X̲ is the Halq’eméylem ‘hard-x’ sound. You make this sound by creating heavy friction with the back of your tongue against your uvula (the thing that dangles at the back of your throat). Linguists call this sound a ‘uvular fricative’.
Archive | Consonants
Consonant “x” (soft x)
Video courtesy of UBC Linguistics Dept., used with permission. Examples xálh – road, path xá:ysem – ant skwíx – name Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips Pronunciation The Halq’eméylem “x” (the ‘soft x’) sounds a lot like the “sh” sound—but “x” is made quite differently. For “x” the tongue touches the roof of […]
Consonant “sh”
Video courtesy UBC linguistics department, used with permission Pronunciation The Halq’eméylem “sh” sound is easy to say: it’s the same as the “sh” sound in English words like ship or shape. You make the sound like this: Tongue touches the top front of the mouth (near the little fleshy bump behind your upper teeth, but a […]
Sound: ’
The Halq’eméylem sound ’ is a kind of “catch in the throat”. You make it by stopping the air in your throat, for a moment, as it moves through your vocal folds.