Lesson 1: Sounds and Spelling
Lower Arrernte has a different sound system to English. Some Lower Arrernte sounds do not occur in English, or occur in places that English doesn’t allow. For example, English has the sound ng, but it doesn’t allow you to begin a word with it, while Lower Arrernte does.
The Lower Arrernte writing system uses the same letters as English. But unlike English, each letter or combination of letters has only one sound associated with it. This means that you can learn the Lower Arrernte sound and spelling systems at the same time.
Having a one sound to one letter (or combination of letters) system means that the Lower Arrernte writing system is a lot more logical than English. However, because we use the same letters as English does, learning to spell in Lower Arrernte can be very confusing to start off with. The best thing to do is to practice lots. Once you have the knack, you’ll find that reading Lower Arrernte words out correctly is easy.
The Lower Arrernte alphabet uses the letters
a e g h i j k l m n p r t u w y
Additionally, there are some sounds in Lower Arrernte that are represented by two letters,
th ty rt ng nh ny rn lh ly rl rr pm tn
or three letters
kng tnh tny rtn
Below is a list of Lower Arrernte sounds, and their spellings.
SOUNDS REPRESENTED BY A SINGLE LETTER
l, m, n, w
These sounds are all similar to their English counterparts.
Try saying:
k, p, t
These sounds are also very similar to the English usage, but they may sometimes sound a bit closer to g, b and d, especially after another consonant.
Try saying:
h
Australian English does not have this sound. It is similar to the ‘ch’ in the Scottish word ‘loch’, or in the exclamation of disgust ‘ugh’.
Try saying:
y
As in saying or yacht. Never like baby or try.
Try saying:
e
This sound is the most relaxed position for your mouth to be in. It usually happens in Australian English at the end of words like water, which usually sounds a bit like ‘wodeh’. The sound ‘e’ in Lower Arrernte is often influenced by the sounds that come before and after, and so it can sometimes sound more like the ‘ee’ in bee. When it follows a ‘kw’ or a ‘pw’ it sounds more like the ‘oo’ in foot.
Try saying:
i
As in hit or bee. Never like bite or idle.
Try saying:
u
As in put or soot. Never like plum or unit or urgent or flute.
SOUNDS THAT ARE REPRESENTED BY TWO OR THREE LETTERS
In Lower Arrernte, some sounds are represented by two letters, like ‘ch’ or ‘th’ in English. When these letters appear together, they are always pronounced as one sound. For example ‘ly’ together will always sound like million and will never sound like bully. So when you’re reading Lower Arrernte, always keep an eye out for these pairs of letters.
th, nh, lh
These sounds are made by pushing your tongue on or between your front teeth. Linguists call these sounds dental sounds.
Try saying English ‘t’ but with your tongue pushing against the place where your top and bottom teeth meet at the front of your mouth:
This is not like English ‘th’, it is a much harder sound.
Try saying English ‘n’ but with your tongue pushing against the place where your top and bottom teeth meet at the front of your mouth:
Try saying English ‘l’ but with your tongue pushing against the place where your top and bottom teeth meet at the front of your mouth:
ty, ny, ly
These sounds are made by pushing the blade of your tongue against the top of your mouth, your palate, while you make the sound. Linguists call these sounds palatal sounds
Try saying English ‘t’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, put the middle part of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This should sound a little bit like the ‘ch’ in church, but softer. It never sounds like the ‘ty’ in batty.
Try saying English ‘n’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, put the middle part of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This should sound a little bit like the ‘nio’ in onion or minion, never like tiny or bunny.
Try saying English ‘l’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, put the middle part of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This should sound a little bit like the ‘lio’ in million, never like widely or weekly.
rt, rn, rl
These sounds are made by curling your tongue back in your mouth and touching the roof of your mouth with the bottom of your tongue. Linguists call these sounds retroflex sounds.
Try saying English ‘t’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, curl your tongue backwards, with the tip pointing towards the back of your mouth. This might sound a bit like the American English pronunciation of the ‘rt’ in cart.
Try saying English ‘n’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, curl your tongue backwards, with the tip pointing towards the back of your mouth. This might sound a bit like the American English pronunciation of the ‘rn’ in barn.
Try saying English ‘l’ but instead of putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth, curl your tongue backwards, with the tip pointing towards the back of your mouth. This might sound a bit like the American English pronunciation of the ‘rl’ in curl.
ng
This sound is always like English singing or bringing, never like finger or anger.
Try saying:
Unlike English, Lower Arrernte allows this sound to begin a word. This can be very difficult for English speakers, and the best way to get better at it is to practice. Try saying:
r, rr
There are two kinds of ‘r’ sound in Lower Arrernte. The first, represented by a single ‘r’, is very similar to the English pronunciation, like in courage or bring. Try saying:
The second, represented by ‘rr’, is a tap or trill, which occurs in languages like Spanish. Try tapping the tip of your tongue quickly on the ridge behind your top front teeth. We make this sound in English in words like butter if you are talking fast.
Try saying:
Sometimes, if you’re an English speaker, it’s difficult to hear the difference between ‘r’ and ‘rr’. Try listening to the difference between them in these two words:
The following words have both ‘r’ and ‘rr’, in them. Have a listen and see if you can pick them:
UNUSUAL SOUND COMBINATIONS
pm, tn
These sounds occur in English in words like topmost or chutney. This feature is called ‘pre-stopping’. Unlike English, however, Lower Arrernte allows these kinds of sounds at the beginning of the word, which can be difficult for English speakers.
Try saying:
kng, tnh, tny, rtn
These are all one sound represented by three letters. It is where the ‘pre-stopping’ feature is combined with another sound that is already represented by two letters (see above).
Try saying:
kw, pw, tw
These are called ‘rounded consonants’ because they are formed by rounding your lips and closing them slightly while you make the sound. Try saying English ‘p’, ‘k’ or ‘t’ but at the same time tightening your lips to form a circle. This rounding changes the following sound, usually an ‘e’ (see above).
Try saying:
SPELLING NOTES
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If two retroflex (rt, rn, rl), dental (th, nh, lh), or palatal (ty, ny, ly) sounds occur together, we leave off the extra ‘r’, ‘h’, or ‘y’. This keeps things simple, and stops words from becoming really long and scary looking. For example: urnterreme ‘being cheeky or mean’ (rnt not rnrt) |
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In English, we have many sounds that are represented by the letter combination ng. For example, try saying the words singer, anger and hinge out loud, and see if you can hear the different ng sounds in them. In Lower Arrernte, we have a very specific ways of spelling all these different sounds. Once you learn the letter combinations, you should always be able to know which sound they represent, not like English spelling! |
ng – always like singer, never like finger.
Try saying:
ngk – always somewhere between finger and thinker, never like singer.
Try saying:
nng – we don’t really have this sound in English.
Try saying:
nk – we don’t really have this sound in English.
Try saying: