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THE ESPERANTO ALPHABET (WITH PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION).
The Esperanto Alphabet has 28 letters--23 consonants, 5 vowels:--
Characters. | Name and English Pronunciation. | Phonetics
| | used.
| |
------------+---------------------------------------------+-----------
A, a | (ah) like _a_ in _father_ or _pa_; as |
| _patro_ (pah'troh). In unaccented syllables |
| it should not be dwelt upon, and in all |
| cases it should be pronounced quite purely, |
| without the slight drawling _r_-sound which |
| is sometimes added to the corresponding |
| vowel in English | ah
| |
B, b | (bo) as in English | b
| |
C, c | (tsoh) like _ts_ in _gets_, _hits_, and |
| never as in English; as _caro_ (tsah'roh) | ts
| |
Ĉ, ĉ | (cho) like _ch_ in _church_; as _ĉasi_ |
| (chah'see) | ch
| |
D, d | (do) as in English, but with tip of tongue |
| placed on back of teeth instead of on front |
| ridge of roof of mouth | d
| |
E, e | (eh) like _e_ in _bend_ pronounced broadly, |
| or _a_ in _hate_ shortly pronounced, but |
| quite pure, entirely without the slight |
| drawling _ee_-sound often heard after the |
| English vowel; as _beno_ (beh'noh) | e, eh
| |
F, f | (fo) as in English | f
| |
G, g | (go) like _g_ in _go_, _give_, as _gasto_ |
| (gah'stoh), and never like _g_ in _gem_, |
| _allege_ | g
| |
Ĝ, ĝ | (jo) like _g_ in _gem_, _general_, and _j_ |
| in _jovial_; as _ĝeni_ (jeh'nee) | j
| |
H, h | (ho) as in English | h
| |
Ĥ, ĥ | (ĥo) like _ch_ in Scotch _loch_, _ch_ in |
| German _hoch_, _j_ in Spanish _mujer_. This |
| guttural sound is practically a very |
| strongly aspirated _h_, and may be made by |
| trying to pronounce "ho" with the throat |
| arranged as for saying _k_:--_ĥoro_ |
| (khoro), _ĥino_ (khino) | _kh_
| |
I, i | (ee) like _ee_ in _seen_, as _li_ (lee). In |
| unaccented syllables, and before two |
| consonants together, this _i_ practically |
| becomes the _i_ in _it_ or in _wind_; as |
| _ferminte_ (fehrr-min'teh) | ee, i
