Pronunciation

In Setswana, the vowels are pronounced as in the following English words:

• 'a' as in 'car'
• 'e' as in 'let'
• 'i' as in 'meet'
• 'o' as in 'go'
• 'u' as in 'school'

There are also a few combinations of consonants which are pronounced very differently from English:

• 'g' = an 'h' sound deep in your throat, like the end of "loch"
• 'kg' = k + an 'h' sound deep in your throat
• 'kh' = k + some air
• 'ph' = p + some air
• 'th' = t + some air (NOT like English "th")
• 'ny' = think of isolating the 'ny' in 'canyon'
• 'tl' = think of isolating the 'tl' in 'Atlanta'
• 'tlh' = 'tl' + some air
• 'ts' - think of isolating the 'ts' in 'itself'
• 'tsh' = 'ts' + some air
• 'nts' = n + 'ts' sound
• 'š' = sh