This page is intended to aid learners in gaining practice with pronouncing the letters of the Mingo alphabet.  It includes sound files contrasting different combinations of consonants and vowels.

There are 8 simple consonats in Mingo.

t  k  ' s  h  n w  y
 

The Mingo [t], when it occurs immediately before a vowel, sounds a lot like an English [d] in words like do and dog.
 
 

The Mingo [k], when it occurs immediately before a vowel, sounds a lot like an English [g] in words like go and get.
 
 

The Mingo ['] sounds like a brief period of silence in between two other sounds.
 
 

The Mingo [s] sounds very much like the English [s] in words like sand and safe.
 
 

The Mingo [h] sounds very much like the English [h] in words like hot and help.
 

The Mingo [n] sounds very much like the English [n] in words like night and no.  The combination of an [n] followed by an [a] or [á] is fairly rare in Mingo.
 
 

The Mingo [w] sounds very much like the English [w] in words like wish and want.  The combination of a [w] followed by [ö], [ô], [u] or [ú] is fairly rare in Mingo.
 
 

The Mingo [y] sounds very much like the English [y] in words like yes and yell.  The combination of [y] followed by [i] almsot never occurs in Mingo.
 
 

Although Mingo only has a few basic consonants, they can cluster together in many different combinations.  Below, I give descriptions and examples of some of the most common of these clusters.
 

kh  khw khy  kn  ks kt  kw  ky

th  ths thsy  thw  thy tk  ts  tsy tw  ty

sh  sk sn  st  sw sy

ny
 

The Mingo [kh] sounds very much like a strong English [k] in words like king and keep.
 

The Mingo [khw] sounds very much like English [qu] in words like quilt and quit.  The combination of [khw] followed by [ö] or [u] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [khy] sounds very much like English [cu] in words like cure and cute.  The combination of [khy] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [kn] does not occur in English.  It sounds like a strong [k] immediately followed by an [n].  The combination of [kn] followed by [a] is very rare in Mingo.
 
 

The Mingo [ks] sounds very much like English [x] in words like ax and fax.
 

The Mingo [kt] sounds close to the English [ct] in words like actor and factor, but with a somewhat stronger [k].
 

The Mingo [kw] sounds very much like English [gu] in words like guava and guano.  The combination of [kw] followed by [ö] or [u] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [ky] does not occur in English.  It sounds close to the [gy] sequence in the phrase big year.  The combination of [ky] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [th] sounds very much like a strong English [t] in words like top and time.  It never sounds like the English [th] in words like thin or this.
 

The Mingo [ths] sounds very much like English [ts] in words like cats and mats.  However, the combination [thsi] sounds like English [chee] in words like cheese.
 
 

The Mingo [thsy] sounds very much like English [ch] in words like check and church.  The combination of [thsy] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [thw] sounds very much like English [tw] in words like twist and twinkle.  The combination of [thw] followed by [ö] or [u] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [thy] sounds very much like Canadian and British English [tu] in words like tune.  The combination of [thy] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 
 

The Mingo [tk] sounds something like the [tg] sequence in the English phrase fat goose, but with a strong [t].
 

The Mingo [ts] sounds very much like English [ds] in words like suds and spuds.  Note, however, that the sequence [tsi] is pronounced like the English word gee, or the name of the letter G.
 

The Mingo [tsy] sounds very much like English [j] in words like jar and job.  The combination of [tsy] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [tw] sounds like the English [dw] sequence in the phrase bad word.  The combination of [tw] followed by [ö] or [u] is very rare in Mingo.
 
 

The Mingo [ty] sounds like the English [dy] dequence in the phrase bad year.  The combination of [ty] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [sh] sounds like the English [sh] sequence in the phrase grass hut.  It never sounds like the English [sh] in words like ship or shoe.
 

The Mingo [sk] sounds very much like English [sk] in words like skip and skate.
 
 

The Mingo [sn] sounds very much like English [sn] in words like snore and sneeze.  The combination of [sn] followed by [a] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [st] sounds very much like English [st] in words like pasta and faster.
 

The Mingo [sw] sounds very much like English [sw]in words like Swiss and sweet.  The combination of [sw] followed by [ö] or [u] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [sy] sounds very much like English [sh] in words like shoe and ship.  The combination of [sy] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

The Mingo [ny] sounds very much like English [ni] in words like onion.  The combination of [ny] followed by [i] is very rare in Mingo.
 

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