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Pronunciation specialities

Main special points / Hlavní rozdíly

The vowels i, í, ě cause a palatalization of the preceding consonant in combinations di, ti, ni, dí, tí, ní, dě, tě, ně (cf. French gn), e.g. divoký (wild).

The letter y is pronounced as i without palatalization. Czech has a similar inventory of vowels (a,e,i,o,u) as Spanish, Italian, or German.

The voiced sounds b,d,ď,g,h,v,z alternate with their unvoiced counterparts p,t,»,k,ch,f,s; the latter are pronounced at the end of word forms, e.g. hrad (castle) is pronounced [hrat];

Among other cases of such devoicing, there is the greeting Nashledanou (See you later), which in Bohemia is pronounced [naschledanou].

Petr Sgall, ©2001


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