Kanien’kéha sounds
This guide is adapted from a project created for a LING 415 Field Methods class at McGill in Fall 2023 by Jessica Coon in collaboration with first-language Kanien’kéha speaker Mary Onwá:ri Tekahawáhkwen McDonald. The project was created by Max Blackburn, Maude Bouvier, Dougo Coulibaly, Emilie Grenier, and Yanran Mou, with support from Wí:she Mittelstaedt and Mary Onwá:ri Tekahawáhkwen McDonald, who also provided the original Kanien’kéha speech.
The goal of this guide is to introduce the alphabet used to read and write Kanien’kéha, and the relationship between the letters and sounds, with emphasis on the parts that are reported to be often challenging to those learning it. It focuses on the Central dialect group spoken in and around Ahkwesáhsne. It will be mostly accurate for other dialects, but there will be differences.
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