THE PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING OF DILZHE’E APACHE

 

1. The spelling and font used in this dictionary.

There is no complete consensus on how to spell the Dilzhe’e variety of Western Apache, and it is our hope that the spellings suggested here will allow for more consistency in writing in the future.

Spellings in this dictionary follow, as much as practicable, the standards set up by the Western Apache Dictionary, published by the White Mountain Apache Tribe (1972), and followed by the Western Apache English Dictionary, edited by Dorothy Bray (1998), and by the Practical Grammar of the San Carlos Apache Language, by de Reuse and Goode (2006). We introduced changes in consonants as appropriate for Dilzhe’e, and a major change due to the different tones of the Dilzhe’e variety.

In the (1972) and (1998) dictionaries mentioned above, two tones were marked: the low tone (vowel unmarked), and the high tone (vowel with an acute accent, e. g., á, é, í, ó, ú).  However, the varieties of Western Apache that these two dictionaries were based on, mostly San Carlos and White Mountain, actually pronounce three tones, a low tone, a mid tone, and a high tone.  The mid tone was not marked, i.e. it was not distinguished from the low tone.  (In a few words, and rather inconsistently, the mid tone was written as a high).

In the Dilzhe’e variety of Western Apache, the tone situation is quite different from that in San Carlos or White Mountain.  There are only two tones, high and low.  There is no mid tone at all.  The mid tone of the San Carlos and White Mountain varieties is a high tone in Dilzhe’e.  Thus, every vowel pronounced with a mid tone in San Carlos or White Mountain is pronounced with a high tone in Dilzhe’e.  In the spelling, the result is that many San Carlos and White Mountain vowels with no tone marking (actually pronounced mid), will have a high tone marking (acute accent, e. g., á, é, í, ó, ú) in Dilzhe’e.

There exists only one book in print which marks mid tone, and that is A Practical Grammar of the San Carlos Apache Language, by de Reuse and Goode (Munich: Lincom-Europa, 2006).  The rest of this introduction to the pronunciation and spelling of Dilzhe’e Apache is an adaptation of the section on the Pronunciation and Spelling of this book (pp. 7-30) to the Dilzhe’e variety of Apache, so obviously without any mention of the mid tone.

This dictionary is written in the “Doulos SIL” font, which is available for free download form the website of SIL International.  It is a bit harder to type, but it has many more characters, and allows for easy comparison with data in other Apache varieties.

 In order to use this dictionary, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the spelling system used for writing and reading the Dilzhe’e variety of Apache.  In order to learn this system, it is necessary to forget many of the spelling conventions of English.  Indeed, the Dilzhe’e Apache language (henceforth called Apache) has sounds which are similar to English and are spelled as in English, which are, of course, the easiest to learn.  But Apache also has sounds which have English equivalents but are spelled unlike English, and sounds which are unlike English, and which, or course, are also spelled unlike English.

 

2. The Apache Alphabet.

Since, as pointed out in the Introduction, this is an English-Apache dictionary, there is really no need for readers of this dictionary to learn the Apache alphabet at this point.  However, when an Apache-English finderlist to the English-Apache dictionary is compiled it will be necessary to learn the orders of Apache letters.  So let us introduce the Apache alphabet here, for later reference.  It is given in (1), and it contains 56 symbols.

 

(1) The Apache alphabet:

a, ą, aa, ąą, b, (c), ch, ch’, d, dl, dz, e, ę, ee, ęę, (f), g, gh, h, hw, i, į, ii, įį, j, k, k’, ’, l, ł, m, ’m, n, ’n, o, ǫ, oo, ǫǫ, p, (q), (r), s, sh, t, t’, tł, tł’, ts, ts’, u, (v), w, (x), y, z, zh

 

The following features of the alphabet should be noted:

 

The order and position of symbols, in particular the apostrophe ’ (the glottal stop, see section 5.), which counts as a real letter.

The order of short and long vowels, non-nasal and nasal vowels, so for the vowel a we have a, ą, aa, ąą, and so on for the vowels e, i, and o.  The vowel u is never written doubled nor nasal.  The diacritic under ą or ąą, etc., is called the nasal hook.

The alphabet contains one modified letter, the ł, called slash l, or barred l, which follows plain l.

The tones (see section 10.) are ignored in the alphabetization of Apache words. 

Apache also has a short syllabic nasal, written n and a rare long syllabic nasal, written nn. The short syllabic nasal n is not distinguished from n in the alphabet. The long syllabic nasal nn can just be alphabetized as though it were n plus n.  Explanations and examples of what a syllabic nasal is are given in section 9.

Several more symbols are used as conventions in the dictionary, although they are not part of the alphabet.

One is s(h), which stands for a sound pronounced like s for some Apache speakers, and for a sound pronounced like sh for other Apache speakers. Another one is z(h). which stands for a sound pronounced like z for some Apache speakers, and for a sound pronounced like zh for other Apache speakers.  So it is important to remember the convention here: s(h) stands for an alternation between s and sh; and z(h) stands for an alternation between z and zh.  We do not recommend that speakers write actual s(h) and z(h) when spelling.  They should use either s and z or sh and zh, depending on their own pronunciation.  No one likes the idea of a word with parentheses inside it!  Examples of s and sh alternations and of z and zh alternations will be provided in section 7.

In the dictionary, we also use the symbol ṉ, called underlined n.  This ṉ is pronounced exactly like a plain n, so there is no reason to for learners to write an underlined n.   The reason for this notation in the dictionary will be explained in section 3. 

 

3. Easy Apache consonant symbols.

For English speakers, the easiest consonants of Apache are the ones which are similar to English, and are spelled like English.  They are listed in (2):

 

(2) Table of consonants of Apache spelled and pronounced like English:

Symbol:	Pronounced like:	Apache example words:
ch	English ch in chip, chat	chaa 'beaver'; chizh 'wood; firewood'
dl	English dl in cuddling, or d l in cod liver	dleesh '(ceremonial) white clay'; hidloh 's/he is laughing'
dz	English dz in adze	dząąk’ee 'right here'; dził 'mountain'
h	English h in hit, hat	higááł  's/he is walking along'; Náhokosé 'Big Dipper'; kǫwąh 'house'; dit’ih 'it is wet'
j	English j in jug, juice	jeeh 'pitch, gum'; bijád 'his/her leg'
k	English k in Kip, kite	kaa 'disease'; kįh 'house'
l	English l in lick, yellow	Chálamané 'East Asian person'; nábil 'car'
m	English m in mean, mole	mé’ 'baby'; nimáá 'your mother'
n	English n in no, nip	nashné’ 'I am carrying it (an object) around'; nih 'you'; álṉe’ 'it is being made'; siṉil 'they (a number of objects) are in position'
p	English p in pot, pit	płíshí 'nighthawk'
s	English s in sick, sore	sis 'belt'; sáí 'sand'
sh	English sh in ship, shot	shǫh 'frost'; gish 'cane, stick'
t	English t in too, tap	nteel 'it is broad'; táági 'three'
ts	English ts in pits, fatso	tsííd  'live coals'; naltsoos 'paper'
w	English w in witch, wail	dáwąh 'all'; hawúh 'dove'
y	English y in yes, yacht	yee 'with it'; hayaa 'downward'
z	English z in zebra, zoo	zas 'snow'; biziiz 'his/her belt'

