Learn all about Afrikaans alphabet sounds
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| Eric: Welcome back to AfrikaansPod101.com's Pronunciation Series. This is Lesson 5, Pronouncing The Afrikaans Alphabet. In this lesson, we’ll talk about the Afrikaans alphabet. I’m Eric. |
| Pieter: Hallo my naam is Pieter. I’m Pieter. Often, people start learning a language by learning the alphabet, but we figured a toddler learns how to speak first, and then studies the alphabet. |
| Eric: Still, you all have been with us for a while now, so it's about time to grow up and learn the alphabet! |
| Pieter: Obviously, it’s very useful when you know how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet. |
| Eric: For example, you’ll often be asked to spell your name. |
| Pieter: Or if you want to learn a new word, and someone tells you how to write it down. |
| Eric: So that’s why we should definitely study this! |
| Pieter: There’s gonna be quite a bit of listen and repeat in this lesson. |
| Eric: So get ready, listeners! Let's start with the vowels. They can be a bit confusing if you’re thinking of English spelling, so let's just say them quickly once first. I’ll say the English letter, and Pieter will say the Afrikaans pronunciation. |
| Eric: A (English) |
| Pieter: A (Afrikaans) |
| Eric: E (English) |
| Pieter: E (Afrikaans) |
| Eric: I (English) |
| Pieter: I (Afrikaans) |
| Eric: O (English) |
| Pieter: O (Afrikaans) |
| Eric: U (English) |
| Pieter: U (Afrikaans) |
| Eric: So, the A, E, I can be confusing because in Afrikaans it is |
| Pieter: A-E-I |
| Eric: This is just a matter of remembering and trying to think in Afrikaans when you’re spelling. Sometimes I feel like I have two different brains - an English one and an Afrikaans one. |
| Pieter: (laughs) I see. How do all those brains fit into that little head of yours?! |
| Eric: Very funny…ok, let’s move on to some consonants. “B, C, D, G, J, P,T, V” in Afrikaans would be: |
| Pieter: B-C-D-G-J-P-T-V |
| Eric: right, so you just have to replace the “EE” sound with an ay sound. Once more, please. |
| Pieter: B-C-D-G-J-P-T-V. Not too hard, right? |
| Eric: No, I'm with you! Next are “F, L,M,N,R,S”. Note that there will be only one letter that’s different. Pieter? |
| Pieter: F-L-M-N-R-S |
| Eric: Listeners, did you notice which one was different? Just to make sure, I’ll say the English one and Pieter will say the Afrikaans. “F” |
| Pieter: F |
| Eric: 'L' |
| Pieter: L |
| Eric: 'M' |
| Pieter: M |
| Eric: 'N' |
| Pieter: N |
| Eric: 'R' |
| Pieter: R……Did you hear it, listeners? The difference was between “AR” and ER. |
| Eric: We’re making a lot of progress here! Let's have a look at the letters “H” and “K.” |
| Pieter: H-K |
| Eric: There is a long A sound after the letter. Once again... |
| Pieter: H-K |
| Eric : Okay, now I’m gonna single out some letters. The letter “Q” |
| Pieter: Q |
| Eric: We just leave out the Y sound that you hear in English |
| Pieter: Once more, Q |
| Eric: Next is the “W” |
| Pieter: W |
| Eric: The “W” is different from English. It sounds like you’re giving directions. |
| Pieter: You have to go via the highway! |
| Eric : Then the letter “Y” |
| Pieter: I just realized that sounds like you’re asking a question “Y” |
| Eric: Well I am asking you to say it in Afrikaans! |
| Pieter: Y |
| Eric: Now let's get to a letter we hardly ever see in Afrikaans, the “X” |
| Pieter: X |
| Eric: It stays the same |
| Pieter: X |
| Eric: And that brings us to the last letter, which is a present for you – the letter Z |
| Pieter: Z |
| Eric: Oh, it’s the same as in British-English! |
| Pieter: Wow, I think that went pretty fast. |
| Eric: Yeah and just like in English, some of the letters may sound similar when you say them. |
| Pieter: Like M and N? |
| Eric: Indeed, it can be hard to tell the difference. |
| Pieter: Do you have any advice here, teacher Eric? |
| Eric: Sure! When you spell, use a place or country name everyone knows the spelling of. |
| Eric: like the M from Moscow |
| Pieter : Or the S from Suid-Afrika |
| Eric: that’s how we say “South Africa” in Afrikaans. |
| Eric: Alright listeners, that’s all for this lesson and this series. Thank you for listening, and we’ll see you in another series. |
| Pieter: Goeie Dag! |
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