A Quick Overview of the
Unangam Tunuu Sound System

To learn more consult Aleut Grammar/Unangam Tunuganaan Achixaasi{ by Knut Bergsland, which contains detailed linguistic descriptions. If a class is ever offered in your area, take advantage of it, as they have been rare. Like many in my generation English was my first language. While I am by no means yet fluent in Unangam tunuu, I am deeply grateful to those who help me learn. It has been my extreme good fortune to study formally for one semester and informally for years with Moses Dirks. Additionally, I have been lucky to work with Nick Galaktionoff, Sophie Sherebernikoff, and Iliodor Philemonof. This introduction will get you started. The Association of Unangan/Unangas Educators plans to have a Web site soon with links as they are developed and become available. URLs to visit to check if anything new is ready are the following:

Alaska Native Knowledge Network:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu

Association of Unangan/Unangas Educators:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Unangan

For a free downloadable font for Unangam tunuu:
http://www.alaskool.org/language/fonts/unangam/unangam_font.htm

Language resources from Alaskool:
http://www.alaskool.org/language/languageindex.htm

Check with your school to see if other resources are available such as audio tapes made by instructors who speak the language.

 

INTRODUCTION:

The Native language of the people of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands is called Unangam tunuu (sometimes referred to as Unanga{). To say words in Unangam tunuu, one must learn several sounds that are not produced in the English language. The "say it" cues in the plant curriculum text are a user-friendly way to help non-speakers pronounce the words in the units. You must learn the sound system to say words you find in the Aleut Dictionary/UnangamTunudgusii and the written language.

THIS IS EASY:

  1. Unangam tunuu spelling is regular and easy to learn (as opposed to English, which is irregular and takes years to master).
  2. There are 3 basic vowels, which can be long or short, referring to the length in time (having nothing to do with "long" or "short" vowels in English).
  3. There are only five consonant sounds not present in English: q, x, g, { and }.

Vowels:

The three basic vowels, a, i, and u, are each either short (in time) or long (in time). The long vowels are written double.

a aa i ii u uu

These correspond roughly to the following English vowel sounds:

a

has a sound midway between the vowels of English father or hot and that of tub as in the Unangam tunuu word, ala{

The duration is short.

aa

has a sound midway between the vowels of English rod and that of tub as in the Unangam tunuu words, aang and a}alaa

The duration is long.
i

has a sound midway between the vowels of English hit and heat, as in the Unangam tunuu word, hitnisangis

The duration is short.

ii

has a sound midway between the vowels of English hid and bead, as in the Unangam tunuu word, kiika{

The duration is long.

u

has a sound midway between the vowels of English good and food as in the Unangam tunuu word, chunusi{

The duration is short.

uu

has a sound midway between the vowels of English good and food as in the second syllable of the Unangam tunuu word, uxchuuda{

The duration is long.

The vowels e and o are used only in loanwords from Russian and English.

" Long vowels always have some degree of accent, and when in the last syllable of a word, tend to ‘steal’ the usual word-accent from the second-last syllable."
[Michael Krauss, Professor Emeritus, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Native Language Center, April 2002]

 

HOW THESE SOUNDS ARE MADE:

The five consonant sounds not present in English are shown inside the shaded boxes on the following chart. The additional consonants are to help you visualize the progression (left to right) in sound production from the front of the mouth to the back.

 
 
TONGUE TIP
VELARS
(mid-mouth)
UVULARS
(back of mouth)

air flow
voice not stopped sounding
t
k
q

air flow not stopped
hd
"hth"
"thick"
x
{
air flow not stopped
voice
d
"this"
g
}
sounding

Voice is the sounding, vibrating or buzzing of the vocal chords. Try pronouncing sequences like the following with no vowels in between: szszszsz…, fvfvfvfv…, and you will feel your voice turning on and off; on for z and v; and off for s and f. Likewise, for English th as in thick (Unangam tunuu hd) and th as in this (Unangam tunuu d). hd, d, hd, d, hd, d, hd, d…. So also for Unangam tunuu xgxgxgxg…, and {, }, {, }, {, }, {, }…, the x and { with the voice off; and the g and } with the voice on.

This diagram shows where the sounds are articulated in the mouth. Make each sound and see if it seems to be made in the correct spot. If not, try producing the sound in a way that will target the illustrated section of the mouth.

 

 

Description of sounds:

Note that x and g have a noticeably smoother sound, with the tongue up against the hard (bony) palate, compared with { and }, with the tongue up against the soft palate, two soft surfaces together, which have a more gurgling, rough or flabby sound.

Note that d is pronounced as in English this and mother, not like English d (except in some people’s pronunciation of loanwords from Russian and English). Likewise, g is pronounced as noted above, not like English g (with the airflow stopped, except in some people’s pronunciation of loanwords from Russian and English).

Description of h sounds:

There are six combinations starting with h. They are not difficult; hy and hw are also in English, but the others are not. Say them fast.

hy as in English huge
hw as in the way some people pronounce English what
hm, hn, hng are like m, n, ng except that they begin with h, voicelessly, almost "snorted"
hl is like l except that it begins with h, voicelessly.

These are preserved mainly in Atkan, but exist to varying degrees in other dialects.

 

HOW TO GET A LOT OUT OF A FEW MINUTES OF PRACTICE:

Articulation Exercise #1:

In Unangam tunuu it is absolutely essential to learn to distinguish k , x, g, from q, {, }.

Pronounce the following consonant with its paired vowel listening to the sounds change:

ka ki ku   qa qi qu
xa xi xu   {a {i {u
ga gi gu   }a }i }u

Do this one every day or more. Remember from the table and diagram that these consonants form a very regular and orderly system. For example, k is to q as x is to {. K and x sounds are produced mid-mouth and made with the tongue against the hard palate so they are smooth sounds. Conversely, their paired letters, q and {, are produced at the back of the mouth and made with the tongue against the soft palate so they are rougher, more gurgling sounds. Likewise, x is to g as { is to } and so on. Try it: You’ll hear the difference.

Articulation Exercise #2:

kaga
kigi
kugu
 
qaga
qigi
qugu
xaga
xigi
xugu
 
{aga
{igi
{ugu
gaga
gigi
gugu
 
}aga
}igi
}ugu

The practice will allow you to hear and say the different sounds. For some people this is simple; for others a little harder. Do not be discouraged. With time and practice your ears will hear the differences and your tongue will produce the correct sounds.

Articulation Exercise # 3:

kaqa
kiqi
kuqu
 
xa{a
xi{i
xu{u
{aga
{igi
{ugu
 
{aka
{iki
{uku
ga}a
gi}i
gu}u
 
}axa
}ixi
}uxu

Articulation Exercise # 4:

xaxaa
xixii
xuxuu
 
{axaa
{ixii
{uxuu
kaqaa
kiqii
kuquu
 
ga}aa
gi}ii
gu}uu
gagaa
gigii
guguu
 
ka{aa
ka{ii
ka{uu

Articulation Exercise # 5: You can pronounce Unangam tunuu!
  

aang
(hello, yes) 		ting
(me) 		hla{
(boy) 		sa{
(duck) 		da{
(eye) 		ama{
(fish eggs)

Unangan
(plural form = 3+)		 Unanga{
(singular form =1)		 Unangax
(dual form = 2)		 Unangam tunuu
(possessive)
Qilam i{amnaa.
(The morning is good.)		 Qam a}alaa.
(Good afternoon.)		 Angalkinga{.
(Evening.)		 I{amnataku{!
(Very good!)
Kumxa{, congratulations!      

 

 

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