Part 4: Dialect Variation

This lesson was focused on a dialect of Kanien’kéha spoken in Ahkwesáhsne. There are a couple points of variation with other dialects.

Broadly, dialects can be put into 3 groups:

Dialect Group	Location(s)
Eastern	Kahnawà:ke, Kanehsatà:ke, Wáhta (Gibson)
Central	Ahkwesáhsne
Western	Six Nations, Kenhtè:ke (Tyendinaga)

Keep in mind the group you’re interested in. There may also be variation within dialects and communities.

The Letter r

As mentioned, the pronunciation of r in Ahkwesáhsne is [l], like English l, or [ɾ], a tapped r. In other locations, it will sound closer to an English r:

Dialect Group	Pronunciation of R
Eastern	[ɾ]
Central	[l] or [ɾ]
Western	[ɽ]

The IPA Chart has sample pronunciations of these sounds.

The Letter y

In the Western group, the letter y is a part of the alphabet. It represents the [j] sound that is written i in other dialects. For example, Kanien’kéha is written Kanyen’kéha.

ti and tsi

In Ahkwesáhsne, the letters ts are pronounced differently before an i. This is the [dʒ] sound, like English j.

In the Eastern dialects, this sound is represented with ti instead. Here, the tsi is pronounced the same as ts before any other vowel.

Dialect Group	Writing	Sound
Eastern	tia	[dʒa]
Central	tsia	[dʒa]

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