This page provides an overview of the consonants of Potawatomi. Consonants are sounds that are produced with some interruption of the flow of air in the vocal tract.
There are 17 consonants in Potawatomi. In the WNALP alphabet, they are: p, b, t, d, k, g, ', m, n, s, z, sh, zh, ch, j, w, and y.
There are subtle differences between the pronunciation of Potawatomi consonants and the pronunciation of English consonants. This page provides audio examples so you can listen and practice for yourself!
If you start searching for information about Potawatomi from linguists, right away you'll start hearing all sorts of jargon. "What do you mean p is a 'voiceless bilabial stop'? It's just a p!"
Linguists describe consonants scientifically in terms of their place and their manner. The short version: Every time you make a consonant sound you have to interrupt the flow of air out of your lungs. Where you interrupt it, that's the place; manner is how that sound is interrupted. If it's interrupted totally and completely, we call it a stop, like with the sound p. Go ahead - try to make a p sound without stopping all the air.
...Seriously. Try it. You're not going to learn anything about this language if you're too afraid to publicly embarass yourself.
In English and many other languages around the world, linguists describe consonants as either voiced or voiceless, but Potawatomi consonants are usually described as either fortis (strong, usually voiceless) or lenis (weak, usually voiced). Some people disagree or use different terms - but the point is that they come in pairs.
An overview of Potawatomi consonants is given in the table below, using WNALP symbols.
Here I provide a detailed accounting for all the Potawatomi consonants and provide examples.
Stops are sounds that are produced with a complete obstruction of air in the vocal tract.
p, b
bené 'turkey'
pené 'always'
t, d
débabjegen 'watchtower'
tebyankwé 's/he has curled up hair'
k, g
gad'en 'push him/her/it (animate)!'
kadénesh 'braid him/her/it (animate)!'
'
mzen'egen
The last consonant on the list is written with an apostrophe and is called a glottal stop.
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Fricatives are sounds that are produced with a near-complete obstruction of air.
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