 

The reader will have noticed that in table (2) above we write as illustrations of the letter n, nashné’ 'I am carrying it (an object) around', nih 'you' with a plain letter n; but álṉe’ 'it is being made' and siṉil 'they (a number of objects) are in position', with a special symbol ṉ, not part of the alphabet, which we call “underlined n”.  Since for all Dilzhe’e speakers, both plain n and underlined n sound exactly alike, this distinction need not be made by learners in writing, and we advise Dilzhe’e learners to just write a plain n everywhere, as in álne’ 'it is being made' and sinil 'they (a number of objects) are in position'.

In this dictionary, we make this distinction only in order to facilitate comparison with other varieties of Western Apache. Indeed, in several other varieties of Western Apache, this plain n and the underlined n (ṉ) actually do not sound alike.  In all varieties of Western Apache, what we write in the dictionary as (plain) n does remain n, but the underlined n (ṉ) can be a different sound in some varieties other than Dilzhe’e. It is useful to keep track of such distinctions.  For example, some people in San Carlos on the San Carlos Apache reservation, and in Cibecue on the White Mountain Apache reservation, pronounce ṉ as n with a slight d following, somewhat like the nd in gander or finding.  So for them, álṉe’ and siṉil will sound like álnde’ and sindil (although we are not aware of anyone spelling these words this way).  Other speakers, mostly in Bylas on the San Carlos Apache reservation, as well as on the White Mountain Apache reservation, pronounce ṉ as the English d in dumb or mad, and will even spell the four illustrative words given above as nashné’, nih, but álde’ and sidil.

There are a few Apache words where a s comes before an h.  We spell those with sh, but there will be ambiguity. Is this sh a real sh, i.e. the sh of English show or bush, or a sequence of Apache s plus Apache h?  One of such words is yizishį́į́  's/he killed it/him/her', which can be divided into yizis- and -hį́į́.  In such words the Apache h is not quite pronounced like English h, but rather like the ch in Scottish English loch, the j in Spanish jota, or the German Ach-laut.  Linguists use the phonetic symbol [x] for this sound.  Where an Apache form has a sh representing the phonetic sequence [sx], this is indicated by (sx) on the same line in the dictionary.

 

4. Apache consonant symbols which have English equivalents but are spelled unlike English.

Apache consonant symbols which have English equivalents but are spelled unlike English are in (3):

 

(3) Table of Apache consonants with English equivalents but spelled unlike English:

Symbol:	Pronounced like:	Apache example words:
b	English p in spot, spit	bíí 'he, she, it'; bibid 'his/her stomach'
d	English t in stop, steer	dah 'no'; siwod 'it is bent'
g	English k in skip, sky	gozdog 'it is hot'; gaagé 'crow'; łóg 'fish'
hw	English wh in which, whale for those English speakers who make a distinction between which/witch, and whale/wail; for those who do not, the sound h followed by a w	hwéhego 'move over'; nohwíí 'you (pl.)'
’	Like the dash in English uh-oh expressing frustration or disappointment, or uh-uh 'no'	See discussion in section 5.
zh	English z in azure, or English s in measure	nizhaa’é 'your little one, child (to a woman)'; łeezh 'dirt, dust, soil'

 

5. The special case of ’, called “the glottal stop”.

The glottal stop is an extremely common sound in Apache, and, even though it is written with an apostrophe (’), it should be considered a full-fledged consonant.  In English, the glottal stop exists in some words, but it is certainly not felt to be a speech sound by native speakers.  In English, a glottal stop occurs in the space of the dashes in uh-oh, an interjection indicating disappointment or frustration, and in uh-uh, an interjection meaning no.

All words written with an initial vowel automatically have a glottal stop preceding that vowel.  Because this glottal stop is automatically present, it is never written, as shown in (4).  In word-medial position, the glottal stop is always written, as shown in (5).

 

(4) Words with the glottal stop in word-initial position:

Spelling:	Pronunciation:	English:
ákú	’ákú	'there'
áłts’ísé	’áłts’ísé	'it is small'
ąął	’ąął	'it is finished'
bee idáné	bee ’idáné	'spoon'
ik’ah	’ik’ah	'grease, fat'
obę́’	’obę́’	'piñon nut'
ǫyáá	’ǫyáá	's/he has gone'

 

(5) Words with the glottal stop in word-medial position:

da’idą́ą́	'meal, feast'
dǫ’kah	'we (pl.) might be coming'
ashdla’é	'five'
nal’eełí	'duck'
o’i’ą́ą́	'it is evening'
nida’yé	'your nephew'
ni’áá	'your wife'

 

As far as the glottal stop in word-final position is concerned, one must distinguish between glottal stop following a short vowel, and glottal stop following a long vowel.  Glottal stop following a short vowel exists in all varieties of Apache, and is illustrated under (6).  It is always written.

 

(6) Words with the glottal stop in word-final position after a short vowel:

biká’	'on top of it'
dlǫ́’	'bird'
ibe’	'milk'
ma’	'coyote'
mé’	'baby'
nadą́’	'corn, maize'
ni’	'land, ground'
nitsi’	'your daughter (to a man)'
biką’	'her husband'

 

Word-final glottal stop following a long vowel is commonly pronounced only in certain varieties of Apache, particularly at Bylas on the San Carlos Apache reservation, and in the White Mountain variety of Western Apache.  In the Dilzhe’e variety, we have heard a final glottal stop only in three words; two body part nouns, and the stem of the verb ‘to drink’, listed in (7).  Even so, many Dilzhe’e speakers do not have the glottal stop and the end of these three words.   We suggest the learner spell such words either with or without the final glottal stop, depending on the pronunciation of the teacher.  We will show these three words with (’) in the dictionary. We do not recommend the spelling of this final glottal stop with the parentheses left in.

 

(7) Words with glottal stop variation in word-final position, following a long vowel:

Spelling in the dictionary:	Suggested spelling for some Dilzhe’e speakers :		Suggested spelling for other Dilzhe’e speakers:	English:
bighaa(’)	bighaa		bighaa’	'its fur, hair’
biwoo(’)	biwoo		biwoo’	'his/her tooth'
idlą́ą́(’)		idlą́ą́	idlą́ą́’	's/he is drinking'

 

6. Apache consonant sounds not similar to English sounds.

Consonants which are rather unlike English, and which, of course, are also spelled unlike English, are listed in (8).  The descriptions are of course impressionistic.  You will need to ask a native speaker to pronounce these sounds for you.

