Consonants
The consonants in Wenja and Izila are very straightforward and are pretty much just like English:
p
b
m
f
w
t
d
n
s
z
r
l
ch
j
sh
y
k
g
kw
gw
h
x
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p, as in pie
b, as in ball
m, as in mop
f, as in father
w, as in water
t, as in team
d, as in dad
n, as in noon
s, as in sock
z, as in zoo
r, as in Spanish r (i.e., trill / tap r)
l, as in log
ch, as in check
j, as in jam
sh, as in shoot
y, as in yes
k, as in kick
g, as in go
qu, as in quick
gw, as in gwen
h, as in hello
ch, as in Germ. Bach, Scot. loch, Heb. l’chaim
parcha
baya
mamaf
fumaygan
wadar
tashi
dashya
nawa
sasa
izila
hiraka
laykwa
charwa
jaysa
shantiya
yaka
kaka
gasuri
kwala
gwana
haya
dwax
Vowels
The vowels are a little trickier, but for those who have experience with Spanish, note the vowels are pronounced exactly as you would there:
a
ay
aw
i
u
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Spanish a, as in llama, similar to Eng. father
English i, as in hi
English ow, as in cow
English ee, as in cheese
English oo, as in boot
kaka
nay
chawgra
hisu
udam
Izila contains all the vowels of Wenja, plus a few more. We have most of them in English.
e
ei
eu
o
oi
ou
ǝ
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English e, as in bet
English ai, as in wait
eh-oo, with the vowels “eh” and “oo” together
English aw, as in law
English oy, as in boy
English ow, as in know
English uh, as in above
éti
héisom
kéuhom
blók
hóikos
lóuhom
gǝnóxt
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Stress / intonation
In Wenja, the stress (where the emphasis falls within the wor) is fairly predicatable. Stress tends to alternate in Wenja, with every other syllable being stressed. This creates a very rhythmic feel to the language: dácham, kúshla, mága, hájra, hísu, etc. You find this in four-syllable words, too: àkistára, shàmbikwála, shìyugwáyfa.
For 3-syllable words, sometimes the stress is on the first vowel: shántiya, shnár-hadan, shwádisha, but sometimes on the second: sunstáshman, hiyáwda, fumáygan, izíla, hisúbar. You’ll note that in these instances the vowels “i” and “u” are in the first syllable.
For audio examples, please visit our Soundcloud page:
Or you can just pronounce it like Alex:
In Izila, emphasis is indicated by a rise in the pitch of the voice in Izila, with the most important word being pronounced in a high pitch, and it falling afterwards to the end of the sentence. This makes the language sound very sing-songy. You’ll note the accents in the words above — these are the syllables you want to rise in pitch. We see this in the following example:Mókikos me wéyket. hókwes tewe spéksent. Kwis twǝrhéis tosyo séhet?The little bug attacked me. Your eyes saw him. Who let him from his cage?