ulu Pronunciation of individual vowel and lenis consonant sounds

1.2 Pronunciation 3 Example Teacher: oba Student: oba 1. oba ‗corn‘ 2. abi ‗only that one‘ 3. ebe ‗to leave behind‘ 3 4. ebu ‗to touch‘ 5. ibi ‗what?‘ 6. iba ‗day‘ 7. obe ‗to bathe‘ 8. obo ‗will bathe‘ 9. uba ‗brother-in-law‘ 10. abe ‗blood‘ 2 The lenis consonant d In Kuna, the lenis consonant d is also pronounced in a very relaxed way. The tongue is held very gently and it barely touches, if indeed it touches at all, the back of the teeth in the pronunciation of d. The point of contact, i.e., the point of articulation, is similar to that of the sound d in Spanish. The English point of articulation is the ridge behind the teeth and consequently English speakers must practice two new techniques in pronouncing the Kuna sound d, the relaxed tongue, and the dental point of articulation. Practice saying a very relaxed d in the following exercise. Exercise 4 . Pronunciation of lenis d drill The teacher says the word and the student repeats the word, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. This exercise may be repeated several times. Example Teacher: nade Student: nade 1. nade ‗went‘ 2. ade ‗hesheitthat‘ 3. ede ‗he himself‘ 4. odo ‗to put inside‘ 5. ado ‗yes that‘s the one‘ 3 The lenis consonant g In Kuna, the lenis consonant g is also pronounced in a very relaxed way; the tongue barely touches the velum, if it touches at all. Practice saying a very relaxed g in the following exercise. Spanish speakers must practice making every g relaxed. Exercise 5 . Pronunciation of lenis g drill The teacher says the word and the student repeats it, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. This exercise may be repeated several times. Example Teacher: pega Student: pega 1. pega ‗to you‘ 2. aga ‗to him‘ 3. age ‗to vomit‘ 4. igi ‗how‘ 3 Throughout this grammar uninflected verb forms are glossed as infinitives. 4 Basic Greetings And Taking Leave 5. oge ‗to light‘ 6. ogu ‗to get ready‘ 7. uge ‗to have a fever‘ Exercise 6 . Pronunciation of lenis g before vowels e and i The teacher says the word and the student repeats it, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation. This exercise may be repeated several times. Example Teacher: ege Student: ege 1. ege ‗to open‘ 2. age ‗to vomit‘ 3. oge ‗to light‘ 4. ige ‗to forget‘ 5. uge ‗to have a fever‘ 6. ugin ‗in the nest‘ 7. igi ‗how?‘ 8. wegid ‗that kind‘ 1.2.3.3 Vowel length Now that you are hearing the gentle, relaxed way in which lenis consonants are pronounced, you will, with practice, begin to realize that the vowel preceding the lenis consonant tends to be held longer, or is more drawn out than other vowels. This drawing out of the vowel preceding a lenis consonant is called vowel length. In syllables occurring after the stressed syllable, vowel length is not as noticeable as it is in the stressed or pre-stressed syllables. In two and even three-syllable words, vowel length is easier to hear. In words of more than three syllables, vowel length is minimized to the point of non-existence due to the phenomenon of word timing, a characteristic of Kuna speech. The speaker attempts to complete the utterance of a word, whether it has two or eight syllables, in the same block of time so that short words are said rather slowly, while long, multi-syllable words are said very quickly. Thus, word timing allows for vowel length preceding lenis consonants in short two or three-syllable words, but words of four or more syllables are said so quickly that vowel length tends to disappear altogether. The recognition of vowel length comes with practice and will be discussed again in 2.2.4. At this time, however, it will help you to pronounce words more correctly if you are aware of, and work toward, drawing out the vowels lengthening them before lenis consonants. In the following exercise, concentrate on vowel length preceding the lenis consonant. Exercise 7 . Vowel length before lenis consonants The teacher says the word and the student repeats it, mimicking as closely as possible the teacher ‘s pronunciation of the vowels. This exercise may be repeated several times. Example Teacher: oba Student: oba 1. oba ‗corn‘ 2. iba ‗day‘ 3. uba ‗brother-in-law‘ 4. ege ‗to open‘ 5. aga ‗to him‘ 6. oge ‗to light a candle‘ 7. nade ‗went‘ 8. odo ‗to put inside‘ 1.2 Pronunciation 5 Exercise 8 . Vowel length The teacher says at random the words listed in Exercises 3 through 6, and the student repeats the words, mimicking as closely as possible both the lenis consonant and the vowel length. 1.2.3.4 Pronunciation of the other lenis consonants n, zh, r, l and s The other lenis consonants n, zh, r, l, m, and s are also pronounced with a very relaxed vocal apparatus. 