PHONETIC SYSTEM OF THE UTE LANGUAGE 211 



aui 

 The sounds a and m blend to form an imperfect diphthong, 

 kavauipuinyka, I see the horses 

 ntinay snuxui, my tongue 



am 

 This combination is common as the last syllable of plural forms 

 the singular of which ends in -a. 

 psiPysiM, elks 



3. Semi- Vowels 



J 



The letter j is here used to represent a sound similar to that of 

 German j, English consonantal y, but of the same quality as Ute y. 

 In many instances Ute j is undoubtedly a parasitic vowel-glide 

 between two vowels one of which is y, such as meets us in Sanskrit 

 "dhiya," instrumental case of "dhis," 'thought.' Thus kwyjaqata 

 or kwyaqata, bear (the animal). 



juiquiwytj)', coyote 



jakwapiu, dead 



wayjmyn)}', two 



kwyjaqata, bear (the animal) 



pyjuipy, heart 



navayjuirb>', six 



mamusHquiSHJa'wyka, they 3+ are standing 



tHpuitJyjanyktipuinyka, I saw a stone 



syjajynjy, it is cold 



i(?) 



No voiceless counterpart of j has been noted. 



w 



The sound here represented by w is perhaps in reality nothing 

 but a short ui. Ute w : m : : j : y. Like j, the Ute w is frequently 

 a mere parasitic vowel-glide between two vowels one of which is ui, 

 comparable to w in English 'auwer' for 'aur,' "hour." Thus jmqur- 

 wyt^y or juiquiytj)', coyote. 



