| This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Estonian on Wikipedia.It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Estonian in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first. | |
Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Estonian
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Estonian 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 Estonian phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Estonian.
IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
Consonants
|
f
|
film[1]
|
film
|
h
|
hobune, raha
|
horse
|
j
|
jõul
|
yolk
|
k
|
kabi
|
kayak
|
l
|
lina
|
lack
|
lʲ
|
jälk[2]
|
leap
|
m
|
naasma
|
may
|
n
|
lina
|
nanny
|
ŋ
|
vang, kink[3]
|
eating
|
nʲ
|
vann[2]
|
onion
|
p
|
kapi
|
spill
|
r
|
vere
|
rolled r, like Spanish reino
|
s
|
sõbranna, zooloogia
|
sole
|
sʲ
|
vastik[2]
|
super (some dialects)
|
ʃ
|
šampus, Solženistõn[1]
|
shy
|
t
|
tava
|
stand
|
tʲ
|
vatt[2]
|
RP stew
|
v
|
vere
|
veal
|
ʔ
|
maq
|
(in South Estonian) the pause in uh-oh
|
Stress
|
ˈ
|
hobune
|
Normally placed on the first syllable
|
hernehirmutis [ˈherːneˈhirmutːis]
|
Two stressed syllables in compound words
|
armee [arˈmeː]
|
Loanwords can have stress on non-initial syllables
|
Length
|
|
vere [ˈvere] lina [ˈlinɑ]
|
Short syllable
|
ː [4]
|
veere [ˈveːre] linna [ˈlinːɑ]
|
Long syllable
|
ːː [4]
|
veere [ˈveːːre] linna [ˈlinːːɑ]
|
Overlong syllable
|
|
IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
Vowels[4]
|
ɑ
|
lina
|
father, but shorter
|
ɑː
|
naasma
|
father
|
æ
|
mägi
|
cat
|
æː
|
väär
|
mad
|
e
|
terve
|
pet
|
eː
|
tee
|
no English equivalent: Latin aenus [aˈeː.nʊs] (bronze)
|
i
|
viha
|
it
|
iː
|
viin
|
feed
|
o
|
oks
|
story
|
oː
|
soo
|
store
|
ø
|
köha
|
Somewhat like hurt
|
øː
|
vöö
|
Somewhat like herd
|
ɤ
|
õlu
|
Somewhat like fern
|
ɤː
|
õõnes
|
Somewhat like verge
|
u
|
surm
|
pull
|
uː
|
suu
|
pool
|
y
|
küla
|
somewhat like cute
|
yː
|
rüüpa
|
Somewhat like cube
|
|
|
- ^ a b [f] and [ʃ] occur only in loanwords; the latter is replaced by [s] by many speakers.
- ^ a b c d Palatalized consonants [tʲ nʲ sʲ lʲ] are pronounced like their non-palatalized counterparts, but the tongue is constricted towards the hard palate as if a simultaneous /j/ were being pronounced.
- ^ Allophone of /n/ before [k].
- ^ a b c Estonian has a three-way contrast between short, long, and overlong syllables. This contrast is present on both consonants and vowels. In some IPA transcriptions long sounds are marked with a single IPA length marker /ː/ and overlong with two /ːː/, while other transcriptions use half-long /ˑ/ and long /ː/ respectively. Overlong syllables also feature a falling pitch contour, while short and long syllables have a level pitch; however this is not marked.