Vowel Combinations
When vowels are combined, they can sound different from the way they sound when they are alone. For example, both < i > and < e > sound nearly the same in the < ai > and < ae > vowel combinations: they sound like [ ae ].
< ai > and < ae > sound nearly the same
<ai> héhshai: fox
<ae> daksáeˀdohs chicken
(The <sh> in daksáeˀdohs stands for two sounds, [ s ] followed by [ h ].)
There is an < i > sound in the following vowel combinations, < ei> and < ęi >. (It might be hard to hear the but it’s there!)
Listen for the < i > sound
<ei> eiˀgó:wah cherry
<ęi> a:yetsę́iˀ she might find it
(The <ts> in a:yetsę́iˀ stands for two sounds, [ s ] followed by [ h ].)
Some speakers use an < aǫ> vowel combination, while others use an < ęǫ > combination instead; the <aǫ> combination is shown here:
< aǫ> or < ęǫ >
<aǫ, ęǫ> atę́naǫˀ, atę́nęǫˀ they (males) raced
The <oę> combination also sounds more like [aǫ]:
<oę> deyoęhdá:hstáˀ (ahdáhgwaˀ) running (shoe)
Some speakers say < iǫ> where others would say < iaǫ>. Similarly, some speakers say < ię > while others would say < iaę>, as shown below.
Adding an < a > sound between two vowels
<iǫ, iaǫ> hadiaǫhyaˀge̲hǫ̨́:nǫˀ they (males) are the heavenly kind
<ię, iáę> godiáęnaˀ their song (females or mixed group)
The following word is spelled < teá:ǫt > in the Cayuga Thematic Dictionary (Henry and Henry 1984). However, it is also pronounced as tí:ˀaǫ:t. The tí:ˀaǫ:t pronunciation is shown here:
<í:ˀa> tíˀaǫ:t, teá:ǫt muskrat
The remaining vowel combinations are relatively straightforward: they are pronounced as they are spelled. However, if the second < ę > or < i > is unaccented, it can sound a bit more like a [ y ] sound.
Other vowel combinations
<áo> gwáoh screech owl
<áę> gáęnaˀ song
<áǫ> gáǫdaˀ log
<oí> hoíhoˀdeˀ he's working
<ǫi> ęgǫihwę́dęˀ I will give you a significant message