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.