Help:IPA/Estonian

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

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

IPA Examples English approximation
Consonants
b[1] buss big
ç vihm human
d ladu adept
f[1] film film
ɡ[1] gorilla go
h hobune horse
ɦ raha ahead
j jõul yolk
k kabi scold
l lina lack
lʲ[2] jälk leep
m naasma may
n lina nanny
ŋ[3] vang, kink eating
nʲ[2] vann onion
p kabi spill
r vere rolled r
s sõbranna sole
ʃ[1] šampus shy
sʲ[2] vastik super (some dialects)
t eesti stand
tʲ[2] vatt RP stew
ʋ vere Between v and w
x jõhv Scottish English loch
ʔ [example needed] the pause in uh-oh
Stress
ˈ hobune Normally placed on the first syllable.
hernehirmutis
[ˈher.neˈhir.mutis] 		Two stressed syllables in compound words
tule! [ˈtuˈle] Both syllables in two-syllable imperatives.
IPA Examples English approximation
Vowels
ɑ lina Like father, but shorter
ɑː naasma father
æ mägi cat
æː väär mad
e terve let
eː eesti pay
i viha happy
iː viin feed
o oks like thought but shorter
oː soo saw
ø köha Somewhat like nurse
øː vöö Somewhat like bird
ɤ õlu Somewhat like wood
ɤː õõnes Same as above but longer
u surm wood
uː suu coop
y küla somewhat like cute
yː rüüpa Somewhat like cube

Diphthongs

Estonian diphthongs[4]
Vowel ɑ e i o u
ɑ ɑe̯ ɑi̯ ɑo̯ ɑu̯
e eɑ̯ ei̯ eo̯ (eu̯)
i (iɑ̯) (ie̯) (io̯) iu̯
o oɑ̯ oe̯ oi̯ ou̯
u (uɑ̯) (ue̯) ui̯ uo̯
ɤ ɤɑ̯ ɤe̯ ɤi̯ ɤo̯ ɤu̯
æ æe̯ æi̯ æo̯ æu̯
ø øɑ̯ øe̯ øi̯ (øo) (øu)
y yɑ̯ (ye̯) yi̯ (yo̯)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d [b], [f], [ɡ], and [ʃ] only occur in loanwords. In casual speech, they may be replaced with [p], [k], and [s], respectively.
  2. ^ a b c d Palatalized consonants, [tʲ nʲ sʲ lʲ], are pronounced like their non-palatalized counterparts, but the tongue is constricted towards the hard palate as if a simultaneous /j/ were being pronounced.
  3. ^ Allophone of /n/ before [k].
  4. ^ From Asu & Teras (2009:370)

References

External links