Doubled Vowels: A, i, and u can be doubled for emphasis. When an aa, ii, or uu appears in a word, that syllable is accented. If there is a consonant before a double vowel, there is a slight pause before pronouncing that consonant. The reduced vowel e is never doubled.

Dipthongs: A, i, and u are called prime vowels in Alutiiq. Pairs of different prime vowels show emphasis on a syllable. The new vowel sounds formed by: ai, au, ia, iu, ua, and ui are called dipthongs. The vowel sounds in these pairs are pronounced in rapid succession. The combination sounds are as follows:

You may have noticed that the greeting Cama'i! has an apostrophe (') between the ending a and i. This is because it is NOT a dipthong. Without the apostrophe, a reader would assume that the pronunciation is cha-may instead of cha-meye.

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