Phonetic Guide
Phonetic Guide Fiji Introduction Fijian uses the Roman alphabet, as do English and most European languages, but some of the letters represent sounds in ways that are unexpected for English speakers. The following letters present no problems, as they represent the same sounds as they do in English spelling: f, h, l, m, n, s, w, and y. The vowels are a little different from English – and how different they are, depends on what kind of English you speak. But if you are a speaker of German, Italian or Spanish, you should have no problems at all, because the five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are pronounced almost exactly the same. The pronunciation is roughly as follows: a as in 'spa' e as in 'pet' i as in 'machine' o as in 'sore' u as in 'too' Two vowels together retain their original pronunciation (unlike in English), so that lai is pronounced like 'lie', cei like 'they', kau like 'cow', and so on. There are some differences in the pronunciation of consonants that English speakers need to bear in mind: b, d have a preceding nasal consonant, so b sounds like 'mb' and d like 'nd' k, p, t are as in English, but without the puff of breath that usually follows. Also, t often sounds like 'ch' before the vowel i, so oti is often pronounced as if it were oji ('ochi'). r is rolled, as in Scottish English, Spanish, etc. v is pronounced by placing the lips together (not with the lower lip against the upper teeth as in English).
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