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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Latvian |
A a, Ā ā, B b, C c, Č č, D d, Dz Dz, Dž dž, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, Ģ ģ,
H h, I i, Ī ī, J j, K k, Ķ ķ, L l, Ļ ļ, M m, N n, Ņ ņ, O o, P p,
R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, Ū ū, V v,
Z z, Ž ž
Latvian is a Baltic language and is spoken by nearly 1.5 million people. It is related to Lithuanian and Old Prussian. There are 34 letters in the Latvian language.
Stress is (almost) always on the first syllable.
A macron over the vowels a, e, i, and u signifies a long vowel (ā, ē, ī, and ū).
A caron over the c, s, and z signifies palatalization (č, š, and ž).
A sedilla under or over some consonants signifies a "palatal" variant (ģ, ķ, ļ, and ņ).
Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.
| A, a | - a as in about |
| E, e | - e as in let; e as in grey |
| I, i | - i as in pin |
| O, o | - o as in corn |
| U, u | - u as in put |
| Ā, ā | - a as in car |
| Ä, ä | - ai as in air; a as in hat |
| Ē, ē | - i as in machine |
| Ī, ī | - oo as in soon |
| Ū, ū | - i as in girl |
| C, c | - ts as in coats |
| Č č | - ch as in check |
| Dz, dz | - ds as in boards |
| Dž, dž | - j as in jump |
| Ģ, ģ | - d as in down |
| J, j | - y as in yes |
| Ķ, ķ | - t as in tune |
| Ļ, ļ | - li as in million |
| Ņ, ņ | - n as in never |
| R, r | - slightly rolled |
| Š, š | - s as in sugar |
| Ž, ž | - s as in stamp |
| Ž, ž | - z as in azure |
| DIPTHONGS: | |
| Ai, ai | - i as in fine |
| Au, au | - ow as in cow |
| Ei, ei | - ey as in prey |
| Ie, ie | - ea as in dear |
| Ou, ou | - wa as in wallet |