To illustrate the pronunciation of the Latvian sounds
an
approximate English equivalent sound is given in the right
hand column. The scope of this book makes it impossible to
give charts with precise description of the position of the
organs of speech in every instance.
| PrintedWritten | Example | Approximate Pronunciation |
| A a | galds (table) | u in but (open like French 'la') |
| Â â | mâja (house) | a in car |
| B b | balts (white) | b in cab, bad |
| C c | citi (others) | ts in cats |
| È è | èetri ( four) | ch in chain, much |
| Ch ch | ðachs (chess) | ch in Scottish 'loch' |
| D d | diena (day) | d in date, bad |
| Dz dz | dzert (to drink) | ds in buds |
| Dþ dþ | dadþi (thistles) | j in job or g in ginger |
| E e | te (here) | ( 1 ) e in pet, bet(closed -e-) |
| e smu (I am) | ( 2 ) a in patch, bad | |
| Ç ç | çst (to eat) | ( 1 ) a in baby (long closed) |
| tçvs (father) | ( 2 ) a in bare or ea in bear (long open -e-) | |
| F f | fizika (physics) | f in fun, off |
| G g | galds (table) | g in give, beg |
| Ì ì | ìimene ( family) | d in due, dew |
| H h | Holande (Holland) | h in half |
| I i | silts (warm) | i in mitten |
| Î î | îsts (true) | ee in meet or ea in meat |
| J j | jûs (you) | y in yes, year |
| K k | kâja (leg) | k in kitten or c in cat |
| Í í | kaíis (cat) | qu in queue or t in |
| tune | ||
| L l | labs (good) | l in look, small |
| Ï ï | ïaudis (people) | l in lewd |
| M m | mâte (mother) | m in milk, ham |
| N n | nazis (knife) | n in nut, can |
| Ò ò | òemt (to take) | n in new |
| O o | ola (egg) | ( I ) wa in wallet |
| politika (politics) | (2) o in politics | |
| opera (opera) | (3) o (long) in opera | |
| P p | putns (bird) | p in pen, stop |
| R r | roka (arm) | r in rat (rolled and |
| always pronounced) | ||
| ª º | kaºð (war) | rh in rheumatic |
| S s | seja (face) | s in sit, dress |
| Ð ð | ðeit (here) | sh in ship, cash |
| T t | tur (there) | t in tap, cat |
| U u | uguns (fire) | oo in book |
| Û û | ûdens (water) | oo (long) in boot |
| V v | visi (all) | v in van, invite |
| Z z | zeme (earth) | z in zebra |
| Þ þ | daþi (several) | s in pleasure |
Diphthongs:
| ai | bailes (fear) | y in my |
| au | jauks (fine) | ow in how |
| ei | meita (daughter) | ey in prey |
| ie | iet (to go) | ea in ear |
| ui | puika (boy) | like French 'oui' |
| oi | boikots (boycott) | oy in boy |
Latvian, Terçza Budiòa Lazdiòa, 1966