^ abcdefThe sounds [b̥d̪̥d̥ɖ̥ɟ̊ɡ̊] are often pronounced tenuis, like spy, sty, stew/chew, sky (like French or Spanish p, t, tch/ch, k) at the beginnings of words, and voiced, like buy, die, dew/Jew, guy between vowels, but that is variable, and the distinction is not meaningful in almost all Australian languages.
^ abcdefThe plain consonants [d̥ln] are like English sty, noose, lose, with the tip of the tongue touching the gums, and the consonants with the 'bridge' under them, [d̪̥l̪n̪], are like t n l in French or Spanish, with the tip of the tongue touching the teeth and its upper surface touching the gums, giving them a light sound. The alveolar–dental distinction is very important in most Australian languages.
^ abcdThe consonants with a 'tail', [ɖ̥ɭɳɽ], are pronounced with the tonɡue curled back, which gives them a dark "r"-like retroflex quality
^ abcThe consonants [ɟ̊ʎɲ] are pronounced with a y-like quality. English dy, ly, ny are similar.
^ abcdThe vowels i and u typically vary across [i]~[ɪ]~[e] and [u]~[ʊ]~[o], respectively. However, a few Australian languages distinguish both sounds.