Speak To The World
About Somali Consonants Chart
Want to know what are the consonants when it comes to Somali language? In articulatory phonetics, the Somali consonant is known as a speech sound that is articulated by using complete or partial closure of the vocal system. The word consonant is also employed to refer to a letter of the Somali alphabet which signifies a consonant sound. Learn More
Somali Consonants Chart
 Learn Somali Language Online | ) |
Somali Consonants in Alphabet
| b | as in box |
| d | as in dog |
| g | as in get |
| h | as in hat |
| j | as in jet |
| k | as in kick |
| l | as in let |
| m | as in mat |
| n | as in net |
| r | rolled as in the French rouge |
| s | as in sit |
| sh | as in shut |
| t | as in ten |
| w | as in well |
| y | as in yet |
| Note that the 'doubling' of consonants is also very important not to get confused. A doubled consonant is pronounced in both syllables whereas a single consonant is pronounced in one syllable. | |
| Also note the following complicated pronunciations. | |
| dh | Can be viewed as flapped d or r depending on the speaker - either way you'll get it right. Set your mouth to pronounce as normal d or r, but then curl your tongue right up so that the bottom touches the top part of your mouth. As you try you'll fell your tongue flapping forward. |
| x | It's more of an emphantic version of h. Take the exhaling sound you make when you've just burnt your mouth after taking a sip of boiling hot soup, push it right back into the very back of your mouth, making sure your tongue also goes back and that should be a good approximation. |
| c | If you follow the same pronunciation rules for x, with the tongue and back of the mouth all pressed up against the back of the throat then simply change the hiss of the h to a sound using your vocal cords. If you're then sounding if you being choked then that's it. Hint: Think of c as a vowel modifier and if listening to a natie speaker, note how it changes thevowel in its vicinity 'pharyngealized' the vowel, sending half the sound up the nose. |
| q | It's pronounced like a k but right back in the mouth at the throat end, in the same area as c and x. Imagine you've got a marble in the back of the throat and that you're bouncing it using only the glottis and make a k sound at the same time. |
| kh | It's the rasping ch in Scottish loch and German ach. It's also pronounced like the Spanish jota. |
| ' | It's what's called the glottal stop. You simply close the glottis at the very back of the mouth/top of throat, and then release the built-up air. The result is a light uh sound with a very slight grunt just before it. Althought it's not written, it occurs in the conversational speech of nearly all English speakers, being most noticeable in the pronunciation of words like bottle as 'bo'el' by many Londoners |
Somali Diphthongs in Alphabet
Click on the hyperlinks below to see a list of useful Somali holiday phrases which you’ll find organized by group. For each holiday phrase in Somali, you will see the actual English translation.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.