Tonkawa Sound Guide
Short Vowels
a = about, above
e = bed, met
i = it, hid
o = on-ward, ongoing
u = put, push
Long Vowels
a• = saw, call
e• = hey, they
i• = field, wield
o• = own, bone
u• = yule, rule
Consonants
c = church, chair
h = Standard English
k = Standard English
l = Standard English
m = Standard English
n = Standard English
p = Standard English
s = Fluctuates between ship, and sip
t = Standard English
w = Standard English
x = Like the German Bach, ich
y = Standard English
‘ = Glottal Stop
Sound Guide & Common Phrases
Learning Resources
Tonkawa English Dictionary
A booklet listing the approximately 2,500 words in the Tonkawa language.
Language Lessons
A series of lessons for teaching the Tonkawa language.
Lesson 1: Beginning to Learn Tonkawa
Lesson 4: Joining Words with “and”
Lesson 5: Pointing Words: This, That & The
Language Coloring Book
A fun way for children to learn the Tonkawa language.
Tonkawa Night Story
“The Young Man Who Became a Shaman,” translated into English.
Language References
Hoijer, Harry 1933. Tonkawa: An Indian Language of Texas. In Handbook of American Indian languages, Vol. 3. Boas, Franz (ed.) New York: Columbia University.
Hoijer, Harry 1946. Tonkawa. In Linguistic Structures of Native America. Harry Hoijer et al. 289-311.
Hoijer, Harry 1949. An Analytical Dictionary of the Tonkawa Language. Publications in Linguistics 5. Berkeley, CA: University of California.
Hoijer, Harry 1972. Tonkawa Texts. Publications in Linguistics 73. Berkeley, CA: University of California.