lesson 0 - sounds

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toki pona has 14 letters in its alphabet:

a e i k j l m n o p s t u w

general guide to pronounciation

vowels

the vowels are similar to spanish or japanese.

a [ä] - like a in father

e [e̞] - like e in let or ten

i [i] - like ee in bee

o [o̞] - like o in cone

u [u] - like oo in soon

(note that the comparisons to english words are approximations and may not be accurate depending on your accent, i recommend going by the IPA symbols for a more accurate idea of the correct pronounciations)

~ consonants

most of the consonants are just like english, except j, which is pronounced like y in english yellow.

~ stress

don't be stressed, you don't have to pronounce the letters exactly as i say, you can pronounce things slightly differently if it feels natural - for example, you could soften your p, t, and k sounds into b, d, and g sounds!

oh and also, you always have to stress the first syllable of every word.

exercises

try to pronounce these words. they should feel familiar to you.

lukin

should sound like lookin'

mani

should sound like money

tenpo

should sound like tempo

jelo

should sound like yellow

mu

should sound like moo

wan

should sound like one

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