 

(8) Table of Apache consonants not similar to English sounds:

Symbol:	Pronunciation:	Apache example words:
ch’	Apache j with a glottal stop immediately pronounced after it	ch’ah 'hat'; ch’id 'blanket'
gh	The sound of ch in Scottish English loch, but with vibration of the vocal cords, similar to the sound when trying to remove a hair from the back of one’s tongue	bighaa 'its fur, hair'; nagháá 's/he is walking about'
k’	Apache g with a glottal stop immediately pronounced after it	k’ad 'soon'; bik’isn 'his brother; her sister'
ł	Put your tongue in the position of l, and let the air come out as for a s or sh sound	łid 'smoke'; ił 'horsewhip'
’m	A quick succession of the glottal stop and m, almost pronounced simultaneously	naz’mááz ‘s/he turned around'
’n	A quick succession of the glottal stop and n, almost pronounced simultaneously	dehes’náád 'it moved'; nadi’né’ 'it (object) is picked up’; Bik’ehgo ihi’ṉáán ‘God’; hi’ṉizh 'we pick it'
t’	Apache d with a glottal stop immediately pronounced after it	t’ah 'still'; t’iis 'cottonwood tree'
tł	Apache t with the sound ł immediately following	náshtłei or náshtłag 'I am greasing it'; ditłid 'it is shivering'
tł’	Apache dl with a glottal stop immediately pronounced after it	dotł’izh 'it is blue/green'; tł’óół 'rope'
ts’	Apache dz with a glottal stop immediately pronounced after it	ts’aa 'basket'; gosts’idi 'seven'

 

Matching the plain underlined n and underlined n (ṉ) distinction (section 3.), there also is a distinction between ’n  and ’ṉ in the dictionary.  Again, this distinction is relevant for the sake of comparison with other varieties of Western Apache, but for Dilzhe’e learners the distinction can be ignored, as ’ṉ is pronounced exactly like ’n , and thus it can be written as ’n.

 

7. A note on the Dilzhe’e Apache alternations between sh, zh and s, z, and between j, ch, ch’, and dz, ts, ts’.

The careful reader will have seen in the footnotes so far that a word with a sh can also be spelled (and pronounced) with an s, (indicated as s(h)) in the dictionary). And the reader will also have have noticed that aword with a zh can also be spelled (and pronounced) with a z (indicated as z(h) in the dictionary).  Finally, the reader might also have noticed that the sounds dz, ts, and ts’, can turn into j, ch, and ch’, respectively.  It is now time to give an overview of such alternations, explain what they mean for the learner of Dilzhe’e, and also attempt to explain them.

Certain consonant sounds which have remained separate in the White Mountain and San Carlos varieties of Western Apache, (as well as in Navajo and in any other Apachean languages), have to some extent become merged, that is: become one, in the Dilzhe’e variety of Western Apache. Such mergers are characteristic of Dilzhe’e as spoken by many people in the Camp Verde area, i.e. people sometimes referred to as ‘Northern Tonto’ in the anthropological literature.  We are not sure whether these mergers existed in the variety of Dilzhe’e sometimes called ‘Southern Tonto’, as originally spoken in the Payson and Gisela area.  It appears that the original Payson speakers sounded more like Cibecue than like Camp Verde (Vincent Randall, personal communication, 2014).  If so, they would not have had the mergers.

There are several merger possibilities attested in the Dilzhe’e variety of Western Apache, depending on the age of the speaker, as well as with the amount of contact with non-Dilzhe’e speakers of Apache.

We surmise that the oldest generation of Dilzhe’e speakers (and we are not sure whether any of these are still alive), and the generation with the least amount of contact with non-Dilzhe’e Apache speakers showed the mergers in diagrams (9) and (10).  The arrows indicate the direction of the merger.  “Earlier Western Apache” is the stage of the language before the merger took place. 

 

(9) 

Earlier Western Apache: s sh z zh

 

Dilzhe’e:   s and sh z and zh

 

As one can see in (9), there was confusion between s and sh, and between z and zh, and so the Dilzhe’e speaker alternated freely between between s and sh, and between z and zh.  As a result, the speaker would not know anymore whether a word had originally s or z or originally sh or zh, and it would result in pronunciations like zhash for original zas ‘snow’, or golzhéé for original golzéé ‘it is called’. 

Before going further, let us point out that the state of confusion diagrammed in (9) is not the one represented by the spellings in the dictionary.  Only certain types of mergers are represented, as will become clear in the following paragraphs.  What is important for the learner to remember at this point is to not be surprised if he or she comes across pronunciations like golzhéé, but the pronunciation golzhéé for original golzéé is not taken into account in the dictionary.   

 

(10)

Earlier Western Apache: dz j ts       ch   ts’     ch’

 

Dilzhe’e:                   j                  ch     ts’ and ch’

 

As one can see in (10), there was a merger towards j and ch, but there was confusion (similar to that in (9)) regarding ts’ and ch’. Why ts’ and ch’ behaved differently is not clear to us at this point.

A type of merger which is typical for the present generation of Dilzhe’e speakers is the one in diagram (11), to be compared with diagram (9) above.

 

(11)

Earlier Western Apache: s sh z zh

 

Dilzhe’e:           s               z

 

The difference between (9) and (11) is that in (11), there is no confusion, and just a plain merger of s and sh into s, and z and zh into z.  So the people who pronounce Apache this way do no longer have the sounds sh and zh in their inventory.  The type of merger diagrammed in (11) is what is represented in the dictionary by the indications s(h) and z(h).  

Some examples of the merger diagrammed in (11) are in table (12).  Corresponding forms in San Carlos Apache, where no mergers have taken place, and which can thus represent an “Earlier  Western Apache” stage, are provided in the first column.

 

(12) Examples of the merger diagrammed in (11):

San Carlos Apache as would be written in de Reuse and Goode (2006):	Dilzhe’e as written in this dictionary:	Dilzhe’e with the merger diagrammed in (11):	English:
bēēsh	béés(h)	béés	‘metal, knife’
ch’osh	ch’os(h)	ch’os	‘bug’
dotł’izh	dotł’iz(h)	dotł’iz	‘it is green’
íshįįhłeezh	ís(h)įįhłeez(h)	ísįįhłeez	‘salt dirt’
shijaa	s(h)ijaa	sijaa	‘my ear’
shīī	s(h)íí	síí	‘I, me’
shúgé	s(h)úgé	súgé	‘sugar’
zhāāli	z(h)ááli	zááli	‘money, coins’

 

Now what happens with this generation regarding the mergers involving dz, ts, ts’ and j, ch, ch’? Actually, the same merger (and confusion of ts’ and ch’) illustrated in diagram (10) is also valid for this generation.  This merger cannot be represented in the dictionary by a system of letters in parentheses.  It is represented in the dictionary by having the two forms next to each other, the original one first, and the merged one following the indication “or” or a slash.  Examples of the merger diagrammed in (10) are in table (13). 

