Ulkatcho Sounds and Writing
Contents
- The Alphabet
- Sound Charts
- The Vowels
- The Consonants
- Sounds the Same as English
- Syllable-final Consonants
- Pairwise Contrasts
Click on a word to hear the audio.
| Sound | Example | Gloss |
|---|
| a |
a |
yes |
b |
bat |
mittens |
| ch |
chunih |
marten |
| ch' |
ch'oh |
porcupine quill |
| d |
dune |
man |
| dl |
dluk |
squirrel |
| dz |
dzoot |
coat |
| e |
yests'e |
deer |
| g |
gah |
rabbit |
| gh |
tl'ughus |
snake |
| gw |
gwuzeh |
Whiskey jack |
| h |
hoh |
while |
| i |
ti |
road |
| j |
jenyo |
bull moose |
| k |
koo |
house |
| k' |
k'andit |
now |
| kh |
khah |
goose |
| kw |
kwun |
kwun |
| kw' |
kw'usul |
beads |
| l |
labat |
glove |
lh |
lhulh |
with each other |
| m |
mai |
berry |
| n |
nekechun |
our legs |
ny |
nyunintsis |
your nose |
| o |
maicho |
black huckleberry |
| oo |
koo |
house |
| s |
sa |
sun |
| r |
robah |
rubber boots |
| sh |
shas |
grizzly bear |
| t |
talook |
salmon |
| t' |
t'et |
young woman |
| tl |
yeztli |
horse |
| tl' |
tl'o |
grass |
| ts |
tsa |
beaver |
| ts' |
ts'i |
canoe |
| u |
sus |
black bear |
| w |
wedlew |
meadow lark |
| wh |
whudzih |
cariboo |
| y |
ya |
louse |
| z |
gwuzeh |
Whiskey Jack |
| ' |
'a |
quickly |
Hover over a sound to see an example. Click on it to hear the example.
| Front | Central | Back |
|---|
| High | i | | oo |
| Mid | e | u | o |
| Low | | | a |
Hover over a sound to see an example. Click on it to hear the example.
| Manner/POA |
Labial |
Alveolar |
Lateral |
Palatal |
Velar |
Labiovelar |
Glottal |
| Voiceless stop |
|
t |
|
|
k |
kw |
' |
| Voiced stop |
b |
d |
|
|
g |
gw |
|
| Glottalized stop |
|
t' |
|
|
k' |
kw' |
|
| Voiceless affricate |
|
ts |
tl |
ch |
|
|
|
| Voiced affricate |
|
dz |
dl |
j |
|
|
|
| Glottalized affricate |
|
ts' |
tl' |
ch' |
|
|
|
| Voiceless fricative |
|
s |
lh |
sh |
kh |
|
|
| Voiced fricative |
|
z |
|
|
gh |
|
|
| Nasal |
m |
n |
|
ny |
|
|
|
| Voiced glide/liquid |
w |
(r) |
l |
y |
|
|
|
| Voiceless glide |
wh |
|
|
|
|
|
h |
r is in parentheses because it is not native to the language and occurs
only in a small number of borrowed words.
Twenty-one of the consonants are more-or-less the same as English sounds.
These are highlighted in the chart above and listed below:
| b | like the b of boy | j | like the j of judge | r | like the r of ring |
| ch | like the ch of char | k | like the c of cat | s | like the s of sing |
| d | like the d of dog | kw | like the qu of queen | sh | like the sh of shoe |
| f | like the f of fox | l | like the l of log | t | like the t of toe |
| g | like the g of go | m | like the m of meat | w | like the w of woe |
| gw | like the gw of Gwen | n | like the n of no | y | like the y of you |
| h | like the h of hello | ng | like the ng of king | z | like the z of zoo |
Only the following 14 consonants occur at the end of a syllable.
Click on a word to hear the audio.
| Sound | Example | Meaning |
|---|
| ' | 'oosa' | pail |
| b | hoolht'ub | leech |
| h | chunih | marten |
| k | nulhdzook | otter |
| kw | sekw | spit |
| l | noostel | wolverine |
| lh | ts'olh | Red-necked Grebe |
| m | sum | star |
| n | kegon | shoes |
| s | sus | black bear |
| t | 'utsut | ruffed grouse |
| w | wedlew | meadow lark |
| wh | ts'iyawh | all |
| z | 'ughez | egg |
Use these to learn to hear distinctions that may be difficult at first
for English speakers. Click on a word to hear the audio.
Glottal Stop vs. Zero
| Glottal Stop |
Meaning |
No Glottal Stop |
Meaning |
| 'a | quickly |
a | yes |
CH vs. J
| CH |
Meaning |
J |
Meaning |
| ts'oochun | spruce tree |
ts'oojun | let's sing |
CH vs. CH'
| CH |
Meaning |
CH' |
Meaning |
| cha | also |
ch'a [need to add audio] | against |
| chos | canoe paddle |
ch'oh | porcupine quill |
CH' vs. J
| CH' |
Meaning |
J |
Meaning |
| suyunch'oos | my spinal cord |
telhjoos | mink |
L vs. LH
| L |
Meaning |
LH |
Meaning |
| 'ul | evergreen needle |
'ulh | fish trap |
| hubuloombil | their fish trap |
lhoombilh | fish trap |
S vs. TS
| S |
Meaning |
TS |
Meaning |
| sa | sun |
tsa | beaver |
| dusun | I am dirty |
dutsun | he is dirty |
KH vs. GH
| KH |
Meaning |
GH |
Meaning |
| khah | goose |
ghah | next to |
H vs. KH
| H |
Meaning |
KH |
Meaning |
| hoh | around |
khah | goose |
T vs. T'
| T |
Meaning |
T' |
Meaning |
| dutai | it is thick |
dut'ai | duck |
W vs. WH
| W |
Meaning |
WH |
Meaning |
| wasi | lynx |
whusi | northern pikeminnow (squawfish) |
Revised 2026-07-26 12:03:55