SIL Mexico

Morelos Nahuatl Alphabet

(ISO code nhm)

details of Xochicalco pyramid

 

 

The Morelos Nahuatl alphabet consists of 19 letters: 4 vowels and 15 consonants. In addition, letters of the Spanish alphabet are used for loan words. The vowels are: a, e, i, o. Long vowels are not written; readers know from the context when to pronounce them. The consonants are: ch, j, k, ku, l, m, n, p, s, t, tl, tz, u, x, y. The letter u is not a vowel like in English but a consonant. The 'saltillo' which in other variants is written ' or h, is a fricative [h] in Morelos and is written with a j.

The majority of the letters are pronounced as in Spanish. The o is pronounced more closed and sometimes sounds like a u in Spanish. The letter x is pronounced like sh in English.

 
   

--Elke Müller


The words are pronounced by Victorino Torres Nava.


See also: