(Alphabet lesson 5)
There are 2 letters that are pronounced 'kh' in Pashto. Remember that 'kh' is like a strong Spanish 'j' or like the German 'ch'. Those letters are خ and ښ (in the eastern dialect)
There's a difference, though.
خ is stronger, formed in the throat. It's the sound made when you have mucus in your throat and are trying to spit it out
ښ is softer, formed mid-mouth. It can sometimes be confused with an 'h'
Showing posts with label alphabet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alphabet. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
The two main pronunciations
(Alphabet lesson 5)
There are 2 main pronunciation groups in Afghanistan, southern and eastern, and you can tell which is which through 2 letters: ږ (g/zh) and ښ (sh/kh)
In the south, the ږ is pronounced 'zh' and the ښ is pronounced 'sh'
In the east, the ږ is pronounced 'g' and the ښ is pronounced 'kh'
There are 2 main pronunciation groups in Afghanistan, southern and eastern, and you can tell which is which through 2 letters: ږ (g/zh) and ښ (sh/kh)
In the south, the ږ is pronounced 'zh' and the ښ is pronounced 'sh'
In the east, the ږ is pronounced 'g' and the ښ is pronounced 'kh'
Why so many letters?
(This is lesson 4 of the alphabet)
You may have noticed that there are 3 letters which represent the 's' sound, 3 letters for 't', and 5 letters for 'z'
And you gotta ask, why so many letters? The short answer is that Pashto is f**ked up. Why it still exists, no one knows. Regional dialects can vary from valley to valley (and there are a lot of them, as Afghanistan is very mountainous), and even from village to village. It got so bad at one point that sometimes a person from one valley couldn't understand a person from the next. However, the advent of TV has universalized things somewhat, though different parts of the country pronounce things differently and people still have trouble understanding each other. No wonder they've been fighting each other for thousands of years (when they weren't fighting off invaders).
But the real reason is that, since the Pashto alphabet is derived from Arabic, and Pashto uses a lot of Arabic words, especially when it comes to religious topics or higher education, they decided to keep them. This is what Wikipedia has to say on the topic:
"Ten of the letters, ق ف ع ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث, appear only in loanwords which are mostly of Arabic origin. Eight of them, ع ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث, represent no additional phonemes of Pashto, and their pronunciation merges with other phonemes"
Basically, the pronunciation of those letters in Pashto isn't the correct Arabic pronunciation - for example, the letter ث in Arabic is actually pronounced 'th' as in 'tooth', but Pashto pronounces it 's'.
You may have noticed that there are 3 letters which represent the 's' sound, 3 letters for 't', and 5 letters for 'z'
And you gotta ask, why so many letters? The short answer is that Pashto is f**ked up. Why it still exists, no one knows. Regional dialects can vary from valley to valley (and there are a lot of them, as Afghanistan is very mountainous), and even from village to village. It got so bad at one point that sometimes a person from one valley couldn't understand a person from the next. However, the advent of TV has universalized things somewhat, though different parts of the country pronounce things differently and people still have trouble understanding each other. No wonder they've been fighting each other for thousands of years (when they weren't fighting off invaders).
But the real reason is that, since the Pashto alphabet is derived from Arabic, and Pashto uses a lot of Arabic words, especially when it comes to religious topics or higher education, they decided to keep them. This is what Wikipedia has to say on the topic:
"Ten of the letters, ق ف ع ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث, appear only in loanwords which are mostly of Arabic origin. Eight of them, ع ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث, represent no additional phonemes of Pashto, and their pronunciation merges with other phonemes"
Basically, the pronunciation of those letters in Pashto isn't the correct Arabic pronunciation - for example, the letter ث in Arabic is actually pronounced 'th' as in 'tooth', but Pashto pronounces it 's'.
The letters that don't connect
(This is lesson 3 of the alphabet)
Arabic script (and as a result, so is Pashto, since it's derived from the Arabic script) is generally flowing and connected. When letters are at the end of a word, they look like what you see in the alphabet. However, many letters change their appearance when they're in the middle or beginning of a word.
For example, if you form the word 'system' (phonetically), you'd use the letters س س ټ م (remember to read from right to left)
Putting them together results in سسټم
As you can see, there are no breaks in the middle of the word. However, there are certain letters which do not connect to the next letter (on the left).
Those letters are: ا د ډ ر ړ ز ذ ږ ژ و
So if you were to write the word horse (aas), it would be آس. Notice the letters aren't connected
Another example is the word food (doday): ډوډۍ. Notice that since the first 3 letters are in the non-connecting group, they aren't connected with the next letter (on their left).
Here's a final example: مراسم (murasem), which means customs.
Arabic script (and as a result, so is Pashto, since it's derived from the Arabic script) is generally flowing and connected. When letters are at the end of a word, they look like what you see in the alphabet. However, many letters change their appearance when they're in the middle or beginning of a word.
For example, if you form the word 'system' (phonetically), you'd use the letters س س ټ م (remember to read from right to left)
Putting them together results in سسټم
As you can see, there are no breaks in the middle of the word. However, there are certain letters which do not connect to the next letter (on the left).
