Bikol/Pronunciation

Bikol pronunciation can be difficult because of lexical stress and the presence of glottal stops which are normally not written in everyday writing. This first lesson is essential for you to be able to pronounce the words that we have printed in this book. Here we will learn a few basic words, and how to pronounce them. Vowels In Bikol, vowels are pronounced like in Spanish. Note that in Bikol orthography, two consecutive vowels are pronounced separately. Letter IPA Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation)A aafarE eehenI iiseeO ooorderU uusoon Before the arrival of the Spanish, Bikol had three vowel sounds: /a/, /i/, and /u/; This was expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish words. Consonants Letter IPA Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation)B bbbeeK kkkeyD dddoughG gggoldH hhheatL llletM mmmeN nnniceNG ngŋ songP pppeaR rrrawS ssseaT ttteaW wwweakY yyyou Some consonants are borrowed from Spanish and English and are used in writing names of places and personal names. Letter IPA Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation)C ck, scall, corn, cure (before a, o, u) like c in cell, cinder (before e or i)F fffineJ jhh in hamLL llljmllionÑ ñnjcanyonQ qkwquest (always with a silent u)V vb pronounced the same way as b (see above) like b in bow.X xkslike x in flexible like ss in hiss (at beginning of a word) like h as in he in the family name RoxasZ zs s in supper Digraphs Some digraphs appear in Spanish and English loan words. Letter IPA Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation)diyʤjusttstʃchewsiyʃshoeniynjcanyonlyljmillion Diphthongs In the spelling of many places and personal names, ao is used and is pronounced as in how just like the Spanish way of spelling. Letter IPA Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation)awaʊhowiwɪʊkiwiayaɪhighoyoɪboy