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Slovene is a South Slavic language, closely related to Serbian and Croatian, more distantly
related to Polish and Russian.
The alphabet is based on the Roman alphabet. There are no letters "q" "w" "x" or "y".
Slovene has three letters not found in English: c, s, and z,
with a "check" on them, pronounced "ch," "sh," and "zh." Since your browser
probably isn't configured to read these letters, in this website
they are indicated as an
apostrophe after the letter to indicate the "check" that should have been
sitting on top of the letter.
Consonants are generally pronounced as you would expect, with a few minor exceptions:
- "c" is pronounced like "ts."
- "r" is rolled, and may function as a vowel.
- "h" is always pronounced, aspirated a bit if necessary to make it audible.
- "l" and "v" at the end of syllables or before consonants usually sound
like "w." Example: "Prav" ("right") rhymes with the English word "now."
Vowels are pronounced as you would expect for any (non-English) European language, and can be
long, sort, or somewhere in between. You'll just have to listen. You'll also have to listen
to find our what syllable to accent a word on.
Here are some handy phrases you may not find in your Slovene phrase book,
to help you if you meet a guy who doesn't speak English.
I come from America.
Sem iz Amerike
sem iz a-MER-ih-KEH
I am here on vacation.
Sem na poc'itnicah
sem nah po-CHEET-nee-tsah
Slovenia is a beautiful country.
Slovenija je zelo lepa drz'ava.
slo-VEH-nee-ah yeh zeh-lo leh-pa dur-ZHA-va
You are very handsome.
Si zelo simpatic'en
see zeh-lo sim-PAH-tih-chen
What are you drinking?
Kaj pijes'?
ky PEE-yesh
Do you have an apartment we can go to?
Imas' stanovanje?
EE-mahsh stah-no-VAHN-yeh?
Do you want to come back to my hotel?
Greva k meni v hotel?
GREH-va kuh MEH-nee vuh ho-TEL? |