APPENDIX A
THE PRONUNCIATION OF CZECH WORDS
| a | (unmarked) | like | u | in | hut. | |
| o | “ | “ | o | “ | obey. | |
| u | “ | “ | oo | “ | took. | |
| y | “ | “ | y | “ | tryst. | |
| á | (marked) | “ | a | “ | palm. | |
| í or ý | “ | “ | i | “ | machine. | |
| ú or ů | “ | “ | oo | “ | cool. | |
| ě | “ | “ | ye | “ | yet. | |
| aj | (semidiphtong) like y in my. | |||||
| c | (unmarked) | like | ts | in | its. | |
| č | (marked) | “ | ch | “ | charm. | |
| ̌d | “ | “ | d | “ | verdure. | |
| ň | “ | “ | n | “ | canyon. | |
| š | “ | “ | sh | “ | she. | |
| ť | “ | “ | t | “ | future. | |
| ž | “ | “ | z | “ | azure. | |
| ř | “ | rolled r plus z as in azure. | ||||
| j | (unmarked) | like | y | in | yes. | |
| aj | is a guttural as in Scotch “loch”. | |||||
The suffix -ek gives a diminutive meaning to masculine names, as “Joseph”, Joseph, but “Josífek,” little Joe; Matýs, Matthew, Matýsek, little Matthew. In the same way, -“ka” is a feminine suffix, as in “Barka.”
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