Consonants |
The general pronunciation of the consonants in Zarma is given with examples. Bring the cursor to an example and the English translations appears.
Clicking the left mouse button with the cursor on the example activates the sound file. Go back to this page using the return key of your browser (arrow point to the left)
There are two special consonants in Zarma, which are not found either in English or in French, but, which are represented by consonants to which we give another value. The 'c' and 'j' are always before an 'i', never a 'k' or 'g' in government spelling. They are a pair and are formed by the middle of the tongue against the middle of the palate, farther forwards the 'g' of 'k', but not so far forwards as in 't' or 'd'.
For pronunciation of double consonants see here. |
Examples |
| B, b |
K, k |
R, r |
| C, c |
L, l |
S, s |
| D, d |
M, m |
T, t |
| F, f |
N, n |
W, w |
| G, g |
Ŋ, ŋ |
Y, y |
| H, h |
Ɲ, ɲ |
Z, z |
| J, j |
P, p |
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B, b |
| pronunciation as in 'buy' |
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C, c |
| pronunciation is like 'tch' in 'Tchad' without the voice (as are 'k' and 't') |
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D, d |
| pronunciation as in 'do' |
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F, f |
| pronunciation as in 'far' |
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G, g |
pronunciation is hard, as in 'go' or in 'linger'.
It will generally only be found before 'a', 'o', and 'u', never before 'i'. |
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H, h |
| pronunciation as in 'home' |
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J, j |
| pronunciation is like 'dj' in 'Djibouti' or 'Djerma' or a bit like the 'j' in 'jug' and is voiced (as are 'g' and 'd'). |
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K, k |
| pronunciation as in 'kale' |
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L, l |
| pronunciation as in 'long' |
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M, m |
| pronunciation as in 'must' |
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N, n |
pronunciation as in in 'now'.
It is also sometimes a true nasal, as in 'bon' (French).
These instances will be pointed out in the vocabularies.
In addition there is the more common digraph of 'ng' which is pronounced differently. |
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Ŋ, ŋ (Ng, ng) |
pronunciation is like the 'ng' in 'sing'.
When this sound precedes 'a', 'c', 'g', 'j', or 'k', it is written just as 'n'.
In addition there is the more common digraph of 'ng' which is pronounced differently. |
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Ɲ, ɲ (Ny, ny) |
pronunciation is like the 'nj' in the Russian 'njet' (no).
For simplicity reasons this letter is sometimes written as 'ny' |
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P, p |
| pronunciation is explosive, as in 'pay' |
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R, r |
pronunciation is never hard (as in red); it is not trilled either.
It is one flip on the end of the tongue, not quite like 'l'. |
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S, s |
| pronunciation is always soft, as in 'so' |
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T, t |
| pronunciation is sharp, as in 'time' |
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W, w |
| pronunciation is like in 'well' |
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Y, y |
| pronunciation, when a consonant, is like in 'you' |
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Z, z |
| pronunciation as in 'zebra' |
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