The Range in the Milluk Phoneme / a /:  In this interview segment, Lolly Metcalf demonstrates that the final vowel in this word can be pronounced with essentially the vowel in the English word ‘cut’ [ kʰʌt ].  In the interview segments “Child 1” and “Child 2”, she pronounces this same Milluk word ending with the vowel [ ɑ ], the vowel in the English word ‘cot’ [ kʰɑt ], the way that people in Oregon pronounce the word ‘cot’.  The vowel [ ɑ ] is produced with a lower tongue height than the vowel [ ʌ ].  In Milluk, the phonetic vowels [ ɑ ] and [ ʌ ] are variations of the same vowel phoneme /a/, while in English they are two different phonemes.  The difference in tongue height, between [ ɑ ] and [ ʌ ], can makes the difference between one English word and another completely different English word with a different meaning.   

About the consonants in this word, see what we say about the interview segment “Child 1”.