Vowels and Diphthongs
While the consonants of the SENĆOŦEN alphabet generally indicate the phonemes of the language well, the vowel symbols show more deviation, influenced by English phonology.
I A Á E U O represent /i, e, ə, u, a/, the vowel sounds of SENĆOŦEN.
I /i/ is the same as the "i" in English “machine.”
A variant of /e/ [ɛ] or [æ] is rare in SENĆOŦEN. It occurs for some speakers only before the uvulars Ḵ, K, Ḱ, ₭, X, or X̱. It is like the "e" in English “bet” or the "a" in English “bat.”
Á variant of /e/ [e] is the common variant. It is like the vowel in English “bait” but without the [i] glide at the end. It is similar to the "e" in English “bet” but tenser.
E /ə/ is pronounced like the "a" and "o" of English “above” or like the "u" in English “cut.” It also can sound like the vowels of English “hook” or “hit,” depending on what sounds it is next to.
U /u/ is usually pronounced like the "oo" in English “hoot.” It also represents the glide /w/ when not at the beginning of a syllable. See the pronunciation of diphthongs, below.
O /a/ is pronounced like the "a" in English “father” or the "o" in English “hot.”
Examples:| I | IȽEN | eat | U | KUK | cook | |
| HILEṈ | fall | MUSMES | cow | |||
| KÁ¸ṈI¸ | girl | CEPU | coat | |||
| Á | Á¸ĆEX | crab | E | ENEW̱ | stop | |
| ḴÁȻEṈ | rest | ĆEḴ | big | |||
| EN¸Á | come | ESEB | the end | |||
| A | AXEṈ | say | O | OPEN | ten | |
| ṮAḴT | long | SȽOṈ¸ET | herring | |||
| ĆAK | fall over | ŦȽO | go down toward the water |
Diphthongs
Ⱥ Í U¸ represent diphthongs in SENĆOŦEN. In these cases one symbol represents two sounds.
Ⱥ /ey/ is like the “long vowel”/diphthong in English “bait.”
Í /ay/ or /əy/ is like the diphthong in English “tide” or “tight,” as pronounced by some Canadian English speakers. For those familiar with standard transcription, the mark on this "I" might be mistaken for stress. It never indicates stress.
U¸ /əw̕/ or /uʔ/ is like the diphthong in some pronunciations of English “coat” or Canadian English “out,” especially when preceded by E. It can also be pronounced as the vowel U followed by the glottal stop.
Examples:
Examples:
| Ⱥ | ȺYET | lingcod |
| SȺ¸SI¸SI¸ | afraid | |
| XPȺ¸ | cedar wood | |
| Í | ÍY¸ | good |
| SMÍEŦ | deer | |
| W̱Í | awake | |
| U¸ | SĆU¸ÁT | clever |
| DÁLU¸ | arm | |
| NEU¸ | enter |