 

(13) Examples of the merger diagrammed in (10):

San Carlos Apache as would be written in de Reuse and Goode (2006):	Dilzhe’e as written in this dictionary:	Dilzhe’e with the merger diagrammed in (10):	English:
bits’in	bits’in or bich’in	bich’in	‘its bone’
dził	dził or jił	jił	‘mountain’
naltsoos	naltsoos or nalchoos	nalchoos	‘paper’
tsēē	tséé or chéé	chéé	‘rock, stone’
tsįh	tsįh or chįh	chįh	‘stick’
ts’aa	ts’aa or ch’aa	ch’aa	‘basket’

 

As indicated in diagram (10), we not only expect the original sound ts’ to potentially merge into ch’, but we also expect the original sound ch’ to potentially merge into ts’.  This particular merger sometimes happens for some speakers, but rather sporadically.  We have heard it regarding bich’iné ‘his/her paternal grandmother’ (bich’iné in the San Carlos variety), which can turn into bits’iné, and therefore the dictionary lists it as bich’iné or bits’iné.  But most words with ch’ do not have a variant with a ts’.  So we have only heard ch’ah ‘hat’, ch’id ‘blanket’, and never *ts’ah, *ts’id.

An additional complication can occur when the merger diagrammed in (10) occurs.  For brevity, we will now call the mergers diagrammed in (10), simply: “merger (10)”.  Earlier Western Apache (like the San Carlos variety) has the consonant clusters …sdz.., …sts…, and …sts’.... Now when merger (10) applies to such clusters, the expected result is, respectively: …sj…, …sch…, and …sch’....  Now, for some speakers of Apache these are pronounceable sequences.  Other speakers have to apply a rule by which the proximity of the sound s to a following j, ch, or ch’, causes that s to change to a sh.  This is due to the fact that j, ch, or ch’ are pronounced in the same area of the mouth as sh, but in a different part of the mouth from s.  As a result, the sequences …shj.., ..shch.., and …shch’.... are easier to pronounce than the sequences …sj.., ..sch.., and …sch’....  We will call this additional change from s to sh harmony.  Examples or merger (10) that satisfy the conditions for harmony are given in (14).

 

(14) Examples of merger (10), when possibly followed by harmony:

San Carlos Apache as would be written in de Reuse and Goode (2006):	Dilzhe’e as written in this dictionary:	Three possible Dilzhe’e pronunciations, and how they are derived:	English:
béstsoh	béstsoh or bés(h)choh	béstsoh (no merger); béschoh (merger 10); béshchoh (merger (10) plus harmony)	‘money’
gosts’idi	gosts’idi or gos(h)ch’idi	gosts’idi (no merger); gosch’idi (merger (10))  goshch’idi (merger (10) plus harmony)	‘seven’
isdzán	isdzáhn or is(h)jáhn	isdzáhn (no merger); isjáhn (merger (10)); ishjáhn (merger (10) plus harmony)	‘woman’
nádísdzāā	nádísdzáá or nádís(h)jáá	nádísdzáá (no merger); nádísjáá (merger (10)); nádíshjáá (merger (10) plus harmony)	‘I am going home’

 

It is possible that harmony also occurs after the merger diagrammed in (11).  The Early Western Apache (and San Carlos) form hoshchoh ‘big cactus’, is mentioned in the dictionary as hos(h)choh, which can stand for hoschoh, the expected form due to the merger diagrammed as (11)), and for hoshchoh.  Now, this hoshchoh is ambiguous as to its history!  It could be just original hosh ‘cactus’ with original choh ‘big’, so with no merger at all.  Alternatively, hoshchoh could well be hoschoh due to the merger diagrammed as (11), followed by the harmony rule, and then we get back to the form hoshchoh!

At this point, it is important to emphasize that none of the mergers discussed so far are obligatory in order to be a good speaker of Dilzhe’e.  It is just the case that most speakers who are entirely of Dilzhe’e descent have these mergers.   But people who are of partial Dilzhe’e descent typically have the merger diagrammed as (11) in a sporadic way or not at all, although they appear to apply merger (10) in a rather systematic way.  Apaches who are descended entirely from non-Dilzhe’e groups typically do not have any of these mergers.  Because of this variation within the modern Dilzhe’e speaker community, it is necessary, in this dictionary, to spell words in a way that all speakers can relate to.

We do not know why these mergers occurred in Dilzhe’e.  One theory is that they are due to contact with neighboring Yavapai, a language not related to Apache.  It is significant that the ancestors of many modern Dilzhe’e speakers were bilingual in Apache and in Yavapai.  The interesting thing about Yavapai is that it has an s sound but hardly any sh sounds, and that could explain the Dilzhe’e sh to s merger.  Furthermore, Yavapai has a ch sound but no ts sound, and that could explain the Dilzhe’e ts to ch merger.  

A final note.  There exist four words which similar variation of consonants in other varieties of Western Apache. These are two nouns: sid or shid  ‘scar’ and gosé or goshé ‘dog’, and two verbs áłts’ísé or áłch’ís(h)é ‘it is small’, and áłts’ósé or áłch’ós(h)é ‘s/he is thin, slender’. But disregarding these isolated cases, the alternations described in this section do not occur in other varieties of Western Apache.  

 

8. Apache vowel and diphthong symbols.

8.1.  Introduction.

The vowels and diphthongs of Apache are much simpler than in English.  However, in spelling and pronouncing Apache vowels, it is particularly important not to follow conventions used in spelling and pronouncing English vowels.

The vowels of Apache can be short or long.  The long vowels of Apache are written by doubling the short counterpart, so a is a short vowel, aa is a long vowel.  Apache vowels can also be non-nasal or nasal.  Non-nasal vowels are the most like English.  Apache nasal vowels are marked with a little hook underneath, and treated in section 8.4.  Finally, Apache vowels (as well as the syllabic nasal) can have one of two tones: low, and high.  These tones will be treated in section 10.

