Spelling and Pronouncing Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene has been spelled using at least three different systems - the "Reichard Orthography" (see Reichard 1938), the "Nicodemus Orthography" (see Nicodemus 1975a,b) and the "Salishan Orthography". What we refer to as the Reichard Orthography is a variation of the transcription system used by many linguists and anthropologists trained by Franz Boas at Columbia University in the first half of the 20th century. The Nicodemus Orthography was developed for use by the Coeur d'Alene community. The Salishan Orthography is used by many linguists and anthropologists today to transcribe Coeur d'Alene. You will find it used in contemporary scholarly work about the language. This site is intended to support users who want to use any of these systems.
The list below shows how the symbols used in each of these three systems correspond to each other. Not all of the sounds used in the Coeur d'Alene language are familiar to English speakers, but many of them are. Sounds in Coeur d'Alene that are also found in English words are listed with examples from English so that learners can familiarize themselves with those sounds.
| Reichard | Nicodemus | Salishan | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | a | father | |
| á | a | á | no example | 1 |
| b | b | b | bat | |
| tc | ch | č | church | |
| tc' | ch' | č' | no example | |
| ts | ts | c | tsitsi fly | |
| ts' | ts' | c' | no example | |
| d | d | d | dog | |
| ä | e | ɛ, e | egg | |
| ä́ | e | ɛ́, é | no example | 1 |
| E,ι, ụ | no form | ə | sofa | |
| gw | gw | gʷ | linguini | |
| h | h | h | hello | |
| i | i | i | machine | |
| í | i | í | no example | 1 |
| dj | j | ǰ | jar | |
| kʷ | kw | kʷ | queen | |
| k'ʷ | k'w | k'ʷ | no example | |
| no form | kh | no form | no example | 2 |
| xʷ | khw | xʷ | no example | 2 |
| q | q | q | no example | |
| q' | q' | q' | no example | |
| qʷ | qw | qʷ | no example | |
| q'ʷ | q'w | q'ʷ | no example | |
| x̣ | qh, | x̣ | no example | |
| x̣ʷ | qhw | x̣ʷ | no example | |
| l | l | l | like | |
| l' | 'l | l' | no example | |
| ɫ | ɫ | ɫ | no example | |
| m | m | m | mom | |
| m' | 'm | m' | no example | |
| n | n | n | now | |
| n' | 'n | n' | no example | |
| ɔ | o | ɔ, o | law | |
| ɔ́ | o | ɔ́, ó | no example | 1 |
| p | p | p | pat | |
| p' | p' | p' | no example | |
| r | r | r | far | |
| r' | 'r | r' | no example | |
| R | ( | ʕ | no example | 3 |
| R' | '( | ʕ' | no example | |
| ṛʷ | (w | ʕʷ | no example | |
| ṛ'ʷ | '(w | ʕ'ʷ | no example | |
| s | s | s | sun | |
| c | sh | š | shell | |
| t | t | t | tar | |
| t' | t' | t' | no example | |
| u | u | u | Jupiter | |
| ú | u | ú | no example | 1 |
| w | w | w | wagon | |
| w' | 'w | w' | no example | |
| y | y | y | yard | |
| y' | 'y | y' | no example | |
| ' | ' | ʔ | uh - oh |
Notes
1. An acute accent is used in the Reichard and Salishan systems to indicate that the vowel is stressed. Underlining is used for this purpose in the Nicodemus system.
2. The symbol 'x' may be used in the Reichard and Salishan systems to write the sound /xʷ/ when it occurs before /u/.
3. Nicodemus 1975a,b uses both '(' and ')' occasionally to write the pharyngeals.
