4 DAKOTA GRAMMAR, TEXTS, AND ETHNOGRAPHY. 
k has the same sound as in English. 
k is an emphatic letter, bearing the same relation to / that “¢” 
does to “6.” In all the printing done in the language, it is 
still found most convenient to use the English ¢ to repre- 
sent this sound.* 
| has the common sound of this letter in English. It is peculiar 
to the Titonwan dialect. 
m has the same sound as in English. 
n has the common sound of 7 in English. 
) denotes a nasal sound similar to the French x in bon, or the 
Enelish x in drink. As there are only comparatively very 
few cases where a full 7 is used at the end of a syllable, no 
distinctive mark has been found necessary. Hence in all 
our other printing the nasal continues to be represented by 
the common 7». 
p has the sound of the English p, with a little more volume and 
stress of voice. 
» is an emphatic, bearing the same relation to p that ‘“é” does 
tO Cee 
s has the surd sound of English s, as in say. 
s is an aspirated s, having the sound of English sh, in in shine. 
Formerly represented by «. 
t is the same in English, with a little more volume of voice. 
t is an emphatic. bearing the same relation to “t” that “¢é” does 
oy Ces 
Ww has the power of the English w, as in walk. 
y has the sound of Enelish y, as in yet. 
Z has the sound of the common English 2, as in zebra. 
Z is an aspirated 2, having the sound of the French J, or the English 
s in pleasure. Formerly represented by /. 
The apostrophe is used to mark an hiatus, as in s’a. It seems to be 
analogous to the Arabic hamzeh (¢). 
Nore.—Some Dakotas, in some instances, introduce a slight ) sound before the 
m, and also a d sound before n. For example, the preposition ‘‘om,” with, is by some 
persons pronounced obm, and the preposition “en,” in, is Sometimes spoken as if it 
should be written edn. In these cases, the members of the Episcopal mission among 
the Dakotas write the b and the d, as “ob,” “ed.” 
These are called cerebrals by Lepsius. In the alphabet of the Bureau of Ethnology these sounds 
are designated by te’ (—¢, of Riggs), k’ (=k), p’ (=p), and t’ (=t), respectively, and are called 
explosives. 