1 The lenis consonant n In Kuna, the lenis consonant n is pronounced, as it is in Spanish, with the tongue at the back of the teeth. The position of the tongue in Kuna is different from the position used in the pronunciation of n in English. English speakers must practice the pronunciation of the Kuna n. Exercise 9 . Pronunciation of the lenis consonant n The teacher says the words in the exercise and the student repeats them after the teacher, mimicking as well as possible the lenis consonant n. Example Teacher: nana Student: nana 1. nana ‗mother‘ 2. nane ‗to walk‘ 3. ono ‗to find‘ 4. ina ‗medicine‘ 5. nade ‗went‘ 2 The lenis consonant zh The lenis consonant zh is pronounced like the z in the English word ‗azure‘, the j in the French name Jacques ‗Jack‘, and the y of yo ‗I‘ in Argentinian Spanish. Exercise 10 . Pronunciation of the lenis consonant zh Look at each of the following words as the teacher reads them. Mimic the teacher by reading each word after him. Example Teacher: azhu Student: azhu 1. azhu ‗nose‘ 2. azha ‗dregs‘ 3. ezha ‗machete‘ 4. ozhi ‗pineapple‘ 5. izhe ‗taboo‘ 6. izho ‗to destroy‘ 7. nuzha ‗egg‘ 8. nuzhu ‗worm‘ 9. uzhu ‗agouti‘ 10. mazhi ‗plantains‘ 3 The lenis consonant r The lenis consonant r in Kuna is pronounced like the single r in Spanish, as found in the word caro ‗expensive‘. This flapped r is similar to the way in which some English speakers pronounce the tt in ‗matter‘ or ‗latter‘. The tongue very quickly and firmly touches the ridge behind the teeth. 6 Basic Greetings And Taking Leave In some dialects of English, the speaker drops or barely pronounces a lenis r occurring at the end of a word or syllable. The speakers of that English dialect need to pay particular attention to the pronunciation of lenis r when it occurs word or syllable final. The lenis consonant r sometimes is pronounced without any voicing. This makes it sound something like an l to English or Spanish speakers. This l is called a voiceless flapped l written l. Example nabiri or nabili ‗goodokay‘ Exercise 11 . Pronunciation of the lenis consonant r The teacher says the words in the exercise and the student repeats them after the teacher, mimicking as closely as possible the lenis consonant r. Example Teacher: mara Student: mara 1. mara ‗thunder‘ 2. pure ‗to wrap around‘ 3. turwa ‗rubbish‘ 4. ira ‗hira palm‘ 5. piri ‗top of ____‘ 6. ire ‗to recede‘ 7. yoroku ‗noon‘ Exercise 12 . Pronunciation of word or syllable-final lenis r The teacher says the words in the exercise and the student repeats them after the teacher, paying particular attention to pronounce correctly the lenis r at the end of the words or syllables. Example Teacher: tar Student: tar 1. tar ‗him‘ 2. tiur ‗sabaletta a species of fish‘ 3. chamur ‗intestines‘ 4. arki ‗huacuco a species of fish‘ 5. purwa ‗wind‘ 6. turwa ‗rubbish‘ 7. chapur ‗forest‘ 4 The lenis consonants l, m, and s In Kuna, the lenis consonant m is pronounced approximately as it is in English and Spanish. The position of the tongue in pronouncing s is more like English than Spanish; that is, the tip of the tongue is further back. On the other hand, the tongue tip touches the teeth in pronouncing l so that it is more like Spanish than English. Exercise 13 . Pronunciation of the lenis consonants l, m, and s The teacher says the words in the exercise and the student repeats them after the teacher, mimicking as closely as possible the lenis consonants. Example Teacher: mola Student: mola 1. mola ‗clothblouse‘ 2. olo ‗gold‘ 3. ome ‗woman‘ 4. nana ‗mother‘ 1.2 Pronunciation 7 5. is ‗star‘ 6. aswe ‗avocado‘ 1.2.3.1 Pronunciation of semivowels Kuna has three semivowels, j, w, and y. A lengthened vowel precedes a semivowel. 1 Pronunciation of semivowel j The j in Kuna is pronounced the same as an h in English and as a j in some dialects of Spanish. Exercise 14 . Pronunciation of semivowel j Mimic the teacher by reading each of the following words aloud after the teacher has said them. Stress has been marked in certain cases to help the student. Example Teacher: nejul Student: nejul 1. nejul ‗not going to go‘ 2. noja ‗rose‘ 3. wiji ‗to know‘ 4. weje ‗that‘s enough‘ 5. jaj ‗marks rhetorical and challenging questions‘ 6. ajáj ‗agreement‘ 7. aje ‗to there‘ 8. totójul ‗big‘ 9. tikájul ‗far‘ 10. ichéjul ‗many‘ 2 Pronunciation of semivowel w The w in Kuna is pronounced the same as an English w or as the hu of huevo ‗egg‘ in Spanish. Exercise 15 . Pronunciation of the semivowel w The teacher says the following words and the student repeats each word after the teacher. Example Teacher: wal Student: wal 1. wal ‗poletobacco‘ 2. we ‗that‘ 3. wini ‗beads‘ 4. welwel ‗toucan‘ 5. waga ‗outsider‘ 6. wawadun ‗bananas‘ 7. urwe ‗angry‘ 8. ibiwa ‗what‘s wrong‘ 9. aswe ‗avocado‘ 10. chowal ‗firewood‘ 3 Pronunciation of the semivowel y The semivowel y is pronounced the same as the English y in the word ‗yes‘ or the same as the ll in the Spanish word llamar ‗to call‘ in many dialects. 8 Basic Greetings And Taking Leave 8 Examples 1. yala ‗hill‘ 2. yarta ‗to deceive‘

