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Letters
The Slovene
literary language has 25 letters. The alphabet looks like this:
A
a B b C c CC cc D d E e F f G g H h I I K k L l M m N n O o P p
R r S s SS ss T t U u V v ZZ zz
Sounds
These 25 leters
signify 29 sounds (and their variants), by means of which the meaning
of words can be distinguished. Of these, 8 are vowels and 21 are
consonants.
The vowels are
usually written as a e i o u , without regard to whether
they are long or short, stressed or unstressed, or broad or narrow
(this last applies only to e and o). In the vocabulary lists, the
long stresssed syllables are marked with the sign ` (but over e
and o also with ^), short stressed vowels are marked with >.
The sign ' over
e and o indicates a narrow pronounciation and a ^ a broad pronounciation.
Slovene vowels
are pronounced only approximately as they are in English. Cf. The
following:
Long
stressed vowels
|
|
|
as
in English
|
|
|
as
in English
|
|
í
|
píti
|
bee
|
é
|
péti
|
made
(but not diphthongal)
|
|
ê
|
pêti
|
there
(approximately)
|
á
|
páti
|
father
(approximately)
|
|
ô
|
pôti
|
jaw
|
ó
|
póti
|
know
(but closer)
|
|
ú
|
púti
|
do
|
|
|
|
Short
stressed vowels and unstressed vowels
|
|
|
as
in English
|
|
|
as
in English
|
|
ì
|
sìt
|
sit
|
i
|
pristáviti
|
pit
|
|
è
|
rèk
|
yet
|
e
|
prestávite
|
yet
|
|
á
|
ràk
|
cust(om)
|
a
|
prestávita
|
Brenda
|
|
òt
|
ròk
|
ho
|
o
|
postávimo
|
hot
|
|
ù
|
jùg
|
full
|
u
|
ustavi,
vsák, bárv
|
Nehru
|
|
e
|
pès
|
the
(boy)
|
e
|
sestávek
|
cust(om)
|
In Slovenian,
the letters for the consonants are pronounced as in English, but
peculiarities are introduced in the following table:
| Slovene
|
English
|
|
j
|
maj,
Janez |
y
|
yet
|
|
cc
|
occe
|
ch
|
child |
|
dzz
|
Madzzar |
j
|
Jane |
|
ss
|
ssola
|
sh
|
shall |
|
zz
|
zzena
|
s
|
vision |
|
c
|
cena |
ts,
cs
|
lots,
csar |
|
z
|
miza
|
z
|
zeal |
|
s
|
sam
|
s
|
sit |
|
k
|
kaj
|
c,
k
|
come,
king |
|
r
|
rad,
tri |
r
red
|
|
|
v
|
vem
siv, pavza
vsak, vzeti |
v
w
wh
|
vision
know
why |
|
l
|
lucc,
general
bel, stal |
l
w
|
leap(never
as in call)
know |
|
h
|
hissa
|
ch
|
Bach |
|
nj
|
nju
ny
konj, konjski |
ny
n
|
nyas
(or first 2 sounds in new)
sin, answer |
|
lj
|
Ljubljana
bolj, boljssi |
ly
l
|
lyard
(or fist 2 sounds in luke)
leak |
|
r
|
rdecc,
trd |
ir
|
first
(r is spoken as well) |
Remember also
the following about the pronounciation of consonants:
At the end of
a word, b d g z zz and dzz are pronounced as p
t k s f tf, respectively; They are pronounced as written only
if the following word starts with b d g z zz or dzz.
If a preposition
or prefix ends with b d or z, the last consonant is pronounced
as p t or s only before a pause and before ptk
s ss cc f c h .
B d
g z zz and dzz before p t k s ss cc f c h are
pronounced in all positions as p t ks f and tf
and vice versa: ptk etc. before b d g etc. are
pronounced b d g etc.
Two identical
consonants are pronounced as one long consonant: oddati,
sam misli, izzvati.
Aleksandra
Ceferin, Thezaurus (Melbourne 2000)
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