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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Latvian |
A a, Ā ā, B b, C c, Č č, D d, Dz Dz, Dž dž, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, Ģ ģ,
H h, I i, Ī ī, J j, K k, Ķ ķ, L l, Ļ ļ, M m, N n, Ņ ņ, O o, P p,
R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, Ū ū, V v,
Z z, Ž ž
Latvian is a Baltic language and is spoken by nearly 1.5 million people. It is related to Lithuanian and Old Prussian.
Stress is (almost) always on the first syllable.
A macron over the vowels a, e, i, and u signifies a long vowel (ā, ē, ī, and ū).
A caron over the c, s, and z signifies palatalization (č, š, and ž).
A sedilla under or over some consonants signifies a "palatal" variant (ģ, ķ, ļ, and ņ).
Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.
| A, a | - a as in about |
| E, e | - e as in let; e as in grey |
| I, i | - i as in pin |
| O, o | - o as in corn |
| U, u | - u as in put |
| Ā, ā | - a as in car |
| Ä, ä | - ai as in air; a as in hat |
| Ē, ē | - i as in machine |
| Ī, ī | - oo as in soon |
| Ū, ū | - i as in girl |
| C, c | - ts as in coats |
| Č č | - ch as in check |
| Dz, dz | - ds as in boards |
| Dž, dž | - j as in jump |
| Ģ, ģ | - d as in down |
| J, j | - y as in yes |
| Ķ, ķ | - t as in tune |
| Ļ, ļ | - li as in million |
| Ņ, ņ | - n as in never |
| R, r | - slightly rolled |
| Š, š | - s as in sugar |
| Ž, ž | - s as in stamp |
| Ž, ž | - z as in azure |
| DIPTHONGS: | |
| Ai, ai | - i as in fine |
| Au, au | - ow as in cow |
| Ei, ei | - ey as in prey |
| Ie, ie | - ea as in dear |
| Ou, ou | - wa as in wallet |