Letter ä or . a aa b ch d dl ei g G or ç r G ĝ h hl i íi j k k’ ḵ or q ñ ḵ’ or q’ ñ’ l ’l m n ng p p’ s t t’ tl tl’ ts ts’ ú uu w ’w x or c x or ý x x̂ or þ y ya’ | Example kingäsaang adíitsii áal sablíi chíin dúus dláamaal eihl gawíit Gantl ĝámjuu húugaa hlgún inúu íinaang jáadaa kuk tl’ak’ kats k’alaax̂an lagúus ’láanaa máahl núu ngáal dápjuu t’áp’at sáaw táw t’ál tláal tl’ak’ kats ts’áng kúl dúus wúl ’wáa.adaa náay xíl xants k’alaax̂an yáan gya’áangw | Translation will see again woods paddle bread salmon cat licorice fern because bead water to be round king crab skunk cabbage turnip/rutabaga herring woman/girl firewood whetstone hair/head fence cedar mat village planting seeds octopus broad kelp mound/heap break/snap ooligan grease/oil yellow seaweed husband whetstone hair beaver/tooth forehead cat yarn store leaf/medicine namesake fence fog/cloud cloth | Equivalent no eng. equiv. u as in "Sun" a as in "Father" b as in "Boat" ch as in "chirp" d as in "Dog" d & l combined ay as in "Day" g as in "good" no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. h as in "hurry" no eng. equiv. i as in "pin" ea as in "bean" j as in "jump" ck as in "pack" no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. l as in "land" no eng. equiv. m as in "mother" n as in "nut" ng as in "sing" p as in "pipe" no eng. equiv. s as in "seat" t as in "team" no eng. equiv. tl as in "turtle" no eng. equiv. ts as in "peanuts" no eng. equiv. u as in "put" oo as in "moon" w as in "win" no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. no eng. equiv. y as in "yard" no eng. equiv. |
The alphabet of the Haida Language (Xaayda kíl) is still basically that which was adopted at the first Haida language workshop.
Haida Consonants
b, ch, d, dl, g, G, ĝ, h, hl, j, k, k’, k, k’, l, ’l, m,
n, ng, p, p’, s, t, t’, tl, tl’, ts, ts’, w, ’w, x, x, x̂, y, ya
Haida Vowels
ei, a, aa, i, íi, ú, uu
The long vowels have a fairly constant value:
aa | English ’a’ in father |
íi | English ’i’ in machine, or ’ee’ in been. |
uu | English ’u’ in flute |
ei | English in 'ay' in day |
ae | (northern Haida, same as ei) |
aw | almost like the vowel in ’boat’, ’coat’, ’note’ |
aaw | ’cow’, ’out’, ’shout’, ’pout’ |
ay | a shorter, faster version of aay |
aay | ’lie’, ’guy’, ’fly’, ’sigh’, ’try’, ’thigh’ |
iw | ’ewww!’ |