Appendix:Haitian Creole pronunciation
This appendix lists how the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) corresponds to Haitian Creole pronunciation in Wiktionary entries. See also Category:Lingua Libre pronunciation-hat.
Vowels
editIPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/a/ | a (or à before an n) | abako, pàn | bra | |
/e/ | e | ale | hey | |
/ɛ/ | è | fèt | festival | |
/i/ | i | lide | machine | |
/o/ | o | zwazo | blow | |
/ɔ/ | ò | deyò | sort | |
/u/ | ou | nou | you |
Nasal vowels
editAll nasal vowels, when before a voiced stop consonant, are inserted with a homorganic nasal (andan /ɑ̃dɑ̃/ [ɑ̃ndɑ̃]).
IPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/ã/ | an (when not followed by a vowel) | anpil | ||
/ɛ̃/ | en (when not followed by a vowel) | mwen | ||
/õ/ | on (when not followed by a vowel) | tonton |
Consonants
editIPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/b/ | b | bagay | bow | |
/ʃ/ | ch | cho | shoe | |
/d/ | d | dous | do | Affricated to /dz/ before /i/ or /j/. |
/f/ | f | fig | festival | |
/g/ replace g with ɡ, invalid IPA characters (g) | g | gòch | gain | |
/h/ | h | hèn | hotel | |
/ʒ/ | j | jedi | measure | |
/k/ | k | kle | sky | |
/l/ | l | liv | clean | |
/m/ | m | machin | mother | |
/n/ | n | nòt | note | |
/ŋ/ | ng | bilding | feelingng | |
/p/ | p | pase | spy | |
/ɣ/ | r | rezon | between go and loch | Varies between /ɰ/ ~ /ɣ/ ~ /ʁ/ ~ /r/ ~ /l/ (least common). Merged with /w/ before /u/, e.g. rouj. |
/s/ | s | sis | six | |
/t/ | t | tout | to | Affricated to /ts/ before /i/ or /j/. |
/v/ | v | vyann | vent | |
/z/ | z | zewo | zero |
Non-native consonants
editIPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/dʒ/ | dj | djaz | jazz |
Semivowels
editIPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/w/ | w | wi | we | |
/j/ | y | pye | yes |
Semivowel followed by vowel (digraph)
editIPA | Haitian Creole | Example | English approximation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
/ɥi/ | ui | uit | roughly like sweet | Only exists in this word. All other instances become /wi/ instead (nwit ← French nuit, fwi ← French fruit). |
Phonological changes
editFrench | Haitian Creole |
---|---|
/y/ | /i/ |
/ø/, /ə/ | /e/ |
/œ/ | /ɛ/ |
/o/ in a closed syllable |
/ɔ/ |
Final /ʁ/ | ∅ |