Characters. | Name and English Pronunciation. | Phonetics
| | used.
| |
------------+---------------------------------------------+-----------
A, a | (ah) like _a_ in _father_ or _pa_; as |
| _patro_ (pah'troh). In unaccented syllables |
| it should not be dwelt upon, and in all |
| cases it should be pronounced quite purely, |
| without the slight drawling _r_-sound which |
| is sometimes added to the corresponding |
| vowel in English | ah
| |
B, b | (bo) as in English | b
| |
C, c | (tsoh) like _ts_ in _gets_, _hits_, and |
| never as in English; as _caro_ (tsah'roh) | ts
| |
Ĉ, ĉ | (cho) like _ch_ in _church_; as _ĉasi_ |
| (chah'see) | ch
| |
D, d | (do) as in English, but with tip of tongue |
| placed on back of teeth instead of on front |
| ridge of roof of mouth | d
| |
E, e | (eh) like _e_ in _bend_ pronounced broadly, |
| or _a_ in _hate_ shortly pronounced, but |
| quite pure, entirely without the slight |
| drawling _ee_-sound often heard after the |
| English vowel; as _beno_ (beh'noh) | e, eh
| |
F, f | (fo) as in English | f
| |
G, g | (go) like _g_ in _go_, _give_, as _gasto_ |
| (gah'stoh), and never like _g_ in _gem_, |
| _allege_ | g
| |
Ĝ, ĝ | (jo) like _g_ in _gem_, _general_, and _j_ |
| in _jovial_; as _ĝeni_ (jeh'nee) | j
| |
H, h | (ho) as in English | h
| |
Ĥ, ĥ | (ĥo) like _ch_ in Scotch _loch_, _ch_ in |
| German _hoch_, _j_ in Spanish _mujer_. This |
| guttural sound is practically a very |
| strongly aspirated _h_, and may be made by |
| trying to pronounce "ho" with the throat |
| arranged as for saying _k_:--_ĥoro_ |
| (khoro), _ĥino_ (khino) | _kh_
| |
I, i | (ee) like _ee_ in _seen_, as _li_ (lee). In |
| unaccented syllables, and before two |
| consonants together, this _i_ practically |
| becomes the _i_ in _it_ or in _wind_; as |
| _ferminte_ (fehrr-min'teh) | ee, i
| |
J, j | (yo) *always* like _y_ in _yet_, as _jes_ |
| (yehss), _vojo_ (vo'yo), and never like _j_ |
| in _judge_, _joke_ | y
| |
| It should be remembered that _j_ is _always |
| a consonant_, with the sound of the English |
| _y_ in _you_. Of course, when _j_ occurs at |
| the end of a word or before a consonant, it |
| practically unites with the preceding vowel |
| to form a diphthong, and loses the full |
| consonantal sound which it has before a |
| vowel. Thus: |
| |
| _Aj_ (ahy), like _ah y_ in _ah yes_ (almost |
| like _y_ in _my_); as _kaj_ (kah'y), |
| _rajdi_ (rah'y-dee), _krajono_ (krah-yo'no) | ahy
| |
| _Ej_ (ehy), like _ay y_ in _say yes_; as |
| _plej_ (pleh'y, *one* syllable) | ehy
| |
| _Oj_ (oy), like _oh y_ in _oh yes_ (almost |
| like _oy_ in _toy_); as _ranoj_ (rah'noy), |
| _kojno_ (koy'noh) | oy
| |
| _Uj_ (ooy), like _oo y_ in _too young_; as |
| _tuj_ (too'y, *one* syllable), _prujno_ |
| (proo'yno, *two* syllables) | ooy
| |
Ĵ, ĵ | (zho) like _s_ in _vision_ or _pleasure_, |
| or _j_ in French _jeune, j'ai_; as _ĵeti_ |
| (zheh'tee) | zh
| |
K, k | (ko) as in English | k
| |
L, l | (lo) as in English | l
| |
M, m | (mo) as in English | m
| |
N, n | (no) as in English | n
| |
O, o | (oh) like _o_ in _horse_, not |
| diphthongized, but pronounced purely and |
| rather shortly, as _bona_ (boh'nah NOT |
| bow'nah), quite without the short |
| _oo_-sound frequently heard with the |
| English vowel in such words as _note_, |
| _boat_. Its sound is almost equivalent to |
| _aw_ in _caw_, pronounced shortly and with |
| the lips placed roundly as if for saying | o,
| _oh_; as _estonta_ (ess-tohn'tah) | oh
| |
P, p | (po) as in English | p
| |
R, r | (ro) as in English, but sounded _much more |
| forcibly_, and always _with a trill_ as in |
| singing; as _korpo_ (kohr'po) | r
| |
S, s | (so) like _s_ in _say_, as _suno_ |
| (soo'noh), and *never* as _s_ in _rose_; as |
| _pesi_ (peh'see) | s, ss
| |
Ŝ, ŝ | (sho) like _sh_ in _show_, _she_; as _ŝipo_ |
| (shee'poh) | sh
| |
T, t | (to) as in English, but dentally--with tip |
| of tongue placed on back of teeth instead |
| of on front ridge of roof of mouth | t
| |
U, u | (oo) like _oo_ in _boot_, as _nubo_ |
| (*noo'*boh); and *never* as _u_ in _mute_ |
| or _but_ | oo
| |
Ŭ, ŭ | (wo) is equivalent to the English _w_, and |
| is produced by a _partial bringing |
| together_ of the lips. It practically only |
| occurs after _a_ or _e_ | w, ŏŏ
| |
| (1) _Aŭ_. To say _antaŭ_, for instance, say |
| "ahn'tah," and finish by bringing the lips |
| slightly together to pronounce the _ŭ_ |
| (_w_). Similarly for _laŭta_ (lah'w-tah). |
| This sound is not exactly the English _ou_ |
| in _house_, but is just the _au_ in the |
| German _Haus_. The phonetic sign for _aŭ_, |
| therefore is | ahw
| |
| (2) _Eŭ_, as in _Eŭropo_ (ehw-ro'poh), is |
| pronounced with a similar closing of the |
| lips after the _eh-_sound | ehw
| |
V, v | (vo) as in English | v
| |
Z, z | (zo) as in English | z
| |