Pronunciation of individual fortis consonant sounds Ex. 4 –8

12 Basic Needs Expressed: Food And Shelter 5 Pronunciation of the fortis consonant ch In Kuna, the fortis consonant ch is a very vigorous sound made by holding the tongue in approximately the same position as for ch in English or Spanish. The sound is like that of an English-speaking child making the sound of a very energetic steam engine, ―CH-ch-ch-ch, CH-ch-ch-ch‖. Exercise 5 . Pronunciation of the fortis consonants p, t, k, and ch The teacher says the word and the student repeats it, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. Example Teacher: napa Student: napa 1. napa ‗earth‘ 2. opas ‗crossed over river‘ 3. mata ‗lake‘ 4. iti ‗this‘ 5. kaka ‗mouth‘ 6. akan ‗axe‘ 7. acha ‗honey‘ 8. ochi ‗sweet‘ 2.2.3.2 Pronunciation of the fortis consonants mm, nn, and ss The fortis consonants mm, nn, and ss are drawn out more, or held slightly longer than their lenis counterparts. They are pronounced with very taut or tight vocal apparatus. The mm and ss use the same vocal apparatus as is used in the English m and s. Similarly to its lenis consonant counterpart, the nn is pronounced by placing the tongue tip at the back of the teeth rather than at the alveolar ridge as in English. As you learn to pronounce the fortis mm, nn, and ss, it might help to think in terms of your vocal apparatus getting ―stuck‖ on the sound for an instant before it can complete the word. Exercise 6 . Pronunciation of the fortis consonants mm, nn, and ss The teacher says the word and the student repeats it, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. Example Teacher: amma Student: amma 1. amma ‗aunt‘ 2. mimmi ‗baby‘ 3. inna ‗chicha‘ 4. punnu ‗tail‘ 5. panne ‗hummingbird‘ 6. kissi ‗sap of a tree‘ 2.2.3.3 Pronunciation of the fortis consonant ll The ll in Kuna is not pronounced as the ll of calle ‗street‘ in Spanish. Rather, it is pronounced as a very firm, vigorous l in Spanish, i.e., the tongue tip touches the teeth. In pronouncing the ll, the sound is drawn out, or ―stuck,‖ to the extent that there is almost a pause before the following vowel. Exercise 7 . Pronunciation of the fortis consonant ll The teacher reads the list of words in the exercise and then reads each word again and the student repeats the word, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. 2.2 Pronunciation 13 Example Teacher: alle Student: alle 1. alle ‗to laugh‘ 2. olli ‗mud‘ 3. melle ‗don‘t‘ 4. ollo ‗empty‘ 5. kullu ‗ravinehollow‘ 2.2.3.4 Pronunciation of the fortis consonant rr In Kuna, the fortis consonant rr never occurs at the beginning of words. Although rr occurs in Spanish in such words as carro ‗car‘ and perro ‗dog‘, it is not used in English, and is, therefore, difficult for the English speaker to master. He usually refers to it as a rolled or trilled r. The time an English speaker comes closest to saying rr is when he is cold and exclaims, ―Br-r-r‖, or when he is imitating a diesel truck and says, ―R-r-r-rum, r-r-r-rum ‖ It is best to practice saying rr in isolation first and then to practice saying it in words. Exercise 8 . Pronunciation of the fortis consonant rr The teacher says a word from the list below and the student repeats it concentrating on rolling the rr. Example Teacher: arri Student: arri 1. arri ‗iguana‘ 2. marra ‗guavajungle ice cream a species of fruit‘ 3. irr-ir 8 ‗cricket‘ 4. arrad ‗blue‘ 5. orro ‗arrow‘

2.2.4 Vowel length Ex. 9

In 1.2.3.3, it is noted that in the case of a lenis consonant the vowel before it is drawn out, held, or lengthened. In the case of a fortis consonant, however, the vowel before it is not drawn out, that is, it is short. It is about the same as most English and Spanish vowels in normal speech. The vowel before a fortis consonant is always short, even if it is in a stressed syllable, or if it is in the syllable before a stressed syllable. In order to know how long a vowel should be, train yourself to zero in on the following consonant. If the following consonant is a fortis consonant p, t, k, ch, mm, nn, ss, ll, or rr, the vowel will be short that is to say a normal length. If the following consonant is a lenis consonant b, d, g, zh, m, n, s, l, or r or a semivowel j, w, or y, the vowel is lengthened. Exercise 9 . Pronunciation of short vowel preceding a fortis consonant. The teacher reads aloud the list of words while the student reads along silently. The teacher then pronounces each word and the student repeats it after the teacher. Example Teacher: apa Student: apa 1. apa ‗boa‘ 2. napa ‗earth‘ 3. achu ‗dog‘ 4. machi ‗boy‘ 5. iti ‗this‘ 6. mata ‗lake‘ 8 Fortis consonants syllable and word final are written with a single symbol by convention. 14 Basic Needs Expressed: Food And Shelter 7. nika ‗have‘ 8. uko ‗will givesell‘ 9. olli ‗mud‘ 10. alle ‗laugh‘ 11. amma ‗aunt‘ 12. mimmi ‗baby‘ 13. kunne ‗going to eat‘ see 2.2.6 14. panne ‗hummingbird‘ 15. arri ‗iguana‘ 16. marra ‗guavajungle ice cream a species of fruit‘ 17. kissi ‗sap of a tree‘

2.2.5 Distinguishing between fortis and lenis consonants Ex. 10 –27

The distinction between fortis and lenis consonants in normal conversation is often difficult to hear. Two clues may help: a. The quality of the consonant Listen for the articulation of the consonant. Is it tense? The tense articulation indicates a fortis consonant. Is it relaxed? The relaxed articulation indicates a lenis consonant. b. The quality of the vowel Listen for the vowel length. Is the vowel clipped short? A short vowel accompanies a fortis consonant. Is the vowel drawn out? A lengthened vowel usually accompanies a lenis consonant. Exercise 10 . Distinguishing between lenis b and fortis p The teacher says the list of words inserting either A: naba or B: napa in position 5. The student must say whether choice A or choice B was inserted. 1. apa ‗boa‘ A: naba ‗gourd‘ 2. tapa ‗bushmaster‘ B: napa ‗earth‘ 3. tupu ‗island‘ 4. chapi ‗tree‘ 5. A or B 6. epis ‗to count‘ Exercise 11 . Distinguishing between lenis b and fortis p The teacher says the list of words inserting either A: naba or B: napa in position 5. The student must say whether choice A or choice B was inserted. 1. abe ‗blood‘ A: naba ‗gourd‘ 2. paba ‗father‘ B: napa ‗earth‘ 3. tuba ‗rope, thread‘ 4. tubi ‗want to cook‘ 5. A or B 6. chabe ‗to keepstore‘ Exercise 12 . Distinguishing between lenis d and fortis t The teacher says the list of words inserting either A: madu or B: matu in position 5. The student must say whether choice A or choice B was inserted. 1. nade ‗went‘ A: madu ‗bread‘ 2. ede ‗he himself‘ B: matu ‗palm trunk‘ 3. pedin ‗you on the other hand‘