Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part I

In the previous entry, The Pronunciation of the Slovak Accents, we discussed how to pronounce vowels and consonants which have an associated accent. In this entry, we are going to discuss how to pronounce the consonants and vowels in the Slovak alphabet that do not have any accents.

The Slovak consonants and vowels without accents can be divided into five basic groups:
1.Those pronounced in the same way as their English equivalent.
2.Those where the letter may vary slighly in pronounciation compared to the English equivalent.
3.Those pronounced in the same way as a different letter in English.
4.Those pronounced in the same way as only one of the English variations of pronounciation for the same letter in English.
5.Those that have no English equivalent.

As there are several groups to look at, we will focus on the first two groups only in this entry. Let's begin...

1. Slovak Letter = English Letter
There are many Slovak consonants that are pronounced exactly as they are in English. These consonants are: b, d, f, g, l, m, n, s, v and z. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'b': “babka” means “old woman” and is pronounced something like “bub-ka” where the 'b' sound approximates the first 'b' in “bubble”.
'd': “drak” means “dragon” and is pronounced something like “drahck” where the 'd' sound approximates the 'd' in “day”.
'f': “farba” means “colour” and is pronounced something like “phar-ba” where the 'f' sound approximates the 'f' in “fame”.
'g': “orgán” means “organ” and is pronounced something like “or-gaan” where the 'g' sound approximates the 'g' in “gore”. Remember to roll your 'r'!
'l': “problém” means “problem” and is pronounced something like “prob-lehm” where the 'l' sound approximates the 'l' in “low”.
'm': “maslo” means “butter” and is pronounced something like “mus-low” where the 'm' sound approximates the 'm' in “mud”.
'n': “nad” means “above” and is pronounced something like “nud” where the 'n' sound approximates the 'n' in “nut”.
's': “streda” means “Wednesday” and is pronounced something like “stre-duh” where the 's' sound approximates the 's' in “strain”. Make sure you pronounce the 'stre' like “stress” and not “street” here.
'v': “voda” means “water” and is pronounced something like “voh-dah” where the 'v' sound approximates the 'v' in “vary”.
'z': “záchod” means “toilet” and is pronounced something like “zaa-chod” where the 'z' sound approximates the 'z' in “zoro”.

2. Slovak Letter ≈ the same English Letter
The following consonants are pronounced similary to their English equivalents but are closed. This means that the consonant is pronounced without aspiration. To understand this concept put your hand in front of your mouth and say the word “tent”. You should feel your breathe on your hand as you say the letter 't'. Now say “store”. You should not feel any breath on your hand this time. This is a closed 't'. Bearing this in mind, the following consonants in Slovak are all closed: 't', 'p' and 'k'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

't': “malta” which means “mortar” is pronounced something like “mull-tah”. Think of the 't' sound in “knot”.
'p': “pohoda” which means “well-being” is pronounced something like “poh-ho-dah”. Think of the 'p' in “pore”.
'k': “makový” which means “poppy” is pronounced something like “muck-o-vee”. Think of the 'k' in “fickle”.

That brings us to the end of Part I for the series on pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak. The next entry will discuss the remaining three groups of letters. Be sure to check back for the next entry.