Help:IPA/Swahili
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Short description: Wikipedia key to pronunciation
 | This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Swahili on Wikipedia. It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Swahili 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 its value without establishing consensus on the talk page first. |
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. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-sw}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.
| Consonants | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | English approximation |
| 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 [uˈhuru] '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 |
| r | rafiki [rɑˈfiki] 'friend'[2] | N. Am. and Australian better, Scots three |
| 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 [suɓulˈxɛri] 'good morning'[1] | Scottish loch |
| z | maziwa [mɑˈziwɑ] 'milk' | zoo |
| Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | English approximation |
| ɑ | baba sw 'father' | father |
| ɛ | ndege sw 'bird' | let |
| i | Kiswahili sw 'Swahili (language)' | meat |
| ɔ | mtoto sw 'child' | off |
| u | uhuru sw 'freedom' | fool |
| ː | kondoo sw 'sheep' | vowel length |
| Suprasegmentals | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Explanation |
| ˈ | safari [sɑˈfɑri] 'journey' | stress[3] |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Only found in loanwords.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Swahili /r/ is either a short trill [r] or more commonly a flap [ɾ] in many areas. The distinction between /l/ and /r/ is a recent one, and many speakers have only a single sound, often an alveolar lateral flap [ɺ]
- ↑ Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable of a word.
Bibliography
- 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
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