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Lesson Transcript

Eric: Welcome back to AfrikaansPod101.com's Pronunciation Series. This is Lesson 5, Pronouncing The Afrikaans Alphabet. In this lesson, we’ll talk about the Afrikaans alphabet. I’m Eric.
Pieter: Hallo my naam is Pieter. I’m Pieter. Often, people start learning a language by learning the alphabet, but we figured a toddler learns how to speak first, and then studies the alphabet.
Eric: Still, you all have been with us for a while now, so it's about time to grow up and learn the alphabet!
Pieter: Obviously, it’s very useful when you know how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet.
Eric: For example, you’ll often be asked to spell your name.
Pieter: Or if you want to learn a new word, and someone tells you how to write it down.
Eric: So that’s why we should definitely study this!
Pieter: There’s gonna be quite a bit of listen and repeat in this lesson.
Eric: So get ready, listeners! Let's start with the vowels. They can be a bit confusing if you’re thinking of English spelling, so let's just say them quickly once first. I’ll say the English letter, and Pieter will say the Afrikaans pronunciation.
Eric: A (English)
Pieter: A (Afrikaans)
Eric: E (English)
Pieter: E (Afrikaans)
Eric: I (English)
Pieter: I (Afrikaans)
Eric: O (English)
Pieter: O (Afrikaans)
Eric: U (English)
Pieter: U (Afrikaans)
Eric: So, the A, E, I can be confusing because in Afrikaans it is
Pieter: A-E-I
Eric: This is just a matter of remembering and trying to think in Afrikaans when you’re spelling. Sometimes I feel like I have two different brains - an English one and an Afrikaans one.
Pieter: (laughs) I see. How do all those brains fit into that little head of yours?!
Eric: Very funny…ok, let’s move on to some consonants. “B, C, D, G, J, P,T, V” in Afrikaans would be:
Pieter: B-C-D-G-J-P-T-V
Eric: right, so you just have to replace the “EE” sound with an ay sound. Once more, please.
Pieter: B-C-D-G-J-P-T-V. Not too hard, right?
Eric: No, I'm with you! Next are “F, L,M,N,R,S”. Note that there will be only one letter that’s different. Pieter?
Pieter: F-L-M-N-R-S
Eric: Listeners, did you notice which one was different? Just to make sure, I’ll say the English one and Pieter will say the Afrikaans. “F”
Pieter: F
Eric: 'L'
Pieter: L
Eric: 'M'
Pieter: M
Eric: 'N'
Pieter: N
Eric: 'R'
Pieter: R……Did you hear it, listeners? The difference was between “AR” and ER.
Eric: We’re making a lot of progress here! Let's have a look at the letters “H” and “K.”
Pieter: H-K
Eric: There is a long A sound after the letter. Once again...
Pieter: H-K
Eric : Okay, now I’m gonna single out some letters. The letter “Q”
Pieter: Q
Eric: We just leave out the Y sound that you hear in English
Pieter: Once more, Q
Eric: Next is the “W”
Pieter: W
Eric: The “W” is different from English. It sounds like you’re giving directions.
Pieter: You have to go via the highway!
Eric : Then the letter “Y”
Pieter: I just realized that sounds like you’re asking a question “Y”
Eric: Well I am asking you to say it in Afrikaans!
Pieter: Y
Eric: Now let's get to a letter we hardly ever see in Afrikaans, the “X”
Pieter: X
Eric: It stays the same
Pieter: X
Eric: And that brings us to the last letter, which is a present for you – the letter Z
Pieter: Z
Eric: Oh, it’s the same as in British-English!
Pieter: Wow, I think that went pretty fast.
Eric: Yeah and just like in English, some of the letters may sound similar when you say them.
Pieter: Like M and N?
Eric: Indeed, it can be hard to tell the difference.
Pieter: Do you have any advice here, teacher Eric?
Eric: Sure! When you spell, use a place or country name everyone knows the spelling of.
Eric: like the M from Moscow
Pieter : Or the S from Suid-Afrika
Eric: that’s how we say “South Africa” in Afrikaans.
Eric: Alright listeners, that’s all for this lesson and this series. Thank you for listening, and we’ll see you in another series.
Pieter: Goeie Dag!

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