 

8.2.  Apache non-nasal vowels.

(15) Table of Apache non-nasal vowels:

Symbol:	Pronounced like:	Apache example words:
a	American English o in pot, lot	ma’ ‘coyote’; bíta’ ‘his/her forehead’
aa	American English a in father, all	baa ‘about it’; bitaa ‘his/her father’
e	English e in met, bet	nt’é ‘what’; né ‘yes/no question marker’
ee	English e in bed but longer, ea in yeah but longer, or like ere in British English (Received Pronunciation) there	bidee  ‘its horn’; néé ‘we’
i	English i in bit, kick	nini’ ‘your land’; bizid ‘his/her liver’
ii	The second English i in intrigue, ea in bead, or ee in seed, but without the y- offglide	binii ‘his/her face’; na’iziid ‘s/he is working’
o	American English o in hope, but shorter, sometimes like English u in put, bush	łóg ‘fish’; histsos or hischos  ‘I am carrying it (clothlike object) along’
oo	American English o in mode, but without the w-offglide, sometimes close to oo in English mood, but without the w-offglide	łóód ‘sore’; nastsoos or naschoos  ‘I carry it (clothlike object) about’
u	American English u in put, bush, or u in English rude, but without the w-offglide	See discussion below in section 8.3.

 

8.3.  The special case of the Apache vowel symbol u.

In addition to the four basic vowels a, e, i, and o, short or long, nasal or not, with high or low tones, Apache spelling also has a vowel ú.  Strictly speaking, this vowel is not necessary, but it has become a regular part of the accepted spelling, so that we have to learn to use it and explain when and why it occurs.  Its usage is a bit tricky, so we will explain it step by step.

First, the vowel u is always written with high tone, never with low tone, so we have to write ú, never plain u.  We will explain tone in section 10.

Second, the vowel ú, can be short or long, and is actually more often long than short, but by convention it is never written double.  So the vowel ú, even when long, is always written as single ú, not as double úú.

Third, ú always non-nasal.  So one never needs to write it with a nasal hook.

Now, let us concentrate on the sound ú which is actually long  This long ú is really a respelling of óó, i.e. the high toned long o.  It turns out that, under certain circumstances, this sound sounds more like the u in English rude, than like a long o, which is why the people devising the spelling decided to write it as u.  You need to learn the circumstances in which the óó is respelled as an ú.  It is never wrong to pronounce any long ú as if there were an óó; it just so happens that the spelling requires you to write ú.

The conditions under which you have to respell óó as an ú are not entirely clear or logical, so we prefer giving in (16) a list of all the words with long ú:

 

(16) Words spelled with the symbol ú, representing a long vowel:

“Logical” spelling:	Actual spelling:	English:
ákóó	ákú	‘there’
Gambóódi	Gambúdi, (and also Gambóódi)	‘Camp Verde’
kóó	kú	‘here’
tóó	tú	‘water’
tóós	tús	‘bottle, jug, water jar’
Yóósn	Yúsn	‘God, Creator, Jesus’

 

Now, let us look at the letter ú, when it represents a short sound.  It is not the counterpart of high toned short ó, changing to short ú, because short high toned ó always stays written as ó.  Short ú is usually a shortened version of the long ú, again under circumstances which are not always clear.  It is more convenient for the learner to memorize the exhaustive list of words with short ú, given in (17).

 

(17) Words spelled with the symbol ú, representing a short vowel:

ákúṉe’	‘inside, indoors’
bą́ą́yú	‘scarf’
dúlgéd	‘buffalo, bison’
hawúh	‘dove’
hayú	‘where’
múh	‘owl’
súl	‘flute’
shúgé or súgé	‘sugar’
túłgaiyé	‘donkey’
yúṉáásyú	‘farther on, in the future’
yúṉe’	‘inside it’
yúshdé’ or yúsdé’ or yúshdí’ or yúsdí’	‘come here’
yúwehyú	‘away (with you)’
yúdah	‘high’
yúyahyú	‘deep down’
yúyaa	‘down’
=yú	‘to, at’ (enclitic)

  

8.4.  Apache nasal vowels.

The nasal vowels of Apache are pronounced like non-nasal vowels, but in addition the air is let out through the nose.  English does not recognize such vowels as separate sounds, but the vowel found in can’t in informal American English speech comes close to Apache ęę.  Rather than trying to describe each vowel with English approximations, we will point out that six of the Apache nasal vowels are very close to French nasal vowels.  This, we hope, is helpful to anyone who has ever studied a bit of French.

The short nasal vowels of Apache are written like the short non-nasal vowels, adding a nasal hook, the little symbol underneath the vowel.  The long nasal vowels of Apache are written like long non-nasal vowels, and putting a nasal hook underneath each vowel.  A list of nasal vowels is in (18).

 

(18) Table of Apache nasal vowels:

Symbol:	Pronounced like:	Apache example words:
ą	French an in pan	shą́’ or są́’ ‘sunshine’; sigąh ‘it is dry’
ąą	French an in ange	dą́ą́ ‘spring season’; na’iłbąąs ‘s/he is driving about’
ę	French ain in pain	ę́’ ‘prairie dog’; mę́’ ‘baby’
ęę	French in in quinze	baa éhigęęsé ‘key’; męę’é ‘lamb’
į	unlike any French nasal vowel, somewhat like I in English minnow; ask a native speaker	kįh ‘house, building’; tsįh or chįh ‘(wooden) stick’
įį	unlike any French nasal vowel, somewhat like English ea in mean; ask a native speaker	bįįh ‘deer’; jį́į́  ‘day’
ǫ	French on in pont	dlǫ́’ ‘bird’; na’iłkǫ’ ‘s/he is swimming about’
ǫǫ	French on in onze, also sometimes somewhat like the English oo in moon	nłts’ǫǫd or nłch’ǫǫd ‘you pull it’; nzhǫ́ǫ́ or nzǫ́ǫ́  ‘it is nice, likeable, good’

 

Contrasting pairs, showing the distinction between non-nasal and nasal vowels, are in (19):

 

(19) Words contrasting non-nasal and nasal vowels:

Word with non-nasal vowel:	English:	Word with nasal vowel:	English:
baa	‘about it’	bą́ą́	‘his/her mother’
chaa or cháá	‘beaver’	chąą	‘dung, excrement’
bíí	‘he, she, it’	bįįh	‘deer’
díí	‘this’	dį́į́’i	‘four’
shíí or síí	‘I, me’	shį́į́ or sį́į́	‘summer’
ałdó’	‘also, too’	dǫ́’	‘fly (insect)’

 

8.5.  Apache diphthongs.

There also exist vowels that have the same quantity as long vowels, but change in quality, or they could also be defined as clusters of two different short vowels.  These are called diphthongs.  Diphthongs have either low tone or high tone; they cannot be nasal. The diphthongs of Apache are presented in (20).

