tâtakitaka - I am

pâri’ - Pawnee

The Pawnee ‘r’ is a flapped ‘r’, pronounced like the Spanish ‘r’ in Rodriguez or Rafael, or the Japanese ‘r’ in ramen. English does have this sound, it’s the middle sound in the word “butter” and “ladder”. If you are having trouble flapping your ‘r’, you can use a soft ‘d’ sound, or an ‘L’ or even an ‘n’ sound. The early English-speaking settlers couldn’t pronounce Pâri’, so it became Pani, then Pawnee.

The Pawnee ‘p’ is a soft ‘p’, pronounced like the ‘p’ is “spot” or “spray”, not the hard ‘p’ as in “pop” or “Patty.”

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