Latvian Pronunciation Guide

By Dick Oakes

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.

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