Pronunciation

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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 thorat
  • '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