 

(20) Table of Apache diphthongs:

Symbol:	Pronounced like:	Apache example words:
ai	English ai as in aisle, Thai	ai ‘that (nearby)’; láí ‘that (over there, yonder)’; sáí ‘sand’; hai ‘winter’; nákai ‘they came back’; k’ai ‘willow’; łigai ‘it is white’
ao	English ow as in cow, or ou as in ouch	ao’ or hao’ ‘yes’
ei	English ei as in heinous, or ey as in hey	ei ‘that (nearby)’; léí ‘that (over there, yonder)’; séí ‘sand’
oi	English oi as in moist, or oy as in boy	hoi ‘satiation, satisfaction’; ndóí ‘wildcat’
ui	English we, or ewy as in chewy, pronounced fast	da’ákúí ‘how many’; nákúí ‘s/he is vomiting’

 

You will have noted in (20) that ei, léí, and séí have the same meaning as ai, láí, and sáí, respectively.  Indeed, these words are variants of each other.  Both spellings and pronunciations are correct, although in Dilzhe’e, ai, láí, and sáí are more common. This is because the diphthong ei is only a variant of ai, and ei can always be replaced by ai.  However, the reverse is not true, since it is not always possible to replace ai by ei.  It is not possible to replace ai by ei after the consonants g, h, k, and k’.  As a result, *łigei, *hei, *k’ei, and *nákai are not possible variants of łigai, hai, k’ai, and nákai respectively.  So, the ai/ei variation only occurs following consonants other than g, h, k, and k’.

You will often hear the vowel sequences ao (other than the actual diphthong ao of ao’ and hao’ ‘yes’), io, eo, and uo.  Actually, these are not really diphthongs, since they can be two syllables long, and are due to g deletion in fast speech, in the sequences ago, igo, ego, and ugo.  This g deletion will be explained in section 11.3.

Similarly, you will often hear a vowel sequence ai which is not the diphthong ai, since it can be two syllables long.  This ai is due to y deletion in the sequence ayi.  This y deletion will be explained in section 11.4.

 

9. The syllabic nasal of Apache.

In addition to the vowels and diphthongs described in section 8., Apache also has a syllabic nasal, i.e an n that counts as its own syllable.  This is pronounced like the English on in button, or English in’ in sittin’.  This syllabic nasal, like all syllables, can also carry tone, and the syllabic nasal can also be long (and then, like a long vowel, written doubled).  In (21-22), which illustrate the short syllabic nasal, the word is given in the first column with syllable boundaries indicated by periods, and the syllable containing the syllabic n is in bold.

 

(21) Short syllabic n, as a syllable by itself:

Word with syllable divisions indicated:	Spelling:	English:
n.chaa	nchaa	‘it is big’
n.ną́ą́	nną́ą́	‘you are eating it’
n.ṉéé	nṉéé	‘man, Apache, people’
n.dóí	ndóí	‘wildcat’
baa ń.’aah	baa ń’aah	‘give it (roundish object) to him/her’
n.teel	nteel	‘it is broad, flat’
n.tł’iz	ntł’iz	‘it is tough’
n.zhǫ́ǫ́ or n.zǫ́ǫ́	nzhǫ́ǫ́ or nzǫ́ǫ́	‘it is nice, likeable, good’
da.n.t’éé	dant’éé	‘how are you feeling?’
łi.ń.báá	łińbáá	‘you are off-color or grey’
na.n.t’án	nant’án	‘boss, chief’
ń.n.yáá	ńnyáá	‘you arrived, you came’

 

(22) Short syllabic n occurring with another consonant in the same syllable: 

Word with syllable divisions indicated:	Spelling:	English:
nł.t’éé	nłt’éé	‘it is good’
yaa yi.ńł.tą́ą́	yaa yińłtą́ą́	‘s/he brought it (bag and contents) to him/her’
nsh.daaz or ns.daaz	nshdaaz or nsdaaz	‘I am heavy’
go.dn.ch’aad	godnch’aad	‘it is noisy’
ha.dń.zheeh or ha.dń.zeeh	hadńzheeh or hadńzeeh	‘you spit’
łi.nsh.báá or łi.ns.báá	łinshbáá or łinshbáá	‘I am off-color or grey’
ch’íí.dn	ch’íídn	‘ghost, evil spirit’
is.dzá.hn.hí or is.já.hn.hí	isdzáhnhí or isjáhnhí	‘the woman’
ish.kįį.hn or is.kįį.hn	ishkįįhn or iskįįhn	‘boy’
bi.k’i.sn	bik’isn	'his brother'; 'her sister'
Yú.sn	Yúsn	'God, Creator, Jesus'

 

Under very specific circumstances, Apache can also have a long syllabic nasal, written nn. The long syllabic nn is always low toned.  If two n’s follow each other, and they have different tones, the n’s belong to different syllables, and there is no long syllabic n. They could even be two short syllabic nasals in a row!  An example of this happening is in the last row of table (21).

In (23-24), which illustrate the long syllabic nn, the word is first given with syllable boundaries indicated by periods, and the syllable containing the long syllabic nn is in bold.  As will be seen in these examples, the long syllabic nn only occurs on verbs inflected for the first person non-singular subject (i.e. translatable with the English pronoun we), and in verbs having to do with arriving, coming, bringing or giving.

 

(23) Long syllabic nn, as a syllable by itself:  

Word with syllable divisions indicated:		Spelling:	English:
nn.káh		nnkáh	‘we (pl.) are going to come; we (pl.) are arriving’
ná.nn.káh	nánnkáh		‘we (pl.) are going to go home’
nn.kai	nnkai		‘we (pl.) came’
baa nn.kaah	baa nnkaah		‘we (two) are bringing/giving it (open container) to him/her’
baa da.nn.t’aah	baa dannt’aah		‘we (pl.) are bringing/giving it (roundish object) to him/her’
nn.t’aash or nn.t’aas	nnt’aash or nnt’aas		‘let’s (two) go’
łe.ná.nn.t’áázh or łe.ná.nn.t’ááz	łenánnt’áázh or łenánnt’ááz		‘we (two) got together again’
baa nn.’né’  or  baa nn.’ní’	baa nn’né’  or  baa nn’ní’		‘we (two) are bringing/giving them to him/her’
naa nn.tįįh	naa nntįįh		‘we (two) are giving it (stick-like) to you’

 

When the long syllabic nn occurs with another consonant in the same syllable, the other consonant is an l and the syllable is always nnl.  Examples are in (24).

 

(24) Long syllabic nn occurring with another consonant in the same syllable:

Word with syllable divisions indicated:	Spelling:	English:
naa da.nnl.tsóh  or naa da.nnl.chóh	naa dannltsóh  or naa dannlchóh	‘we (pl.) are giving it (non-compact) to you’
baa nnl.tsóós  or  baa nnl.chóós	baa nnltsóós  or  baa nnlchóós	‘we (two) are bringing/giving it (cloth-like) to him/her’

 

The long syllabic nn is not always easy to hear, and it is likely that some speakers have lost the distinction between the short and the long syllabic nasals, and pronounce them all short.

