Pronunciation of the glides Y and W

Y

Y sounds like the Y [ j ] sound at the beginning of the word yes. (Note: the IPA symbol for this sound is [ j ], not [ y ].)

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᔫᔅᑳᔮᐤ		yuuskaayaau	yuus – kaa – yaau	[ juːs - ˈka - jaːʷ ]

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᔫᑎᓂᐸᔫ		yuutinipayuu	yuu – tini – pa – yuu	[  ju - tn̘ɪ - pa - ˈjuʔ ]

However, it can be hard to hear any Y sound in spellings like AYI

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᐹᔨᒄ		paayikw	paa – yikw	[ ˈpaː - (j)ɪkʷ ]

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᐊᔨᒥᐦᐁᐅᒋᒫᐤ		ayimiheuchimaau	a – yimi – heu – chi – maau	[ a - (ʲ)ɪmʰ - hɛw - tʃɪ - ˈmaw ]
ᐄᔨᐦᒄ		iiyihkw	ii – yihkw	[i - jɪhkʷ]

W

W sounds like the [ w ] in English we.

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᐐᐱᑦ		wiipit	wii – pit	[ ˈwiː - pɪtʰ ]
ᐐᐐᑎᒫ		wiiwiitimaa	wii – wiiti – maa	[ wiː - ˈwit - maʰ ]

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᐐᐹᐤ		wiipaau	wii – paau	[ ˈwiː - paw ]
ᒥᐦᒌᐌᓲ		mihchiiwesuu	mih – chii – we – suu	[ mɪh - tʃi - wɛː - ˈsuʔ ]

You can also hear a [ w ] sound, spelled as U, at the end of the spellings WAAU and AAU.

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᐙᐦᐙᐤ		waahwaau	waah – waau	[ ˈwɔh - wɔw ]

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᒥᔥᑯᐙᐤ		mishkuwaau	mishku – waau	[ mɪʃ - ˈkwaw ]
ᐱᐦᑖᐤ		pihtaau	pihtaau	[ ˈpʰtaw]

In the spellings WAA and WAAU, the ‘spelled’ W can be silent, but only when it occurs after a consonant:

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᑯᑣᔥᒡ		kutwaashch *	ku – twaashch	[ kʊ - ˈtɔːʃtʃ ]
ᓂᑐᐦᑎᐙᐤ		nituhtiwaau **	ni – tuh – ti – waau	[ ɨn - tʰ - ˈtɪ - wɔw ]

* The letter W is silent after the T.
** The letter W is pronounced after the vowel I.

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᐹᓵᔪᐙᓐ		paasaayuwaan	paa – saa – yu – waan	[ pa - sa - ju - ˈwan ]
ᒥᐦᒀᐤ		mihkwaau	mih – kwaau	[ mɪh - ˈkɔw ]

Finally, the W can be silent in the spelling UWI:

Northern			Syllables	IPA
ᐋᐱᐦᑐᐎᓐ		aapihtuwin *	aa – pihtuwin	[ aːpʰ - tʰuʷən ]
ᒋᒧᐎᓐ		chimuwin **	chi – muwin	[ tsɪ - ˈmu(ʷ)ən ]

* The [ w ] sound can be heard.
** It is hard to hear any [ w ] sound.

Southern			Syllables	IPA
ᒥᔅᐳᐎᓐ		mispuwin	mis – puwin	[ mɪs - ˈpuʷɪn]
ᐲᐅᐎᓐ		piiuwin	pii – u – win	[ pi - ˈju - (ʷ)ɪn ]

More [ w ] sounds are discussed in the page describing consonants followed by W and in the page on diphthongs.

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