Tutnese
Updated: 12/16/2025, 9:10:22 PM Wikipedia source
Tutnese (also known as Tut) is an argot created by enslaved African Americans based on African-American Vernacular English as a method to covertly teach and learn spelling and reading.
Tables
· Language rules
B
B
Letter
B
Tut syllable
bub
Letter
K
Tut syllable
kak
Letter
S
Tut syllable
sus
C
C
Letter
C
Tut syllable
cut
Letter
L
Tut syllable
lul
Letter
T
Tut syllable
tut
D
D
Letter
D
Tut syllable
dud
Letter
M
Tut syllable
mum
Letter
V
Tut syllable
vuv
F
F
Letter
F
Tut syllable
fuf
Letter
N
Tut syllable
nun
Letter
W
Tut syllable
wax
G
G
Letter
G
Tut syllable
gug
Letter
P
Tut syllable
pup
Letter
X
Tut syllable
ex
H
H
Letter
H
Tut syllable
hash
Letter
Q
Tut syllable
quack
Letter
Y
Tut syllable
yak
J
J
Letter
J
Tut syllable
jag
Letter
R
Tut syllable
rut*
Letter
Z
Tut syllable
zuz
| Letter | Tut syllable | Letter | Tut syllable | Letter | Tut syllable |
| B | bub | K | kak | S | sus |
| C | cut | L | lul | T | tut |
| D | dud | M | mum | V | vuv |
| F | fuf | N | nun | W | wax |
| G | gug | P | pup | X | ex |
| H | hash | Q | quack | Y | yak |
| J | jag | R | rut* | Z | zuz |
· Language rules
B
B
Letter
B
Tutahash
bub
Letter
K
Tutahash
kuk
Letter
S
Tutahash
sus
C
C
Letter
C
Tutahash
cus
Double Dutch (if different)
cash
Letter
L
Tutahash
lul
Letter
T
Tutahash
tut
D
D
Letter
D
Tutahash
dud
Letter
M
Tutahash
mum
Letter
V
Tutahash
vuv
F
F
Letter
F
Tutahash
fuf
Letter
N
Tutahash
nun
Letter
W
Tutahash
w
Double Dutch (if different)
wash
G
G
Letter
G
Tutahash
gug
Letter
P
Tutahash
pup
Letter
X
Tutahash
ex
Double Dutch (if different)
xux
H
H
Letter
H
Tutahash
hash
Double Dutch (if different)
hutch
Letter
Q
Tutahash
quack
Letter
Y
Tutahash
yum
Double Dutch (if different)
yub
J
J
Letter
J
Tutahash
jug
Letter
R
Tutahash
rur
Double Dutch (if different)
rug
Letter
Z
Tutahash
zuz
Double Dutch (if different)
zub
| Letter | Tutahash | Double Dutch (if different) | Letter | Tutahash | Double Dutch (if different) | Letter | Tutahash | Double Dutch (if different) |
| B | bub | K | kuk | S | sus | |||
| C | cus | cash | L | lul | T | tut | ||
| D | dud | M | mum | V | vuv | |||
| F | fuf | N | nun | W | w | wash | ||
| G | gug | P | pup | X | ex | xux | ||
| H | hash | hutch | Q | quack | Y | yum | yub | |
| J | jug | R | rur | rug | Z | zuz | zub |
References
- Street Gameshttps://archive.org/details/isbn_0070419159/
- Tut languagehttps://search.worldcat.org/oclc/37673070
- American Speechhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/455958
- The New York Times Magazinehttps://www.nytimes.com/1944/12/31/archives/ourway-ecretsay-anguageslay-that-means-our-secret-languages-in-pig.html
- NBC Newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/forgotten-language-seeing-revival-thanks-tiktok-rcna1676
- Two Little Savages: Being the Adventures of Two Boys who Lived as Indians and what They Learnedhttps://books.google.com/books?id=T4E3AAAAIAAJ
- Making American Boys: Boyology and the Feral Tale
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings