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

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

Consonants
IPA Examples English approximation
b byť, vstup do[1] bill
d domov, prvýkrát bolo[1] door
ɟ[2] ďaleko, byť zaradený[1] dew
f farba, vták[3] focus
ɡ garáž, kde[1] go
ɦ hlava ahead
j jogurt yellow
k koláč, ping-pong[4] scan
l láska[5] pill
l̩ vlk little
l̩ː vĺča little left (long)
ʎ ľad[5] failure
m maslo, hanba[6] milk
n noc[6] now
ɲ laň canyon
p pavúk, dub[4] spill
r robot US atom
r̩ prst
r̩ː vŕba Spanish perro
s slnko, mráz[4] six
ʂ šach, rúž[4] shell
t tulipán, hlad[4] stand
c[2] radosť, loď[4] stew
ts cena, jedz[4] bats
tʂ človek, hádž[4] chase
ʋ sever[3] between vine and wine
x chlieb, sneh Scottish loch
z zima, ananás bol[1] zoo
ʐ žena, Aleš bol[1] fusion
Marginal consonants
dz hádzať, noc bez[1] heads
dʐ džbán, cárovič bol[1] job
ɣ vrh guľou[1] between got and hot
ɱ informácia[6] comfort
ŋ banka[6] sing
v vzrast,[3] Adolf bol[1] vine
w pravda, krv,[3] Tatrou wine
Vowels[7]
IPA Examples English approximation
Monophthongs
a matka art
aː ráno father
ɛɐ mäso[8] German Herz
e drevo traditional RP left
i tri, syr kit
iː písať, výr leave
ɔ dom off
u ruža bull
uː úroda fool
Marginal monophthongs
eː fén Indian maid
ɔː móda RP law
Diphthongs
ɪɐ piaty yap; German Wirt
ɪe viera yes
ʊɔ stôl warrior
Marginal diphthongs
ɪu vyššiu use, Welsh English new
 
Suprasegmentals
IPA Examples Explanation
ˈ Revúca [ˈreʋuːtsa] primary stress (always falling on the first syllable of a word)
. Mária [ˈmaːri.a] [9] syllabification

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Apart from being the main realization of the phonemes /b, d, ɟ, dz, dʐ, ɡ, z, ʐ/, [b, d, ɟ, dz, dʐ, ɡ, z, ʐ] also occur as allophones of /p, t, c, ts, tʂ, k, s, ʂ/ before the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɡ, ɟ, dʐ, z, ʐ, ɦ/. /f/ and /x/ are also voiced in this environment, to [v] and [ɣ].
  2. ^ a b Pavlík (2004), pp. 99, 106.
  3. ^ a b c d The phones transcribed [f, v, ʋ, w] are allophones of a single /v/ phoneme (but note that [f, v] are also allophones of the /f/ phoneme):
    • [f] occurs word-initially before the voiceless obstruents /p, t, c, k, tʂ, s, ʂ, x/;
    • [v] occurs word-initially before the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɟ, ɡ, dʐ, z, ʐ, ɦ/;
    • [w] or [ʋ] (in our transcriptions always represented as [w]) occur in the syllable coda;
    • [ʋ] occurs in all other cases (Hanulíková & Hamann (2010:374)).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Apart from being the main realization of the phonemes /k, p, s, ʂ, t, c, ts, tʂ/, [k, p, s, ʂ, t, c, ts, tʂ] also occur as word-final allophones of /ɡ, b, z, ʐ, d, ɟ, dz, dʐ/ unless the following word starts with any of the voiced obstruents /b, d, ɡ, ɟ, dʐ, z, ʐ, ɦ/ and is pronounced without a pause, in which case they are realized as voiced [ɡ, b, z, ʐ, d, ɟ, dz, dʐ].
  5. ^ a b The /l–ʎ/ contrast is neutralized before front vowels, when only the alveolar /l/ occurs. The neutralization is taken further in western dialects in which the alveolo-palatal /ʎ/ merges with the alveolar /l/ in all environments (Hanulíková & Hamann (2010:374)).
  6. ^ a b c d Nasals always assimilate their place of articulation to that of the following consonant. Before velar consonants they are [ŋ], and before labial consonants they are [m]; the labiodental [ɱ] appears before /f/ and /v/. Orthographic ⟨n⟩ before ⟨p⟩ and ⟨b⟩ is rare and is confined mostly to loanwords.
  7. ^ In the majority of cases only one long vowel per word may occur. The phonemic diphthongs /ɪɐ, ɪe, ɪu, ʊɔ/ count as long vowels.
  8. ^ [ɛɐ] is a phonological monophthong, usually transcribed with ⟨æ⟩. However, for speakers that distinguish it from [e], it is clearly an opening diphthong (Pavlík 2004:94).
  9. ^ Syllable breaks are indicated only in the case of the sequences [i.a], [i.e] and [i.u], which occur in loanwords and are spelled the same as the native diphthongs [ɪɐ, ɪe, ɪu]. In the case of other hiatuses, the syllable break is omitted.

References[edit]

See also[edit]

Comparisons
Introductory guides
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