Lesson 2 – Sounds and Spelling

The Wangkangurru alphabet has 24 letters. Each letter corresponds to one sound. It is important to learn the Wangkangurru alphabet in order to accurately read and write the language. Click on the icon next to the example words to listen to the recording.

The Wangkangurru alphabet:

a i k l lh ly m n ng nh ny p ṟ r rr rd rl rn t th ty u w y

 

k

k – as in skate. This sound is between a ‘k’ (kite) and a ‘g’ (gate) in English.

Try saying:

p

p – as in spark. This sound is between a ‘p’ (pass) and a ‘b’ (but).

Try saying:

t

t – as in time.

Try saying:

m

m – as in mad.

Try saying:

n

n – as in nice.

Try saying:

l

l – as in lunch.

Try saying:

w

w – as in wing.

Try saying:

y

y – as in toy

Try saying:

ng

ng – these two letters stand for one sound. As in sing.

Try saying:

ty

ty – these two letters stand for one sound. As in jar or trudge. Never like naughty.

Try saying:

ny

ny – these two letters stand for one sound. As in onion or canyon. Never like pony.

Try saying:

ly

ly – these two letters stand for one sound. As in million. Never like silly.

Try saying:

th

th – These two letters stand for one sound which doesn’t exist in English. This sound is like an English ‘t’ as in top, but with the tip of your tongue sticking out between the teeth as you say it. It does not sound like English ‘th’ as in this.

Try saying:

nh

nh – these are two letters that stand for one sound. As in nose, but with the tip of your tongue brought further forward so that it is pushing up against your front teeth.

Try saying:

lh

lh – these are two letters that stand for one sound. As in love, but with the tip of your tongue brought further forward so that it is pushing up against your front teeth.

Try saying:

rd

rd – these two letters stand for one sound, similar to the sound if you say hard with a North American accent to emphasise the ‘r’ sound of the rd.

Try saying:

rn

rn – These two letters stand for one sound, similar to the sound if you say barn with a North American accent to emphasise the ‘r’ sound of the rn.

Try saying:

rl

rl – These two letters stand for one sound, similar to the sound if you say curl with a North American accent to emphasise the ‘r’ sound of the rl.

Try saying:

THE THREE EXAMPLES OF R

ṟ

ṟ – As in parachute. The tip of the tongue curls back in the mouth. This may also be written as a capital R in some materials.

Try saying:

r

r – The single ‘r’ in Wangkangurru doesn’t sound like the ‘r’ found in English. It is a tapped ‘r’, which is really quick, light and almost sounds like the ‘tt’ in butter if said really quickly.

Try saying:

rr

rr – The double ‘rr’ in Wangkangurru sounds similar to the single ‘r’. It is a rolled ‘r’, which can be found in languages like Spanish, but not in English.

Try saying:

The Three Vowels

a

a – as in father. Never like hate or hat.

Try saying:

i

i – as in pit or beat. Never like bite.

Try saying:

u

u – as in put. Never like but.

Try saying: