Vowels

Six types of vowels sounds are distinguished using five different letters. There is also a distinction between oral vowels (produced with air flowing through the mouth) and nasal vowels (produced with air flowing through the nose). Nasal vowels are indicated with a small hook under the vowel.

Click on a sound below to hear it pronounced.

Tone

Each vowel can occur with one of five different pitch contours, or tones. These are indicated with small mark above the vowel. For more information, see the section on Tanacross tones.

---