 

10. The tones of Apache.

In every language, the pitch of the voice can vary, i.e. it can be relatively higher or lower.  When these changes of pitch occur over whole phrases, clauses or sentences, they are called intonation.  English and Apache both have intonation.  We will not discuss Apache intonation here, since the study of it has hardly begun.

When a particular pitch has to occur on every syllable of a language, this pitch variation is called tone.  Whereas English only has intonation, Apache has tone, in addition to intonation.  This means that every syllable has to be pronounced with a particular pitch, and that pitch is distinctive.  Thus, if you pronounce a word with the wrong pitch, you might actually be misunderstood.  There is nothing comparable to tone in English, and as a result an English speaker who learns how to speak and write a tonal language has to acquire an ear for it.  Actually, even for native speakers, tone is such an unconscious phenomenon that it takes a lot of practice for them to recognize it and learn to write it correctly.  Some speakers (not necessarily linguists!) have developed a good ear for tone, and will be able to tell you what the tone is, and write it correctly.  This pitch variation called tone varies considerably from speaker to speaker, between women and men, and from word to word, with the result that tone is hard for a learner to hear and imitate.

One good way to learn to hear tone is to ask the speaker to hum the pitch of the word, rather than just pronouncing it. This way you can concentrate on what the pitch is like, rather than being distracted by the vowels and consonants of the word.  Listen carefully, and not worry too much about initially not being able to hear tone.  If you and the native speaker you work with have trouble hearing tone, do not worry unduly about not being able to write it.  Do try to remember which words are spelled with which tone marks, and perception of tone will eventually come to you.

As already announced in section 1., Dilzhe’e Apache has two tones:  high, and low.

In Apache, high tone is marked by an acute accent on the vowel or syllabic nasal, as in á, é, í, ó, ú, ń.  Low tone is written by leaving the vowel (or syllabic nasal) unmarked, as in a, aa, e, ee, i, ii, etc.  Also, remember that all vowels, regardless of tone, can be nasal, so you will encounter vowels with diacritic marks on top and on the bottom, such as ą́, ę́, į́, and ǫ́ and their long counterparts ą́ą́, ę́ę́, į́į́, and ǫ́ǫ́.

Table (25) shows tonal contrasts between low tone and high tone on short vowels, diphthongs, and the syllabic nasal.

 

(25) Low/high tone contrasts on short vowels, diphthongs, and the syllabic nasal:

Word with low tone:	English:	Word with high tone:	English:
ai	'that, those (visible)'	áí	'that, those (not visible)'
dohkah	'you (pl.) will go'	dohkáh	'you (pl.) are going to go'
hit’ah	'it is flying along'	hít’ah	'you are flying along'
nagolṉi’	's/he tells (a story)'	nagólṉi’	'you tell (a story)'
nakai	'they are walking (around)'	nákai	'they came back'
na’iziid	‘s/he is working’	na’íziid	‘you are working’
=shą’ or =są’	'and what about, I wonder (enclitic)'	shą́’ or są́’	'sunshine'
dénzhóné or dénzóné	'she is pretty’	déńzhóné or déńzóné	'you are pretty'
nṉáh	'you (sg.) are going to go'	ńṉáh	'you (sg.) are going to come/arrive'
nṉeez	‘it is tall'	ńṉeez	'you are tall'

 

Table (26) shows a three way contrast.

(26) Low-low, low-high, and high-low contrasts:

No high tone:	English:	High tone on second syllable:	English:	High tone on first syllable:	English:
shini’ or sini’	'my land'	siní’	‘it is in position’	shíni’ or síni’	'my mind'

 

Table (27) shows tonal contrasts between low tone and high tone on long vowels.

 

(27) Low/high tone contrasts on long vowels:

Word with low tone:	English:	Word with high tone:	English:
bikee	'his/her foot; his/her shoe'	kéé	'shoe'
bitsee or bichee	'its tail'	tséé or chéé	'rock'
hayaa	'down'	hayáá	'it came up'
iṉaa	‘enemy’	iṉáá	‘someone’s eye’
nastsoos or naschoos	'I carry it (cloth-like) about'	nádistsóós or nádischóós	'I pick it (cloth-like) up'
nlįįh	'you taste it'	nlį́į́	's/he is'
nṉiih	'it is hurting'	nṉíí	'you say (it)'
nohkeeh	'you (two) sit down'	nohkéé	'you (two) sat down'
ńyeeh	'you bring it (a load or pile)	nyéé	'it is difficult, hard'
yaa	'louse'	yáá	'sky'

 

11. Aspects of Apache pronunciation not represented in the spelling.

11.1.  Introduction.

No language can represent all details of pronunciation in its spelling, and neither does Apache.  Indeed, in normal speech there are all sorts of changes which happen naturally in the pronunciation of native speakers, but which are not considered important enough to be noted in the spelling system.  Now, these changes can be noticeable enough that they can prevent the learner from hearing the word the way the native speaker hears it, and prevent him or her from spelling it correctly.  This is why we will discuss below a few aspects of Apache pronunciation not represented in the spelling.

 

11.2.  The d to tap change.

If you are a non-native speaker, one sound which will strike you as occurring often in Apache speech is a sound called a tap, similar to the Spanish r in pero 'but', or to the tt in the American English pronunciation of butter, or to the dd in the American English pronunciation of ladder.  We will represent that tap in this section as [R].  As in American English, this sound is not represented in the spelling system at all.

Now, this sound is not represented in the spelling system because it is a variant, used in natural speech, of another sound, the sound d, which of course does occur in the spelling system.  So, in Apache, the sound d often turns into [R].  When does this happen?  This change is conditioned by the structure of the word: it is only possible for d’s that do not start a stem syllable.  In other words, a stem syllable initial d is always d, and never [R].  Furthermore, it is conditioned by the position of d in the word, and by style (speed of speech).  The [R] variant occurs in between two vowels (in non-stem initial syllables), in normal and fast speech styles, but not in very slow speech.  Two examples are given in (28).

 

(28) The d to [R] change:

Spelling and very slow speech pronunciation:	Normal and fast speech pronunciation:	English:
doo nzhǫ́ǫ́ da or doo nzǫ́ǫ́ da	doo nzhǫ́ǫ́Ra or doo nzǫ́ǫ́Ra	'it is not good'
ádayile’	áRayile’	'they are doing it'

 

Let us give an example of a word with a d in between two vowels, which cannot be pronounced as [R].  The word sidáá 's/he is sitting' can only be pronounced as sidáá, and never as *siRáá, because the d is a part of -dáá, the stem.

The change of d to [R] also occurs in word-initial d, but only when this d is not at the beginning of the utterance.  That is, another word must precede it.  This happens only in fast speech.  An example of a sentence with a non-utterance initial, word-initial d is (29).  In fast speech, the d can be pronounced [R], since the word-initial syllable di- is not a stem (it is a prefix).

