Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part II

In the previous entry, Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part I, we discussed how to pronounce vowels and consonants which do not have any accents and fall into one of the two following categories: Pronounced in the same way or with a slight variation in pronounciation compared to the English equivalent.

In this entry we will look at the final three groups for non-accented letters. These are consonants or vowels that:
1.Are pronounced in the same way as a different letter in English.
2.Are pronounced in the same way as only one of the English variations of pronounciation for the same letter in English.
3.Have no English equivalent.

1. Slovak Letter ≈ Another English Letter
The following letters are pronounced differently to their English equivalent but are comparable to another English letter: 'a', 'i' and 'j'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'a': Pronounced like the 'u' in “but”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “ako” which means “how”, “akt” which means “act” and “akné” which means “acne”. These are pronounced as follows: “uh-ko”, “ukt” and “uk-ne”.
'i': Pronounced like the 'y' in “body” where the 'y' is said as”bod-ee”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “izba” which means “room”, “iba” which means “only” and “iný” which means “other”. These are pronounced as follows: “eez-bah”, “ee-bah” and “in-eeh”.
'j': Pronounced like the 'y' in “yes”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “jeden” which means “one”, “jahoda” which means “strawberry” and “júl” which means “July”. These are pronounced as follows: “ye-den”, “ya-ho-da” and “yule”.

2. Slovak Letter = Only one of the English pronounciations
The pronounciation of the following letters is equal to only one of the English pronounciations for the same letter: 'c', 'e', 'h', 'o', 'u' and 'y'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'c': Pronounced only as “ts” and never as 'k' (like the 'c' in the English word “car”) or as “s” (like the 'c' in the English word “cement”). Think of “tsetse fly” and the soft pronounciation of 'ts' in this case. Now try apply this when pronouncing the 'c' in Slovak. Slovak examples of its usage are: “cesta” which means “road” and “citron” which means “lemon”. These are pronounced as “tse-stah” and “tsi-tron”.
'e': Pronounced like the 'e' in “set” and never as the long English “ee” used to name the letter 'E' in the alphabet, for example, “E-bay” . Slovak examples of its usage are “veda” which means “science” and “zase” which means “again”. These are pronounced as “veh-duh” and“zuh-seh”.
'h': Pronounced like the 'h' in “happy” and with a stronger emphasis than in English on the 'h'. It is never silent in Slovak, unlike the 'h' in French (think “hotel” = 'otel”) or in some English words like “Hannah” where the last 'h' is silent. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “hlas” which means “voice”, “hladný” which means “hungry” and “hody” which means “feast”. These are pronounced as “hlas”, “hlad-nee” and “ho-dee”.
'o': Pronounced only as the 'o' in “organic” and never as the long 'o' in words like “so”. In Slovak, it is used in words like “koleso” which means “wheel”, “plod” which means “fruit” and “topánka” which means “shoe”. These are pronounced as “koh-le-soh”, “plohd” (Be careful not to say the English word “plod” meaning to walk slowly) and “toh-paan-kah”.
'u': Prounced like the 'u' in “put” and never as 'yew' as in English words like “usually”. Slovak examples of its usage are “ruka” which means “arm” and “upír” which means “vampire”. These are pronounced as “ruh-kah” and “uh-pee-r”.
'y': Pronounced like the 'y' in “body” and therefore the same as the Slovak 'i'. It is never pronounced like “yha” as the 'y' in “yellow”. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “kvety” which means “flowers” and “grécky” which means “Greek”. These are pronounced as “kve-tee” and “grets-key”.

3. Slovak Letters without an English equivalent
Finally, there are two Slovak consonants which do not have an English equivalent: 'ch' and 'r'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'ch': This is a voiceless consonant and is pronounced similarly to the German 'ch' sound in the word “buch” or the 'ch' in the Scottish word “loch”. You can hear the pronounciation of “buch” on the dict.cc website here. In Slovak, 'ch' comes after 'h' in the alphabet and therefore also after 'h' in the dictionary. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “chlapec” which means “boy” and “chliev” which means “stall”. These are pronounced as “chla-pec” and “chlee-yef”.
'r': This has no English equivalent and is rolled like the Spanish 'r' in “arriva”. See the previous entry, Pronunciation of the Slovak Accents for more detail on the Slovak 'r'. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “rod” which means “family” and “román” which means “novel”. These are pronounced as “roh-d” and “roh-maan”.

That brings us to the end of this series on the pronounciation of the Slovak consonants and vowels without accents. Next time we will discuss dipthongs, the controversy about 'y' and 'i' and the inclusion of foreign consonants in the Slovak alphabet. Until then!

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.