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General
Word List
Glotal stops
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GLOTTAL STOPS

One of the uniqe features of Wai ma'a language is glottal stops sounding. Basically the sound is produced by pressing the air from nasal down to the throat and than say the intended word. In IPA form, a glottal stop is written as "/ʔ/ ", I guess that is how the air pressure in the nasal should be.In Wai ma'a words, glottal stops can be found in the begining or in the midle. Below are some of the examples that are taken from the Word List.

WORD LIST PRONUNCIATION  LIST                                             
head ul'atu
neck n'erokai
to chew m'ale
ear n'ihu
to smell m'aha
to sleep n'ero
to cook l'ike
to live l'aha
to squeeze m'ese
stick k'esa
mosquito sap'au
sand hasal'ae
root k'aka
to open l'oke
sun l'ara
thunder nali p'ita
smoke n'asu
warm m'utu
cold n'ini
big p'are
long n'aro

WAI MA'A Language Documentation Program
Spring 2010