Wikipedia:IPA for Estonian and Finnish

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Estonian and Finnish pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. See Finnish phonology and Estonian language for a more thorough look at the sounds of these languages.


IPA Examples English approximation
Consonants
d Finnish ladot ladder
h hevonen horse
j joulu yoyo
k kala scold
l laulu lack
lʲ[1] Estonian only leep
m metsä mocha
n nenä nanny
nʲ[1] Estonian only new
p puu spill
r rauta rolled r
s sinä sole
sʲ[1] Estonian only super (some dialects)
t tina stand
tʲ[1] Estonian only tune
ʋ viha Between v and w
Stress
ˈ hevonen (placed on the first syllable)
IPA Examples English approximation
Vowels
ɑ pouta Same as but shorter than a in father
ɑː poutaa father
æ pöytä cat
æː päivää mad
e[2] tere let
eː[2] eesti émigré
i klid kid
iː siika see
o[2] oksa chore
oː[2] koostaa No English equivalent, similar to French bureau
ø[2] pöytä Similar to RP word or bird,
Swedish öl,
øː[2] säröön Similar to RP bird,
German schön
ɤ Estonian only: õlu Similar to (oʊ) in Estonia, code, boat, goal, bone, go
ɤː Estonian only: õõnsus Same as above but longer
u surma wood
uː suu coop
y Finnish kesy
Estonian küla 		No English equivalent; similar to French tu, German füllen
yː Finnish ryyppy
Estonian rüüpa 		No English equivalent; similar to French Lune, German führen

Finnish diphthongs

ai, au, äi, äy, ei, eu, oi, ou, öi, öy, ui, yi, iu, ie, uo, yö, (ey), (iy).

Estonian diphthongs

ae, ai, ao, au, äe, äi, äo, äu, ea, ei, eo, iu, oa, oe, oi, ou, õa, õe, õi, õo, õu, öa, öe, öi, ui, üi.

Notes and References

  1. ^ a b c d In Estonian, the palatalized consonants, /tʲ nʲ sʲ lʲ/ are pronounced like their non-palatalized counterparts, but with constriction of the tongue towards the hard palate, as if pronouncing a simultaneous /j/.
  2. ^ a b c d e f The open-mid vowels [ɛ œ ɔ] may also be seen for /e ø o/.

See also