Help:IPA/Swahili
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This is an information page. It describes the editing community's established practice on some aspect or aspects of Wikipedia's norms and customs. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Swahili language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. This reflects Standard Swahili, and dialects may have more or fewer phonemes.
English approximations are, in some cases, very loose. They are intended to give only a general idea of the pronunciation.
| Consonants | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Nearest English equivalent |
| ɓ | baba [ˈɓɑɓɑ] 'father' | bill |
| ɗ | dola [ˈɗɔlɑ] 'dollar' | delta |
| ð | dhambi [ˈðɑᵐbi] 'sin, offence'[1] | that |
| ʄ ~ dʒ | maji [ˈmɑʄi ~ ˈmɑdʒi] 'water' | jab |
| f | fisi [ˈfisi] 'hyena' | focus |
| ɠ | gani [ˈɠɑni] 'what, of which' | gag |
| ɣ | ghali [ˈɣɑli] 'expensive'[1] | Scottish loch but voiced |
| h | uhuru [uˈhuɾu] 'freedom' | ahead |
| j | yeye [ˈjɛjɛ] 'he/she' | yellow |
| k | kitabu [kiˈtɑbu] 'book' | scald |
| l | lakini [lɑˈkini] 'but'[2] | lack |
| m | damu [ˈɗɑmu] 'blood' | mocha |
| m̩ | mtoto [m̩ˈtɔtɔ] 'child' | rhythm |
| ᵐb | mbali [ˈᵐbɑli] 'far' | clamber |
| ᶬv | mvinyo [ˈᶬviɲɔ] 'spirits' | Humvee |
| n | nini [ˈnini] 'what' | ninny |
| n̩ | nchi [ˈn̩tʃi] 'country' | even (syllabic nasal) |
| ⁿd | muhindi [muˈhiⁿdi] 'corn, maize' | handy |
| ᵑɡ | ngoma [ˈᵑɡɔmɑ] 'drum' | finger |
| ⁿdʒ | injili [iˈⁿdʒili] 'gospel' | range |
| ⁿz | kwanza [ˈkwɑⁿzɑ] 'to begin' | pansy |
| ɲ | nyoka [ˈɲɔkɑ] 'snake' | canyon |
| ŋ | ng'ombe [ˈŋɔᵐbɛ] 'cow, ox' | sing |
| p | kikapu [kiˈkɑpu] 'basket' | spill |
| ɾ | rafiki [ɾɑˈfiki] 'friend'[2] | robot |
| s | sisi [ˈsisi] 'we' | stole |
| ʃ | shamba [ˈʃɑᵐbɑ] 'farm, field' | shell |
| t | moto [ˈmɔtɔ] 'fire' | stand |
| tʃ | chumba [ˈtʃuᵐbɑ] 'room' | chase |
| θ | thelathini [θɛlɑˈθini] 'thirty'[1] | think |
| v | vitabu [viˈtɑbu] 'books' | vittle |
| w | watu [ˈwɑtu] 'people' | with |
| x | subulkheri [suɓulˈxɛɾi] 'good morning'[1] | Scottish loch |
| z | maziwa [mɑˈziwɑ] 'milk' | zoo |
| Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Nearest English equivalent |
| ɑ | baba [ˈɓɑɓɑ] 'father' | father |
| ɛ | ndege [ˈⁿdɛɠɛ] 'bird' | let |
| i | Kiswahili [kiswɑˈhili] 'Swahili (language)' | meat |
| ɔ | mtoto [m̩ˈtɔtɔ] 'child' | off |
| u | uhuru [uˈhuɾu] 'freedom' | fool |
| Suprasegmentals | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Explanation |
| ˈ | safari [sɑˈfɑɾi] 'journey' | stress[3] |
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d Only found in loanwords.
- ^ a b Swahili [l] and [ɾ] are merged for many speakers as an alveolar lateral flap; /ɺ/
- ^ Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable of a word.
Bibliography[edit]
- Contini-Morava, Ellen (1997), "Swahili phonology", in Kaye, Allen, Phonologies of Asia and Africa, 1, Eisenbrauns, pp. 841–860
- Mohammed, Mohammed Abdullah (2001), Modern Swahili Grammar, Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd., ISBN 9966-46-761-0