Amatlán Zapotec uses the same vowels as in Spanish: a, e, i, o, u. So these words are easy to read in Zapotec.

mad	ler	chib

rob	burr

But Zapotec also repeats these same vowels so they are written as: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu. Where there is a double vowel it is pronounced with a catch in the voice between the two vowels, like "uh-oh" in English. Read the following words:

naa	gaay	yaa me

chee	yeey	keen

nii me	yiin	chii

loon	yoo	doob

bruun	yuu	mduuzh

--David Riggs M.