Turkish/Pronunciation and Alphabet/İ-R

Pronunciation and Alphabet/S-Z Pronunciation and Alphabet/A-I Pronunciation and Alphabet Know c, ç, ğ and ı off by heart? Good, now let's move on. İ /i/Close front unrounded vowel.ogg Click for soundClose front unrounded vowel.ogg 50px This is the opposite of an I, it's an İ! The lower-case version is a dotted i, just like in English. It's pronounced like the ee in see, but shorter. For example: iyi good /iˈji/ inanç belief /iˈnɑntʃ/ iğne needle /iːˈnɛ/ J /ʒ/Voiced palato-alveolar sibilant.ogg Click for soundVoiced palato-alveolar sibilant.ogg 50px Or je. Pronounced like the s in pleasure, but a more accurate equivalent of it would be the j in the French word, jour. This letter is used in Turkish words of foreign origin. For example: jeton - token jilet - razor blade jenerik - (film) credits K /k/Voiceless velar plosive.ogg Click for soundVoiceless velar plosive.ogg 50px/kʲ/Voiceless palatal plosive.ogg Click for soundVoiceless palatal plosive.ogg 50px Or ke. Pronounced like the c in car generally before a, ı, o and u (back vowels). Before e, i, ö, ü (front vowels) like k in Kate. But of course there some exceptions. In some words of foreign origin, even if the letter comes before a, ı, o and u, it is pronounced like k in Kate. As you will see, Turkish has no Q, and therefore K is used instead of it. For example: kurt - wolf kalem - pencil kâğıt - paper - This word is of foreign origin, and k in this word is pronounced like k in Kate. Notice the pronunciation difference between kalem and kâğıt, (listen to the Google Translate pronunciation of these words) kahvaltı - breakfast L /ɫ/Velarized_alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg Click for soundVelarized_alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg 50px/l/alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg Click for soundalveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg 50px Or le. Pronounced l in let (clear l, Alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg listen) before e, i, ö and ü. Before a, ı, o and u it is generally pronounced like l in luck (dark l, Velarized_alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg listen). But of course there some exceptions as there are in the letter k. In most words of foreign origin, even if the letter comes before a, ı, o and u, it may be pronounced like l in let. Did you know? In Turkish, words of Turkish origin do not start with the letter l. All words starting with l are of foreign origin. For example: lale (tulip) Tur-lale.ogg listen: This word is of Persian origin. Both ls in this word pronounced like l in let kol (arm): l in this word is pronounced like l in luck. lanet (curse): This word is of Arabic origin. L in this word pronounced like l in let. M /m/Bilabial nasal.ogg Click for soundBilabial nasal.ogg 50px Or me. Pronounced like the m in man. For example: masa - table mutfak - kitchen mektup - letter N /n/Alveolar nasal.ogg Click for soundAlveolar nasal.ogg 50px Or ne. Pronounced like the n in now. For example: ne - what nane - mint namus - honour O /o/Mid back rounded vowel.ogg Click for soundMid back rounded vowel.ogg 50px Pronounced like the o in oh. For example: o - he/she/it otobüs - bus oda - room Ö /œ/Open-mid front rounded vowel.ogg Click for soundOpen-mid front rounded vowel.ogg 50px Pronounced like the eu in the French word seul, or the ö in the German word schön. There is no English equivalent, but the closest English approximation is the i in bird. The exact pronunciation is made by shaping your lips to say o (as in organ), but saying e (as in bread) instead. For example: öğle - noon öğretmen - teacher ölçü - measurement P /p/Voiceless_bilabial_plosive.ogg Click for soundVoiceless_bilabial_plosive.ogg 50px Or pe. Pronounced like the p in pet. For example: parça - piece peynir - cheese para - money R /ɾ/Alveolar_tap.ogg Click for soundAlveolar_tap.ogg 50px Or re. If you're wondering, "Where's Q?", in Turkish there is no letter Q. This one's simple, just pronounce it like the Spanish and the Italians do (roll the R), but a bit shorter. For example: rahat - peaceful rakam - digit rakı - Raki (yup, the alcoholic drink) This time it might be a good idea to learn i, j, and ö off by heart. Pronunciation and Alphabet/S-Z Pronunciation and Alphabet/A-I bottom