Letter S
Letter s is pronounced as in English 'see' or 'kiss', but never as in English 'is'. It is a voiceless sound (made without the vocal cords vibrating). It should not be confused with the sound ts.
Click on a video below to see and hear Mrs. Irene Arnold pronouncing words with S.
seey knife
súus robin (bird)
saa sun
t'ées charcoal
sén' star
ch'eldzes she or he is dancing
The s sound is similar to other sounds in Tanacross. Below are examples that contrast these similar sounds.
Click below to hear Mrs. Irene Arnold illustrating the difference between s and ts.
Click below to hear Mrs. Irene Solomon Arnold illustrating the difference between
s and s.
Sentences with contrasting sibilant (S-like) sounds.
Stsêey ts'eyh súu éhtsįį. My grandfather made a nice canoe.
Súus éł jîiz éł ts'ôgh tah ts'į́ xétsax.
The robin and the jay in the tree are crying.
Êy ts'éhxeh seey tsêdl dat-sęy sínt'eh. That is that woman's black pocket knife.
Letter s sometimes occurs at the start of word, forming a syllable all by itself.Click on a Tanacross word below to see and hear Mrs. Irene Arnold pronouncing words with s as the first syllable.
ssék my torso, upper body
stsųų my grandmother
Tanacross s and z are voiceless and voiced alveolar sibilant fricatives [s] and [z], respectively.
Letter s is a semi-voiced fricative. It can generally be described as beginning voiceless and transitioning to a fully voiced fricative.
similar sounds