Learn Inuttitut: Writing — Single Consonants

In the following we give an approximate English sound but in fact the sounds are often a tiny bit different from the English — see below for a detailed discussion of Inuttut sounds.

Note that ng and tl are single sounds but are represented by two letters. Linguists represent thet ng sound as ŋ and tl sound as ɬ.

Not all these sounds are found in all positions of a word. For example, we never hear g, v, tl at the beginning of words but only in the middle.

Detailed discussions of the pronunciation of Inutittut single consonants

When pronounced in Inutittut, p, t, k should not have the puff of air that English speakers use in words like pit, top, kiss. They are pronounced more like French or Spanish p, t, k.

The letter g is not an English g but instead is more like a g said through a comb wrapped in wax paper, or if a g were a v.

K represents a sound not found in English at all but closer to German buch ‘book.’ Think of if you were trying to blow out a candle with only the k sound. In Inuttut the K is only found at the beginning of syllables so you will never see it at the end of a word or before another consonant.

ng is a single sound like in English sing. English speakers sometimes have trouble pronouncing ng in Inutittut because it usually occurs at the beginning of syllables. In English ng is usually at the end of syllables. In the example here we see the ng at the beginning of the syllable -nga-.

tl is a single sound not found in English. The mouth is positioned as if to produce an l sound but instead of an l there is just leaking of air around the tongue. This sound is also found in the Welsh language. Some other Inuit dialects use s instead of tl.