Those letters are: ا د ډ ر ړ ز ذ ږ ژ و
So if you were to write the word horse (aas), it would be آس. Notice the letters aren't connected
Another example is the word food (doday): ډوډۍ. Notice that since the first 3 letters are in the non-connecting group, they aren't connected with the next letter (on their left).
Here's a final example: مراسم (murasem), which means customs.
The yays
(This is lesson 2 of the alphabet)
The last 5 letters in Pashto are vowels, and are variations of the same letter, though used in different ways:
ي klaka ye (hard yay) is pronounced y or i
ې pasta ye (soft yay) is pronounced eh
ى narrina ye (masculine yay) is pronounced ay, ei or y
ۍ shadzina ye (feminine yay) is pronounced '^i' (^ is like the 'u' in sun), so kind of like 'uh-ee'
ئ failiya ye (verbal ye) is pronounced same as the feminine ye
When in doubt, you can always just use the simplest, the ى. Most Pashtuns are barely literate, so they won't know the difference.
The last 5 letters in Pashto are vowels, and are variations of the same letter, though used in different ways:
ي klaka ye (hard yay) is pronounced y or i
ې pasta ye (soft yay) is pronounced eh
ى narrina ye (masculine yay) is pronounced ay, ei or y
ۍ shadzina ye (feminine yay) is pronounced '^i' (^ is like the 'u' in sun), so kind of like 'uh-ee'
ئ failiya ye (verbal ye) is pronounced same as the feminine ye
When in doubt, you can always just use the simplest, the ى. Most Pashtuns are barely literate, so they won't know the difference.
Pashto Alphabet
Written Pashto is essentially Arabic, with a few extra letters thrown in, mostly variations of existing ones. Like Arabic, it is written from right to left. Here are the letters and how you say the name of the letter, with the sound of the letter below it.
ا ب پ ت ټ ث
seh tteh teh peh beh alef
s t* t p b a, i, e, o, u
generally, it's pronounced like a long 'a'
or like the 'o' in 'dog'
ج ځ چ څ ح خ
kheh heh tseh cheh dzeh jeem
kh* h ts ch dz j
د ډ ذ ر ړ ز ژ ږ
geh/zheh* zheh zeh rreh* ray zal ddal dal
g/zh zh z r/l r z d* d
س ش ښ ص ض ط ظ
zoy toy zwad swat shin/khin shin sin
z t z s sh/kh* sh s
ع غ ف ق ک ګ
gof koff qoff* fay ghain 'ain
g k q* f gh glottal stop
ل م ن ڼ و ه
hay wow nnoon noon meem lam
h/a u/o nn n m l
ي ې ى ۍ ئ
yay (Read about them here)
i/e
*Notes:
- The little circle under the ټ ړ ڼ ډ is called a pandak, and it's basically the same letter, except your tongue curls back to the roof of your mouth instead of the base of your teeth. It's hard to explain in writing.
- The 'kh' sound is like a hard spanish 'J' or like the 'ch' in German or Scottish
- The 'gh' is like the French 'r' (formed in the back of the throat)
- The glottal stop mentioned under ع is also hard to explain. The best equivalent would be an a'a. For example, the word فعال (active) would be written fa'al. It's as if the word were broken into 2 words, fa and al.
- The ک (k) and ق (q) are hard for beginners to differentiate, and many uneducated Pashtuns also pronounce them both like a 'k'. However, the 'q' sound is formed in the throat, kind of like the sound someone makes when they're choking
In case you wanted a more in depth introduction, visit the Wikipedia page on the topic
ا ب پ ت ټ ث
seh tteh teh peh beh alef
s t* t p b a, i, e, o, u
generally, it's pronounced like a long 'a'
or like the 'o' in 'dog'
ج ځ چ څ ح خ
kheh heh tseh cheh dzeh jeem
kh* h ts ch dz j
د ډ ذ ر ړ ز ژ ږ
geh/zheh* zheh zeh rreh* ray zal ddal dal
g/zh zh z r/l r z d* d
س ش ښ ص ض ط ظ
zoy toy zwad swat shin/khin shin sin
z t z s sh/kh* sh s
ع غ ف ق ک ګ
gof koff qoff* fay ghain 'ain
g k q* f gh glottal stop
ل م ن ڼ و ه
hay wow nnoon noon meem lam
h/a u/o nn n m l
ي ې ى ۍ ئ
yay (Read about them here)
i/e
*Notes:
- The little circle under the ټ ړ ڼ ډ is called a pandak, and it's basically the same letter, except your tongue curls back to the roof of your mouth instead of the base of your teeth. It's hard to explain in writing.
- The 'kh' sound is like a hard spanish 'J' or like the 'ch' in German or Scottish
- The 'gh' is like the French 'r' (formed in the back of the throat)
- The glottal stop mentioned under ع is also hard to explain. The best equivalent would be an a'a. For example, the word فعال (active) would be written fa'al. It's as if the word were broken into 2 words, fa and al.
- The ک (k) and ق (q) are hard for beginners to differentiate, and many uneducated Pashtuns also pronounce them both like a 'k'. However, the 'q' sound is formed in the throat, kind of like the sound someone makes when they're choking
In case you wanted a more in depth introduction, visit the Wikipedia page on the topic
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)