1.3 Culture

1.3.1 Visiting

When you go visiting in a Kuna town, it is customary to call out at the door of the house and wait for an invitation before entering. The host or hostess will probably invite you to sit down. Heshe will indicate where you are to sit normally on a kana ‗bench‘. Visiting chiefs or male dignitaries may be invited to sit in actually astride a hammock. If you are not offered a seat, it means you are not welcome. You should make an attempt to either increase rapport or state your business right away, in spite of the cool reception. If you are accepted, you should exchange pleasantries before discussing business.

1.4 Grammar

1.4.1 Mai versus chi

In Paya Kuna 4 there is a distinction made in the term used to refer to the location or presence of a man, versus the location or presence of a woman. The term mai ‗to be herethereat home‘ is used by both men and women to refer to a man ‘s presence, whereas the term chi ‗to be herethereat home‘ is used by both men and women to refer to the presence of a woman see 6.4.1. Thus, if you are a man and are referring to your own presence, you always use the term mai. If, however, you are a woman referring to your own presence, you will always use the term chi. Examples 1. Mai. ‗I, a man am hereat home.‘ 2. Mai. ‗He is hereat home.‘ 3. Chi. ‗I, a woman am hereat home.‘ 4. Chi. ‗She is hereat home.‘

1.4.2 Use of personal pronouns The first and second person personal pronouns an

‗Ime direct object‘ and pe ‗you‘ closely parallel the English use of personal pronouns. 5 The first and second person plural pronouns anmal ‗weus direct object‘ and pemal ‗you‘ also parallel English usage. The third person pronouns ad ‗hesheit‘ or ‗himherit direct object ‘ and amal ‗theythem direct object‘ have a more restricted use than in English. In the case of the early language learning process, however, ad ‗hesheit‘ and amal ‗they‘ may be used as a third person pronoun in many situations. The pronouns are discussed more completely in 20.4. Examples 1. An chi ‗I a lady am here.‘ 2. An mai. ‗I a man am here.‘ 3. An pe taktani. ‗I am coming to see you.‘ 4 This distinction does not exist in San Blas Kuna. 5 The first person pronoun is actually ann fortis nasal or anni, but is written an wherever the shortened form occurs to conform to the spelling in general use. 1.5 Vocabulary 9 9

1.5 Vocabulary

1. mai ‗to be hereat home with reference to a man‘ 2. chi ‗to be hereat home with reference to a woman‘ 3. an ‗Ime‘ 4. pe ‗you‘ 5. ad ‗hesheit‘ or ‗himherit‘ used in a restricted sense 6. anmal ‗weus‘ 7. pemal ‗you plural‘ 8. amal ‗theythem‘ 9. anná ‗Hello.‘ visitor‘s greeting 10. toge ‗to enter‘ 11. chigwe ‗to sit down‘ 12. nade ‗I am going‘ 13. eye ‗yes‘ 14. chuli ‗no‘ 15. nabiri ‗goodfineokay‘