S-1. Spelling and Pronunciation Guide Summary
The chart below (modified from the one in Lecsyony Tyop) shows the letters used to spell words in Valley Zapotec. The pronunciations of the sounds these letters represent are discussed in Lecsyony Tyop and Lecsyony Chon. The last column below gives references to the sections in these lessons where the pronunciation of these sounds is discussed. (Vowel pattern pronunciations are covered in the second chart, which follows.)
| a | roughly as in English father, Spanish amo | syuda | “city” | [syudaa] | §2.3 |
| b | roughly as in Spanish | Bed | “Pedro” | [Beed] | §2.4.2 |
| c | roughly as in English car, Spanish casa | capi | “shrine” | [capii] | §2.4.1, 2.4.4 |
| ch | roughly as in English or Spanish | Chan | “Feliciano” | [Chaan] | §2.4.1 |
| d | roughly as in Spanish | dad | “dice” | [daad] | §2.4.2 |
| e | roughly as in English bet, Spanish peso | cafe | “coffee” | [cafee] | §2.3, 3.5 |
| ë | doesn’t occur in English or Spanish (pronounced like the u of hula said with the lips spread) | xdadëng | “his dice” | [x:daadëng] | §2.5, 3.5 |
| f | roughly as in English or Spanish | cafe | “coffee” | [cafee] | §2.4 |
| g | roughly as in Spanish | gan | “gain” | [gaan] | §2.4.2, 2.4.4 |
| gu | used instead of g before e or i | rgui | “gets sour” | [rguii] | §2.4.4 |
| i | roughly as in English police, Spanish amigo | wi | “guava” | [wii] | §2.3 |
| j | roughly as in Spanish | jug | “juice” | [juug] | §2.4.2 |
| l | roughly as in English or Spanish | lechu | “lettuce” | [lechuu] | §2.4.1, 3.2 |
| m | roughly as in English or Spanish | mon | “doll” | [moon] | §2.4.1, 3.2 |
| n | roughly as in English or Spanish | canel | “cinnamon” | [caneel] | §2.4.1, 3.2 |
| ng | roughly as in English finger, Spanish mango | ngui | “sour” | [nguii] | §2.4.6, 3.2 |
| o | roughly as in English rodeo, Spanish hola | mon | “doll” | [moon] | §2.3 |
| p | roughly as in English or Spanish | plati | “cymbals” | [platii] | §2.4.1 |
| qu | used instead of c before e or i | quizh | “will pay” | [quiizh] | §2.4.4 |
| r | roughly as in Spanish (or like English t in city) | ri | “are around” | [rii] | §2.4.2 |
| rr | roughly as in Spanish | rran | “frog” | [rraan] | §2.4.2 |
| s | roughly as in English or Spanish | solisitu | “application” | [solisituu] | §2.4.1 |
| t | roughly as in English or Spanish | Tan | “Cayetano” | [Taan] | §2.4.1 |
| ts | roughly as in English | bets | “brother (of a man)” | [behts] | §2.4.6 |
| u | roughly as in English hula, Spanish luna | zu | “is standing” | [zuu] | §2.3 |
| w | roughly as in English | wi | “guava” | [wii] | §2.4.3, 2.4.5 |
| x | roughly like English sh in ship | xman | “week” | [xmaan] | §2.4.3, 3.2 |
| y | roughly as in English | yug | “yoke (for oxen)” | [yuug] | §2.4.3, 2.4.5 |
| z | roughly as in English | zu | “is standing” | [zuu] | §2.4.3 |
| zh | roughly like English s in pleasure | zhar | “vase” | [zhaar] | §2.4.3, 3.2 |
Diphthongs — combinations of two vowels — are discussed in section §2.6.
The consonant letters given in the chart above are, for the most part, used unchanged in pronunciation guides. Section §3.2 discusses six consonant pronunciations not illustrated above, [ll] (written l), [mm] (written m), [nn] (written n), [nng] (written ng), [x:] (written x), and [zh:] (written zh).
| [ll] | like l, but longer | nlag | “wide” | [nllaag] | §3.2 |
| [mm] | like m, but longer | muzh | “blond” | [mmuuzh] | §3.2 |
| [nn] | like n, but longer | mansan | “apple” | [mansaan] | §3.2 |
| [nng] | like ng, but longer | nzhung | “hard” | [nzh:uhnng] | §3.2 |
| [x:] | like x, but whistly | xquiny | “corner” | [x:quiiny] | §3.2 |
| [zh:] | like zh, but whistly | zhomrel | “hat” | [zh:oommreel] | §3.2 |
Sections §4.2 and §4.4. describe how the hyphen (-) and the acute accent (´ ) are used in pronunciation guides.
Below is the summary chart for vowel patterns from Lecsyony Tap, showing the vowel pattern, an example (in normal spelling), the meaning and pronunciation of that example, and the tone associated with that vowel pattern, along with a reference to the section where that pattern is discussed. In the vowel pattern column, C indicates a checked vowel, P a plain vowel, B a breathy vowel, and K a creaky vowel.
| Pattern | Example (Spelling) | Meaning | Pronunciation | Tone | Section |
| C | ricy | “there” | [ri’cy] | high | §3.3.2 |
| PP | wi | “guava” | [wii] | high | §3.1 |
| PPP | badia |
“roadrunner” | [badiia] | high | §4.1.2 |
| B | zhi | “day” | [zhih] | low | §3.2 |
| BB | bi | “air” | [bihih] | low | §3.2 |
| KP | rguiny | “hits” | [rguìiny] | low | §3.3.3 |
| CP | gyizh | “city person” | [gui’izh] | rising | §3.3.2 |
| CPP | chinzh | “bedbug” | [chi’iinnzh] | rising | §3.3.2 |
| KPP | nan | “mother” | [nnàaan] | rising | §3.3.3 |
| CB | zhi | “nose” | [zhi’ih] | falling | §3.3.2 |
| CBB | galguizh | “sickness” | [gahllgui’ihihzh] | falling | §3.3.2 |
| KC | dizh | “language” | [dìi’zh] | falling | §3.3.3 |
| KCP | mniny | “child” | [mnìi’iny] | falling | §3.3.3 |
| KKC | garzi | “guts” | [garzììi’] | falling | §3.3.3 |
| KPC | a | “yes” | [àaa’] | falling | §4.4.1 |
| PB | baly | “fire, flame” | [baahlly] | falling | §4.4.1 |
| PC | baxat | “toad” | [bax:aa’t] | falling | §4.4.1 |
| PCB | ba | “earlier today” | [bàa’ah] | falling | §4.4.1 |
| PKC | ya | “up” | [yaàa’] | falling | §3.4 |
