Orthography.
The system of orthoepy adopted is that recommended by the Royal
Geographical Society, London, with the following qualifications:
Ng at the beginning of a word or syllable has a peculiar sound, which I have previously illustrated.[7] At the end of a syllable or word, it has substantially the sound of ng in “sing.”
Dh and nh have nearly the sound of th in “that,” with a slight initial sound of the d or n as the case may be.
Ty and dy at the commencement of a word or syllable, as dyirril (a spear), has nearly the sound of j. At the end of a word, as gillaty (to-day), ty or dy is pronounced nearly as tch in the word “batch,” but omitting the final hissing sound.
w always commences a syllable or word, and has its ordinary sound. G is hard in all cases. R has a rough trilled sound, as in “hurrah!”
The sound of the Spanish ñ is frequent. At the commencement of a syllable or word I have given it as ny, but when terminating a word I have used the Spanish letter.
T is interchangeable with d; p with b; and g with k in most words where they are used.
As far as possible, vowels are unmarked, but in some instances, to avoid ambiguity, the long sound of a, e and u are indicated thus: â, ê, û. In a few cases the short sound of u is marked ŭ. Y at the beginning of a word has its ordinary consonant value.
The Wiradyuri Language.