Pronunciation is an important part of the Blackfoot language.
We want to encourage learners to acquire the sounds of the language, and it is very important that we do not shame students when they are still learning. However, we still want them to understand that they need to strive to get it right.
We want learners to know it’s okay to go slow. The Blackfoot language has built-in mechanisms like the glottal stop and long sounds to encourage speakers to slow down while speaking. This is part of the genius of the grammar.
The interactive sound chart below outlines the sound combinations in Blackfoot. Here's how it works:
There are three charts in total to allow you to see all of the syllables on your screen.
The consonant sounds on the vertical axis (k, m, n, p, etc.) combine with the vowel sounds on the horizontal axis (a, aa, i, ii, etc.) to form syllables (ka, maa, ni, pii, etc.)
You can listen to examples of words containing the syllables by clicking on the audio icon in each syllable cell. You can click on the word itself to download the sound file. The syllable itself is marked in red.
If you don't see a word or an audio button in a particular cell, that means we don't (yet) have an example recording for that syllable. We will continue to update the chart over time.
Thank you to Ihkitsikamma Tony Fox for sharing his knowledge - and his voice! - for this resource.
Dr. Inge Genee from the University of Lethbridge has produced two videos on the pronunciation of vowel sounds and consonant sounds in Blackfoot.