Language/Khowar/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
In today's lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Khowar alphabet, how to pronounce these letters whether it is through the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), or through a video with the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker.
You will also find at the end of this lesson a virtual keyboard to be able to type each special character of this language.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Say Hello and Greetings in Khowar.
Alphabet[edit | edit source]
A list of the letters of the Khowar alphabet and their pronunciation is given below.
Letter | Name of letter | Transcription | IPA |
---|---|---|---|
ا | alif | a | /a/ |
ﺁ | alif long | aa | /aa/ |
أ | alif hamza | a | /a/ |
ب | be | b | /b/ |
پ | pe | p | /p/ |
ت | te | t | /t̪/ |
ٹ | ṭe | ṭ | /ʈ/ |
ث | se | s | /s/ |
ج | jīm | j | /d͡ʒ/ |
چ | che | ch | /t͡ʃ/ |
ح | baṛī he | h | /h/ |
خ | khe | kh | /x/ |
څ | tse | ts | /t͡s/ |
ځ | dze | dze | /d͡z/ |
د | dāl | d | /d̪/ |
ڈ | ḍāl | ḍ | /ɖ/ |
ذ | zāl | dh | /z/ |
ر | re | r | /r/ |
ڑ | ṛe | ṛ | /ɽ/ |
ز | ze | z | /z/ |
ژ | zhe | zh | /ʒ/ |
ݬ | zhe | ẓh | /ʐ/ |
س | sīn | s | /s/ |
ش | shīn | sh | /ʃ/ |
ص | su'ād | ṣ | /s/ |
ض | zu'ād | z̤ | /z/ |
ط | to'e | t | /t/ |
ظ | zo'e | ẓ | /z/ |
ع | ‘ain | ' | - |
غ | ghain | gh | /ɣ/ |
ف | fe | f | /f/ |
ق | qāf | q | /q/ |
ك | kāf | k | /k/ |
گ | gāf | g | /ɡ/ |
ل | lām | l | /l/ |
ڵ | lām | l | /l/ |
م | mīm | m | /m/ |
ن | nūn | n | /n/ |
ں | nūn | n | // |
و | vā'o | v, o, or ū | /ʋ/, /oː/, /ɔ/ or /uː/ |
ؤ | vā'o hamza | v, o, or ū | /ʋ/ |
ۇ | vā'o pesh | v, o, or ū | /ʋ/ |
ه | choṭī he | h | /h/ |
ة | choṭī he with te | h | /h/ |
ھ | do chashmī he | h | /ʰ/ |
ء | hamza | ' | /ʔ/ |
ي | ye | y, i | /j/ or /iː/ |
ئ | ye hamza | y, i | /j/ or /iː/ |
ى | khowar ye | y, i | /j/ or /iː/ |
ے | bari ye | ai or e | /ɛː/, or /eː/ |
ۓ | ye hamza | y, i | /j/ or /iː/ |
Vowels[edit | edit source]
Vowels in Khowar are represented by letters that are also considered consonants. Many vowel sounds can be represented by one letter.
Here is a list of Khowar vowels:
Romanization | Pronunciation |
---|---|
a | /ə/ |
ā | /ɑː/ |
i | /ɪ/ |
ī | /iː/ |
u | /ʊ/ |
ū | /uː/ |
e | /eː/ |
ai | /ɛ/ |
o | /oː/ |
au | /ɔ/ |
Short vowels[edit | edit source]
Short vowels ("a", "i", "u") are represented by marks above and below a consonant.
Vowel | Name | Transcription | IPA |
---|---|---|---|
بَ | zabar | ba | /ə/ |
بِ | zer | bi | /ɪ/ |
بُ | pesh | bu | /ʊ/ |
Consonants[edit | edit source]
Labial | Coronal | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Post-
velar |
Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ||||||
Stop | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | k | q | ||
voiced | b | d | ɖ | g | ||||
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | kʰ | ||||
Affricate | voiceless | ts | ʈʂ | tɕ | ||||
voiced | dz | ɖʐ | dʑ | |||||
aspirated | tsʰ | ʈʂʰ | tɕʰ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʂ | ɕ | x | h | |
voiced | z | ʐ | ʑ | ɣ | ||||
Approximant | ʋ | l(ʲ) ɫ | j | (w) | ||||
Rhotic | ɾ |
Retroflex letters[edit | edit source]
Retroflex consonants were not present in the Persian alphabet, and therefore had to be created specifically for Khowar.
Letter | Name | IPA |
---|---|---|
ٹ | ṭe | [ʈ] |
ڈ | ḍāl | [ɖ] |
ڑ | aṛ | [ɽ] |
Do chashmī he[edit | edit source]
The letter do chashmī he (ھ) is used in native Hindustānī words, for aspiration and breathy voice.
Transcription | IPA | |
---|---|---|
بھ | bhe | [bʱ ː] |
پھ | phe | [pʰ ː] |
تھ | the | [t̪ʰ ː] |
ٹھ | ṭhe | [ʈʰ ː] |
جھ | jhe | [d͡ʒʱeː] |
چھ | che | [t͡ʃʰeː] |
دھ | dhe | [dʱ ː] |
ڈھ | ḍhe | [ɖʱ ː] |
ڑھ | ṛhe | [ɽʱeː] |
کھ | khe | [kʰeː] |
گھ | ghe | [ɡʱeː] |
Video - Khowar Alphabet Pronunciation by a Native Speaker[edit | edit source]
Khowar Online Virtual Keyboard[edit | edit source]