Traditionally, Wendat was an oral language. Therefore, the alphabet we present to you here is the result of years of discussion concerning the best way to represent the language through written symbols. After a previous preliminary standardization, the Wendat Language Committee, in 2010, decided upon the orthography and pronunciation that we use today. The Committee made these decisions on the basis of several factors, including: the first language of the majority of Wendat people being French, the ways in which missionaries transcribed the language over time, the spelling systems used by other Iroquoian communities, the combatibility and adaptability of this orthography with new and emerging technologies, as well as others.
Given that the transmission of the Wendat language was interrupted for a period of more than 150 years, the re-establishment of the pronunciation of this language required a great deal of linguistic research. In light of analyses of the archival data of Wendat and Wyandot and comparative research about the sound systems of other Iroquoian langauges, the Committee discussed and decided upon the pronunciation for each letter, and combination of letters, in the standardized alphabet.
The information found below provides the sound that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet and all frequent combinations of these letters. For each sound, there is an example in Wendat with audio, as well as similar examples in English and French when relevant.
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « a » in the word ahsonta’ ‘night’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « a » in the word father
Example of its pronunciation in French : « â » in the word pâte
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « an » in the word stan’ ‘no’
Example of its pronunciation in French : « en » in the word enfant
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « än » in the word orända’ ‘maple sap’
Example of its pronunciation in English « on » in the word bond
*The letter c in Wendat is always followed by the letter h.
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « ch » in the word yarich ‘leggings’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « sh » in the word shoe
Example of its pronunciation in French : « ch » in the word chien
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hch » in the word ohcha’ ‘winter’
*The letter d in Wendat is almost always preceded by the letter n.
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « d » in the word decha ‘chat’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « d » in the word dog Example of its pronunciation in French : « d » in the word danse
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « nd » dans le mot tëndih « two »
Example of its pronunciation in English : « nd » in the word end
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « e » in the word ehta’ ‘field’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « e » in the word egg
Example of its pronunciation in French : « e » in the word bec
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « en » in the word enta’ ‘day’
Example of its pronunciation in French : « en » in the word bien
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « ën » in the word yarënda’ ‘rock’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « en » in the word send
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « g » in the word yängwahi’tsa’ ‘doll’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « g » in the word gum
Example of its pronunciation in French : « g » in the word gardien
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « h » in the word yahonwa’ « canoe »
Example of its pronunciation in English : « h » in the word help
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « i » in the word yatsihsta’ ‘fire’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « ea » in the word tea
Example of its pronunciation in French : « i » in the word riz
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « k » in the word skat ‘one’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « c » in the word scale
Example of its pronunciation in French : « c » in the word cou
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hk » in the word ndahk ‘four’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « kh » in the word yen’khara’ ‘skirt’
Example of its pronunciation in English « c » in the word cat
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hkw » in the word yarahkwa’ ‘ray of sunlight’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « kw » in the word yenkwara’ ‘blanket’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « n » in the word yänariskwa’ ‘wolf’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « n » in the word no
Example of its pronunciation in French : « n » in the word nation
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « o » in the word otsi’tsa’ ‘flower’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « o » in the word old
Example of its pronunciation in French : « eau » in the word beau
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « on » in the word yänonhchia’ ‘potato’
Example of its pronunciation in French : « on » in the word pont
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : in the word ontara’ ‘lake’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hr » in the word o’yenhra’ ‘ash(es)’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « rh » in the word yarha’ ‘forest’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « s » in the word Satia’tataseh ! ‘Turn (sg)!’
Example of its pronunciation in English : « s » in the word sun
Example of its pronunciation in French : « s » in the word sel
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hs » in the word ahsohkwa’ ‘colour’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « t » in the word a’tere’ « eight »
Example of its pronunciation in English : « t » in the word stand
Example of its pronunciation in French : « t » in the word table
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « ht » in the word ya’ndiyahta’ ‘mortar’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « th » in the expression yatsen’ de ayihra’tha’ ‘drinking glass’ Example of its pronunciation in English : « t » in the word tap
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « tr » in the word oskwe’tra’ ‘headdress’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « ts » in the word yatsenha’ ‘hearth’
Example of its pronunciation in English :: « ts » in the word pets
Example of its pronunciation in French : « ts » in the Quebec French expression tsé
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « w » in the word yänhowa’ ‘door’ Example of its pronunciation in English : « w » in the word water
Example of its pronunciation in French : « w » in the word wapiti
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « hw » in the word onhwentsa’ ‘land, world’
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « y » in the phrase yatoyenh ‘it’s true’
*This consonant is called a glottal stop. It sounds almost like a stop in the word.
Example of its pronunciation in Wendat : « ’ » in the word oyare’sa’ ‘bean’
Example of its pronunciation in English : the stop in the expression uh–oh
Example of its pronunciation in French : the stop in the expression oh oh
The diaeresis
This symbol (¨) is found on the following letters in Wendat: ä, ë, ö, and ï. It indicates that that particular vowel must be pronounced separately from the sound that follows it.
For example, the word änen’enh ‘my mother’ is pronounced [a-nen’-enh].
The vowel ä is pronounced on its own, and it does not combine with the following n, to form the nasal vowel an.
Another example of the diaeresis in use is in the word önonta’ ‘mountain’, which is pronounced [o-non-ta’]. The vowel öis pronounced separately from the following n.
Long vowels
When two identical vowels are next to each other (with no diaeresis on the first vowel), that means that we need to draw out this vowel to make it longer, and not simply pronounce the same vowel twice.
For example, the word yändaata’ ‘bed’ is pronounced [ya-ndaa-ta’] with a long vowel in the middle.
Word accent or stress
In general, the primary stress or accent in a Wendat word falls on the second to last syllable.
For example, the word a’tatonhcha’ ‘basket’ is pronounced [a’-ta-TONH-cha’], with the accent or stress on the second to last syllable (in capital letters).