Salish — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Salish and English. Salish and English share 15 sounds — about 35% of Salish's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (28)
These phonemes exist in Salish but not in English. English speakers will need to learn to produce and perceive them as new categories — not just a variation of an existing English sound.
Familiar sounds (15)
These phonemes exist in both Salish and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Salish (30)
These English phonemes don't exist in Salish. Native Salish speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.