Slovene/Lesson 1
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< Slovene
[edit] Pronunciation and greetings
[edit] Pronunciation
The Slovenian language uses Latin alphabet with 30 letters.
The following table lists all of the letters, together with pronunciations and "like in..." notes for easier pronunciation.
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | [a] | like "a" in "father", but it is pronounced short |
| B b | be | [b] | like "b" in "to be" |
| C c | ce | [ʦ] | like "ts" in "tse-tse fly" |
| Č č | če | [ʧ] | like "ch" in "chocolate" |
| D d | de | [d] | like "d" in "day" |
| E e | e | [e] | like "e" in "bed", like "e" in "fat", or like "e" in the |
| F f | ef | [f] | like "f" in "far" |
| G g | ge | [g] | like the first "g" in "garage" |
| H h | ha | [x] | like in Spanish "Juan" |
| I i | i | [i] | like "ee" in "see", but it is pronounced short |
| J j | je | [j] | like "y" in "Yankee" or "hey" |
| K k | ka | [k] | like "k" in "kick" |
| L l | el | [l] | like "l" in "left" |
| M m | em | [m] | like "m" In "mom" |
| N n | en | [n] | like "n" in "nothing" |
| O o | o | [o] | like "o" in "horn", or like in "hot", but it is pronounced short |
| P p | pe | [p] | like "p" in "path" |
| R r | er | [r] | like "r" in "road", but rolled, more like "r" in Scottish |
| S s | es | [s] | like "s" in "seven" |
| Š š | eš | [ʃ] | like "sh" in "shock" |
| T t | te | [t] | like "t" in "taxi" |
| U u | u | [u] | like "oo" in "soon", but it is pronounced short |
| V v | ve | [v] | like "v" in "vase" |
| Z z | ze | [z] | like "z" in "zero" |
| Ž ž | že | [ʒ] | like "s" in "pleasure" or "zh" in "Zhivago" |
Pronunciation rules
Vowels:
Slovenian has 8 vowels: /a/, /e/, /ɛ/, /ə/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, /u/. They are written using the letters A, E, I, O and U. The schwa /ə/ is sometimes repesented by the letter R, taking place before said letter.