 

(29) The d to [R] change, word-initially:

Spelling and normal speech pronunciation:	Fast speech pronunciation:	English:
hayú dínyáá	hayú Rínyáá	'where are you going?'

 

The change of d to [R] also occurs in fairly fast speech when the preceding syllable ends in an h or a ’ (glottal stop).  Examples are in (30).

 

(30) The d to [R] change, after h and’ :

Spelling:	Faster speech pronunciation:	English:
nadahilzheehdą́’ or nadahilzeehdą́’	naRahilzheehRą́’ or naRahilzeehRą́’	'when we were hunting'
yáshti’dą́’ or yásti’dą́’	yáshti’Rą́’ or yásti’Rą́’	'when I spoke'

 

One last trick about the d to [R] change.  When an Apache word ends in d, and is followed by an enclitic beginning in d, the sequence dd simplifies to d, and the d to [R] change applies on this single d.  This is illustrated in (31):

 

(31) The d to [R] change, after -d :

Spelling and very slow speech pronunciation:	Normal and fast speech pronunciation:	English:
doo na’iziid da	doo na’iziiRa	's/he is not working'

 

11.3.  The syllable go.

In section 8.5., we announced the existence of several sequences of vowels ao, io, eo, and uo, and pointed out that these are not really diphthongs, and are due to g deletion between two vowels in fast speech, in the sequences ago, igo, ego, and ugo.  What happens is that in faster speech, a non-stem initial g of the syllable go is deleted, when this g occurs between two vowels.  That syllable go can be a prefix go- or an enclitic =go, but it cannot be part of a stem.  The result of the deletion is a sequence of vowels that sounds like a diphthong.  It is not quite a diphthong, since diphthongs are one syllable long, and these sequences of vowels can sound like two syllables, or like one, depending on speed of speech.  It should be noted that the tendency to delete g is less pronounced and less common in the Dilzhe’e variety than in other varieties of Apache, such as San Carlos and White Mountain.  Nevertheless, we think it is important for Dilzhe’e speakers to recognize this deletion when it happens in speech, since it is not represented in writing, and to be aware of it, even though it might sound overly sloppy and even “slang” to them.  Examples are in (32).

 

(32) Deletion of g of go between two vowels:

Spelling:	Faster speech pronunciation:	English:
bígonsįh or bégonsįh	bíonsįh or béonsįh	'I know it'
dagot’éé	daot’éé	'how are things’
łą́ą́go	łą́ą́o	'being many'
nłt’éégo	nłt’ééo	'well'
nzhǫ́ǫ́go or nzǫ́ǫ́go	nzhǫ́ǫ́o or nzǫ́ǫ́o	'nicely, correctly'
niłṉíígo	niłṉíío	's/he telling you'
=yúgo	=yúo	'if  (enclitic)'
zagolááni	zaolááni	'mockingbird'

 

Let us give an example of a word with an igo which cannot be pronounced as io.  The word igodé  'short (as a skirt)' cannot be pronounced as *iodé, because the go is part of -god, the stem.

 

Deletion of g in go also occurs when the preceding syllable ends in ’ (the glottal stop) or h.  Examples are in (33).

 

(33) Deletion of g of go after h and’ :

Spelling:	Faster speech pronunciation:	English:
bik’ehgo	bik’eho	'on account of it'
tł’é’go	tł’é’o	'tonight'

 

Furthermore, in fast speech, deletion of g in go also occurs when the preceding syllable ends in the sounds s, z, ł, l, sh, or zh.  Examples are in (34).

 

(34) Deletion of g of go after the sounds s, z, ł, l, sh, or zh :

Spelling and normal speech pronunciation:	Fast speech pronunciation:	English:
higááłgo	higááło	'walking'
baa tsédíkéézgo or baa chédíkéézgo	baa tséRíkéézo or baa chéRíkéézo	'just thinking of it'
onát’ashgo or onát’asgo	onát’asho or onát’aso	'they (two) going back'
ígozisgo	íoziso	'great'

 

11.4.  Deletion of y in the sequence ayi.

In the sequence ayi, the y is often deleted, even in normal pronunciation.  The result of the deletion is the sequence of vowels ai that sounds like a diphthong.  It is not quite a diphthong, since diphthongs are one syllable long, and this ai can sound like two syllables, or like one, depending on speed of speech.  Examples are given in (35).

 

(35) Deletion of y in the sequence ayi :

Spelling and very slow speech pronunciation:	Normal and fast speech pronunciation:	English:
ádayile’	ádaile’	'they are doing it'
áyile’	áile’	's/he is doing it'
nt’é dayił’į́h	nt’é daił’į́h	‘what is s/he doing?’
łóg hayileeh	łóg haileeh	‘s/he is fishing’
nadayidilchozh or nadayidilchoz	nadaidilchozh or nadaidilchoz	‘they are chewing it’
nayiłṉiih	naiłṉiih	‘s/he is buying it’
nayinyood	nainyood	‘s/he is herding them about’
onáyigęęs	onáigęęs	‘s/he is tightening it again (by screwing motion)’

 

Some speakers will prefer a spelling with ai.  We chose to keep the sequence ayi in the spelling because this sequence usually contains the grammatically very important prefix yi-.  The spelling ayi will alert the learner to the presence of the prefix yi-. However, in the verb paradigm charts in the dictionary, we indicate that this ayi can be pronounced as ai.

 

11.5.  Short vowels written long in the spelling.

Since our spelling allows us to distinguish short vowels from long vowels, there seems to be no reason for not spelling short vowels short, and long vowels long (i.e. doubled).  But we have already seen a case of one long vowel (long ú) written short in the spelling (section 8.3.).  Now, there are also cases of short vowels written long in the spelling.   And again, this might seem like a perverse thing to do.  

Here is the justification for doing this.  There are in Apache short words which are long when pronounced in isolation or very slowly, but when pronounced as proclitics, i.e. in conjunction with a following word, they are shortened.  For the sake of consistency, we write such proclitics as long, even though they are pronounced short more often than not.

Common proclitics with long vowels are shaa or saa 'to me'. naa ‘to you’, baa or yaa ‘to him/her’, and doo 'not'.  Examples are in (36).  These words have long vowels in very slow speech but short vowels at normal speed.  Again, some speakers might prefer a spelling with the short vowel. The visual advantage of writing shaa or saa, etc., and doo long and separately is to emphasize that they are separate elements in the grammar of the language.

 

(36) Proclitic vowel shortening:

Spelling and very slow pronunciation:	Pronounced at normal speed:	English:
Sis shaa ńléé.  or Sis saa ńléé.	Sis shańléé.  or Sis sańléé.	'Give me a belt.'
Doo nzhǫ́ǫ́ da. or Doo nzǫ́ǫ́ da.	Donzhǫ́ǫ́ da. or Donzǫ́ǫ́ da.	'It is not good.'