Help:IPA/Slovak

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Slovak language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-sk}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Slovak phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Slovak.

Consonants
IPA Examples English approximation
b byť, vstup do[1] bill
c radosť, loď[2] skew
d domov, prvýkrát bolo[1] door
dz hádzať, noc bez[1] heads
dʒ džbán, cárovič bol[1] job
f farba, vták[3] focus
ɡ garáž, kde[1] go
ɦ hlava ahead
j jogurt yellow
ɟ ďaleko, byť zaradený[1] somewhat like job
k koláč, ping-pong[2] cold
l láska[4] pill
l̩ vlk little
l̩ː vĺča little left (long)
ʎ ľad[4] failure
m maslo, hanba[5] milk
ɱ informácia[5] comfort
n noc[5] now
ɲ laň canyon
ŋ banka[5] sing
p pavúk, dub[2] spill
r robot similar to hottest (US)
r̩ prst
r̩ː vŕba Spanish perro
s slnko, mráz[2] six
ʃ šach, rúž[2] shell
t tulipán, hlad[2] stand
ts cena, jedz[2] bats
tʃ človek, hádž[2] chase
v vzrast,[3] Adolf bol[1] vine
ʋ sever[3] between vine and wine
x chlieb, sneh loch (Scottish)
z zima, ananás bol[1] zoo
ʒ žena, Aleš bol[1] fusion
Vowels[6]
IPA Examples English approximation
Monophthongs
a matka art
aː ráno father
æ mäso[7] bat
ɛ drevo left
ɛː fén bed
i tri, syr kit
iː písať, výr leave
ɔ dom off
ɔː móda dog
u ruža bull
uː úroda food
Semivowels
ʊ̯ pravda, krv,[3] Tatrou wine
Diphthongs
ɪ̯a piaty young
ɪ̯ɛ viera yes
ɪ̯u vyššiu use
ʊ̯ɔ stôl water
 
Suprasegmentals
IPA Examples Explanation
ˈ Revúca [ˈrɛʋuːtsa] Primary stress always falls on the first syllable of a word.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Apart from being the main realization of the phonemes /b, d, dz, dʒ, ɡ, ɟ, z, ʒ/, [b, d, dz, dʒ, ɡ, ɟ, z, ʒ] also occur as allophones of /p, t, ts, tʃ, k, c, s, ʃ/ before the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɟ, ɡ, dʒ, z, ʒ, ɦ/. [v] also occurs as an allophone of /f/ in the same environment.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Apart from being the main realization of the phonemes /c, k, p, s, ʃ, t, ts, tʃ/, [c, k, p, s, ʃ, t, ts, tʃ] also occur as word-final allophones of /ɟ, ɡ, b, z, ʒ, d, dz, dʒ/ unless the following word beings with any of the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɟ, ɡ, dʒ, z, ʒ, ɦ/ and is pronounced without a pause, when they are realized as voiced [ɟ, ɡ, b, z, ʒ, d, dz, dʒ].
  3. ^ a b c d The phones transcribed [f, v, ʋ, ʊ̯] are allophones of a single /v/ phoneme (but note that [f, v] are also allophones of the /f/ phoneme):
    • [f] occurs word-initially before the voiceless obstruents /p, t, c, k, tʃ, s, ʃ, x/;
    • [v] occurs word-initially before the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɟ, ɡ, dʒ, z, ʒ, ɦ/;
    • [ʊ̯] or [ʋ] (in our transcriptions always represented as [ʊ̯]) occur in the syllable coda;
    • [ʋ] occurs in all other cases (Hanulíková & Hamann (2010:374)).
  4. ^ a b The /l–ʎ/ contrast is neutralized before front vowels, when only /l/ occurs. The neutralization is taken further in western dialects in which /ʎ/ merges with /l/ in all environments (Hanulíková & Hamann (2010:374)).
  5. ^ a b c d Nasals always assimilate their place of articulation to that of the following consonant. Before velar consonants they are [ŋ], and before labial consonants they are [m]; the labiodental [ɱ] appears before /f/ and /v/. Orthographic ⟨n⟩ before ⟨p⟩ and ⟨b⟩ is rare and is confined mostly to loanwords.
  6. ^ In the majority of cases only one long vowel per word may occur. The phonemic diphthongs /ɪ̯a, ɪ̯ɛ, ɪ̯u, ʊ̯ɔ/ count as long vowels - compare the adjectives beliansky [ˈbɛlɪ̯anski] and bratislavský [ˈbratislaʊ̯skiː]. In the latter word, there is a phonetic diphthong [aʊ̯], which is analyzed phonetically as a sequence of /a/ and /v/.
  7. ^ /æ/ often merges with /ɛ/.

References