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Filipino/Pronunciation

From Wikiversity

Filipino has 23 consonants and 5 vowels, and is pronounced much like Spanish:

Vowels

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a - as in father

e - as in echo

i - as in eager

o - as in boy

u - as in zoo

Note: Marks on top of vowels such as the "o" in tatló indicate that that syllable is stressed, although they are rarely used in everyday writing.


Consonants

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b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, ng, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

Most of the consonants are pronounced as in English (with less aspiration on the letters b, d, g, k, p, t) or as in Spanish.

Notes:

  • The letter C, as in English, can be pronounced as a /k/ or an /s/, depending on the word.
  • Ñ is pronounced as /ny/ as in piñata.
  • The single letter Ng is pronounced as the "ng" in singer.
  • The geminate Ll is pronounced as /ly/ as in paleontology.
  • Y can either be pronounced as the regular "y" as in yellow or "ee" as in Yng (a Filipino-Chinese last name).

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