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11 TOPIC 1: PRONUNCIATION TOPIC 1 Pronunciation How do you say that? Vowels Ciyawo vowels must be PURE. By pure we mean that they are distinct sounds and not slurred or blended in any way. The vowels are very similar to Spanish or Italian vowel sounds. Whereas in English we create 20 + vowel sounds, in Ciyawo there are only 5! There are a few borrowed sounds heard in imported words, but as a rule Ciyawo has only 5 vowel sounds. Therefore, it is essential for native English speakers to practice pronouncing each vowel sound carefully. The vowels in Ciyawo are A, E, I, O and U. There are some long vowel sounds in Ciyawo, which means that there is an elongation of the same vowel sound. Long and short vowel sounds can also occur within the same word. Therefore, it is essential to listen to a native Ciyawo speaker in order to get the correct intonation. Our own experience is that Australians and Americans pronounce the Queens’ English differently. Therefore, the pronunciation examples that we give below in English are only approximations of the vowel sounds in Ciyawo. 7PXFM 1SPOVODJBUJPO $JZBXPQSBDUJDFXPSET " BI CBB BTJOCBB CBBCMBDLTIFFQIBWF ZPVBOZXPPM  CBCB NBNB LVTBOHBMBMB & TIFE CFE DFOFOF OKFUFBOELVMFQFMB * QFB UFB misi, ulili 0 TPMF TPOHPMP LVQPQPTZB 6 IBMGXBZCFUXFFOUIFTPVOETPG QPPMBOEQVMM NVOEV VUVUV LVMVMVUB 12 A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING CIYAWO -FUUFS 4PNF5JQTPO)PXUP$SFBUFUIF4PVOE # 0QFOCBDLPGUISPBUCJMBCJBMHVUUVSBMoCBCBBOENCVNCB $ "A$)TPVOETPGUOPUFYQMPTJWFOPUBTQJSBUFEoBDJDJBOEDJUFMB % 4JNJMBSUPA#CBDLPGUISPBUoLVEJOEBBOELVMJOEB ' #PSSPXFEGSPN&OHMJTI $IJDIFXB "SBCJDBOE4XBIJMJoGPTIPMP ( 4JNJMBSUPBO&OHMJTIA(CVUVTFUIFCBDLPGUISPBUoBHBHBBOENBMVOHP ) "CPSSPXFEMFUUFSSBSFoIBDJ Consonants Let’s take a look at consonants next. Consonants in Ciyawo are very clean and clear as well. There is a chart below, which describes the way to produce each consonant sound in Ciyawo. Take note that some letters used in English are missing from the Ciyawo alphabet. For instance, you may hear the letters ‘V’ and ‘Z’ used occasionally by people when speaking Ciyawo in Malaŵi. This is a Chichewa influence, but is NOT a part of Ciyawo. So if someone tries to convince you otherwise, don’t believe them. Ciyawo consonants have also been influenced by Arabic and Swahili (a lot more in Tanzania and northern Mozambique) and Portuguese (especially the further into Mozambique you go). Another variant you will find is that some people will pronounce the consonant ‘S’, particularly at the end of a word, with a slight ‘SH’ sound. The same is true for the consonant ‘C’. Some Yawo slur the ‘C’ sound and make it sound like a slight ‘SH’ sound. The table below introduces some of the sound differences between the English and the Ciyawo alphabets. You should know that there exists a bias pertaining to the sounds of certain letters in this book, because it has been written by two authors with different accents, Australian and American, who have both learned their Ciyawo in Malaŵi. In the table you will notice that the letters of the Ciyawo alphabet are on the left hand side with a brief description on the right along with one or two ‘practice’ words for you to try. The practice words are just guides and you should not, as a learner, be limited to these few words to practice the Ciyawo sounds. Particularly harder sounds like Ŵ and Ng’ should be given special consideration. Just one more thought about Ciyawo in Mozambique. There are quite a few variances in pronunciation from the Ciyawo of Malaŵi. ‘Standard’ Ciyawo has mostly been taken from the Mangochi District, so Ciyawo from Mozambique gets overlooked sometimes. One of the main distinctions between Ciyawo in Mozambique and Malaŵi is the sound of the consonant ‘L’. In Mozambique it is a hard ‘flap’ (as linguists say) which sounds like an English ‘D’. Don’t be fooled though; it is not an English ‘D’, it is something in between ‘L’ and ‘D’. Not every ‘L’ in Mozambican Ciyawo though is pronounced with a hard flap (sounding like a ‘D’). This sound generally occurs when an ‘L’ is followed by the vowel ‘I’ and its glide, the letter, ‘Y’. [3.128.204.140] Project MUSE (2024-04-20 03:49 GMT) 13...

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