position in a word.

If they are at the start of a word, they are pronounced as in English, ie. without voice.

If they are in the middle of a word, the following changes happen:

 

p

sounds like

b

eg.

jampa

"jumba"

(short while)

t

sounds like

d

eg.

kurumartu

"kooroomardoo"

(look around)

k

sounds like

g

eg.

mulku

"moolgoo"

(alive)


  • The word "kapakurta" (kubbagoorda) from the story of the bat and the nightjar illustrates all three of these voiced stops in the one word.

  • Sometimes in Jiwarli, two letters are used to indicate a single consonant, just as in English we use sh for the sound at the start of the word ship.

  • ng is the sound of ng in singing. In English we also use ng in the middle of words like finger, but here it represnts two sounds. In Jiwarli we write these as ngk as in yartingka.

  • Unlike English, many words in Jiwarli start with ng, eg.ngathalkarra (kin term).

  • nh is like n but with the tongue between the teeth as in nhaarringu (why).

  • lh is like l but with the tongue between the teeth as in yalha (ground).

  • th varies in the same way as p, t, and k in that it is voiceless at the start of a word and voiced in the middle of a word. Compare thurnti (vegetable food) with winthi (murderer).

  • ny is like the n in onion. Try pronouncing the word nyinyarn (chin). Notice that ny is one sound - do not pronounce it like n followed by y. This is especially important at the ends of words: thalany (tongue) is pronounced tha-la-ny, not tha-la-nee.

  • ly is like the l sound in the middle of the English word million. It is a single sound and should not be pronounced like the ly of quickly. Listen to mikalyaji. (bat). Be careful when ly comes before another consonant, as in walyparta (lightning). This is not to be pronounced "wulleebarda".

  • There are two r sounds in Jiwarli: one is retroflex and we spell it with one r as in mantharta; the other is a trill or a flap and we spell it rr as in warri or wurrumalu.







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