Orthographies for the Winters Papers in This Issue

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• Orthographies for the Winters Papers in This Issue
• Harry J. Winters Jr. (bio)

In these papers 'O'odham words are written in an alphabet that comes as close as possible to what someone who has learned to read English in American schools would expect. Differences are (1) all glottal stops are included and are written as apostrophes, (2) the English vowel "e" is used for the 'O'odham vowel that sounds like the "oo" in English "book," (3) the 'O'odham consonant that sounds like the Spanish "d" in "donde" is written as "ḍ", and (4) the 'O'odham consonant that sounds like the "ny" in English canyon is written as "ñ." This is the alphabet used in Winters (2012, xxxix–lii) and Winters (2020, xlv–xlviii). See one of those references for details.

As in my other works, I always write the glottal stop as an apostrophe when it is the first consonant in an 'O'odham word, including in the word 'O'odham. This is to help readers who are not speakers of the 'O'odham language pronounce the words accurately. Other authors do not write the glottal stop when it is the first consonant of a word, presumably because it is not written in English words.

River Yuman Spelling and Pronunciation

Piipaash (Maricopa), Quechan (Kwatsáan, Yuma) and Mojave words are written in the alphabets used in dictionaries of those languages. The alphabets are close to what someone who has learned to read English in American schools would expect. [End Page 115]

Differences are: (1) all glottal stops are included and written as apostrophes, (2) accent marks are written on Quechan words as they appear in the dictionary of that language, (3) the consonant written "x" in Quechan words sounds like the "j" in Spanish words (jamás, jugar), (4) the consonant written "ts" in Quechan words sounds like English "ch," and (5) the consonant written "th" in Quechan words sounds like the "d" in Spanish words (donde, desde). See Miller et al. (2022) for details on Quechan pronunciation.

Spaces and hyphens in written River Yuman words do not affect pronunciation.

See Winters (2018, xxv–-xxvii) for details on Piipaash spelling and pronunciation. See Munro, Brown, and Crawford (1992, 315–318) for details on Mojave pronunciation.

Yavapai Spelling and Pronunciation

I write Yavapai words as my tutor, Irene McLevain, an elder who was fluent in the language, pronounced them at Ft. McDowell, often in one-on-one sessions over a period of four years. In my experience, it is easier for speakers of American English to learn to pronounce Yavapai words than 'O'odham words. There is no standard alphabet for the Yavapai language. Three or more different spelling systems have been used by linguists who have written about the language as spoken at Prescott and Camp Verde. The alphabet I use is close to what someone who has learned to speak English in American schools would expect.

Differences are: (1) all glottal stops are included and are written as apostrophes, (2) the consonant written "q" is pronounced at the back of the throat like a hard "k" or hard "g." Vowels are usually pronounced as in Spanish.

Apache Spelling and Pronunciation

The Apache language is a tone language with long, short, and nasal vowels. I have heard spoken the few Apache words used in the next paper. Unhappily I can't speak the language yet, but I will learn more.

For details on Apache spelling and pronunciation see de Reuse (2006, 7–28) and Bray (1998, xiv–xviii). [End Page 116]

Harry J. Winters

Harry J. Winters Jr. holds a doctorate in geological engineering from the University of Arizona. He has been a mining industry consultant since the 1960s and has been speaking the 'O'odham language since his youth.

References

Bray, Dorothy, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Western Apache–English Dictonary. Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, Tempe, AZ, 1998.

Google Scholar

de Reuse, Willem J. A Practical Grammar of the San Carlos Apache Language. LINCOM GmbH, München, Germany, 2006.

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Miller, Amy, A. M. Halpern, George Bryant, and the Quechan...