Pronunciation of orthographic h

[Frances Karttunen]

I think we need to untangle some different "h"s here.

As mentioned, orthographic hu-/-uh represents /w/.  Hu- is used  
syllable-initially, and -uh finally.  There is a universal devoicing  
rule that applies to syllable-final consonants in Nahuatl, so -uh  
represents a slightly different pronunciation than hu-.

Then there is the h that represents "saltillo," which was pronounced  
as a glottal stop by speakers in the central area of Nahuatl, but as  
an h-like aspiration in peripheral variants of the language.  This  
one is always syllable-final, but in reduplicated forms such as  
ihi:yo:tl, it can be found followed by a vowel.

And then again, there is prosodic -h to be heard at the end of vowel- 
final words.  This is not a segmental consonant, but it's handy to  
distinguish vowel-final words from words with whispered but true  
final consonants.  (I.e., if it sounds like it ends in /h/ or glottal  
stop, then it really ends in a vowel.  If it sounds like it ends in a  
vowel, it really ends in a consonant.  Isn't that enough to make you  
crazy?)

And finally, in some variants of Nahuatl, where there is a consonant  
cluster across syllable boundary inside a word, the first consonant  
undergoes that same devoicing as mentioned above and is whispered.   
So for calli one hears cahli, etc.





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