Tuki Tiki is a repetitive language, both in speech and in writing. It uses 8 letters of the Latin alphabet, reserving uppercase for the start of names like Toki Pona does. 3 of the letters stand for vowel sounds (a, i, u) and 5 stand for consonant sounds (m, l, p, t, k). A syllable is made up of a consonant followed by a vowel; the consonant is optional at the start of a word. Words are no longer than two syllables unless they are Names. The word stress is always on the first syllable.

All of Tuki Tiki’s letters can be pronounced as they are in Toki Pona, but some have more possible pronunciations (allophones). This is especially true for the consonants written l and t. In both cases, the front part of the tongue can be put anywhere from the teeth to a little behind the alveolar ridge (anywhere in the ‘coronal’ area). The two sounds differ not in where you move your tongue, but how you move it.

/l/ may be pronounced like almost any English pronunciation of the letters L or R, so long as the front of the tongue touches the coronal area. It can also be pronounced like the letter N, which it replaced in many Toki Pona words: TP pona became TT pula. Pronunciations similar to Spanish taps and trills are also possible.

With /t/, the airflow is more obstructed: it can be completely blocked, creating a sound like the letter T in English, or the air can pass through a small constricted opening, creating a sound with some friction like English S, SH, TH…

The below table shows my personal preferences in my own speech. Bright yellow (5) indicates most likely, bright pink (1) least likely. One thing I did not take into account: a word can come at the start of an utterance/after a pause, or it can go after another word. In the latter case I favour the [s]-like pronunciations a little more (e.g. tuki tiki). You are free to deviate from this.