A Czech Phonetic Reader/The Czech phonemes
THE CZECH PHONEMES.
5. Spoken Czech consists of thirty essential phonemes. They are represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by the following letters: p, b, t, d, c, ɟ, k, g, ʦ, ʧ, m, n, ɲ, l, r, ř, f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, x, ɦ, j, i, ɛ, a, ɔ, u.
6. Some of these phonemes have subsidiary members as well as their principal members. It has been thought desirable for the purposes of this book to represent certain of these subsidiary sounds by separate symbols, namely, ʣ, ʤ, which belong to the ʦ and ʧ phonemes respectively, ŋ which belongs to the n phoneme, ř̥ which belongs to the ř phoneme, and ǥ which belongs to the x phoneme. For the use of these subsidiary members, see § 39 on Assimilation, and the paragraphs describing the principal members of the phonemes.
7. The glottal stop is not an essential phoneme of the language, but it has been thought desirable to insert the symbol for it (ʔ) in those cases where it might commonly be heard.
FORMATION OF CZECH SOUNDS.
8. Rough indications of the values of Czech sounds are given in the form of tables, with the addition of supplementary descriptive details.
Table I.
Chart of Czech Sounds
| Bi- labial. |
Labio- dental. |
Dental. | Alveolar. | Palatal. | Velar. | Glottal. | |||||||||
| CConsonants. | Plosive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
p | b | . . . | t | d | . . . | c | ɟ | k | g | (ʔ) | |||
Affricate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | . . . | ʦ | (ʣ) | ʧ | (ʤ) | . . . | . . . | . . . | ||||||
Nasal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
m | . . . | . . . | n | ɲ | (ŋ) | . . . | ||||||||
Lateral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | . . . | . . . | l | . . . | . . . | . . . | ||||||||
Rolled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | . . . | . . . | r | . . . | . . . | . . . | ||||||||
Rolled-fricative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | . . . | . . . | (ř̥) | ř | . . . | . . . | . . . | |||||||
Fricative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | f | v | s | z | ʃ | ʒ | . . . | x | (ǥ) | ɦ | ||||
Semi-vowel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | j | . . . | . . . | ||||||||
| VVowels. | Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
i | u | ||||||||||||
| (eː) | (oː) | ||||||||||||||
Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
ɛ | ɔ | |||||||||||||
| a | |||||||||||||||
Note.—Consonants enclosed in brackets occur only as subsidiary members of phonemes.
Table II.
Tongue Positions of Czech Vowels.
Cardinal vowels, black.
Czech vowels, red.
[Note.—The Cardinal vowels are certain vowel-sounds which have fixed tongue-positions and known acoustic qualities. The tongue-positions are described in books on phonetics. The acoustic qualities have been recorded on gramophone records.[1] To learn the Cardinal vowels requires oral instruction from a teacher who knows them. A similar diagram for English vowels will be found at the beginning of D. Jones’s English Pronouncing Dictionary.[2]
DESCRIPTION OF CZECH SOUNDS.
1. Consonants.
9. Voiced consonants are fully voiced and thus differ from English voiced consonants in initial and final positions, where, in the pronunciation of many speakers, they are partially devoiced. p, t, k are pronounced without aspiration as in French.
10. t. True dental, not an alveolar sound like English t. d may be alveolar.
11. c, ɟ. Palatal plosives, articulated by the “front” of the tongue against the hard palate, the tip of the tongue being kept down near the lower teeth. Owing to the manner of formation, a j-glide is necessarily present in passing from c and ɟ to any vowel. The presence of this glide gives the sounds some resemblance to the groups kj, gj, but the correct pronunciation is not identical with that of these groups, being nearer to palatalized t, d (as in Russian).
12. ʔ Glottal stop. Occurs as a rule only before initial vowels after a pause. Used chiefly in reading aloud and declamatory style, for emphasis. In popular speech, to avoid a hiatus, “liaison” is used, the consonant v being inserted: e.g. do oka becomes dɔ vɔka.
13. ʦ, ʧ. Affricate sounds. The affricates ʦ, ʧ must be carefully distinguished from t+s, t+ʃ. The latter groups frequently occur in compound words, and when one word ends with the plosive element and the next word begins with the fricative element. Such distinction is significant: e.g. pɔʧaːtkɛm (at the beginning), pɔt ʃaːtkɛm (under a handkerchief), praːʦɛ (work), praːt sɛ (to fight). The voiced affricates ʣ and ʤ are subsidiary members of the ʦ and ʧ phonemes, and occur only by assimilation.
14. m, n. As in English.
15. ɲ. Palatal nasal consonant, articulated by the front of the tongue against the hard palate, the tip of the tongue being kept down near the lower teeth. Owing to its manner of formation, a j-glide is necessarily present in passing from ɲ to any vowel (cf. § 11, c and ɟ). The presence of this glide gives the sound some resemblance to the group nj (as in the English onion), but it is not identical with this. Cf. the French gn, as in montagne.
16. ŋ. The English sound of ng as in long. This is a subsidiary member of the n-phoneme and occurs by assimilation when n is followed in the same word by k or g (see § 27).
17. l. With "clear resonance as in French or German. “Dark” l, with resonance as in the English people is heard only in Moravian and Slovak dialects.
18. r. Alveolar and strongly trilled. Formed by vibrations of the tongue-tip against the teeth ridge (as in Oriental languages).
19. ř̥, ř. Formed by a simultaneous production of rolled r̥, r and a sibilant resembling the English s, z. The vibration of the tongue-tip is very rapid; the angle of the jaw is less and the teeth are set nearer together than in the production of r. The breathed sound ř̥ is a subsidiary member of the ř-phoneme, and occurs only by assimilation, e.g. tř̥i, cf. the English tree. The Slovaks do not possess ř, ř̥ but use r instead.
20. f, v. As in English, but f occurs only by assimilation with neighbouring breathed sounds or finally, and in foreign words.
21. s, z. Articulated nearer the teeth than in English.
22. ʃ, ʒ. Similar to the English sounds in show and measure.
23. x, ǥ. Fricative sounds articulated with the back of the tongue raised towards the soft palate. The friction is not very strong. ǥ is a subsidiary member of the x-phoneme and occurs only by assimilation when x is followed by a voiced plosive.
24. ɦ. A strongly voiced h sound. As h in the English word inherent, when said quickly.
25. j. The English sound of y in yes.
OTHER DETAILS WITH REGARD TO CZECH CONSONANTS.
26. It is convenient to divide all Czech consonants into “pair” consonants, such as t-d, k-g, s-z, and “single” consonants, which exist only in the voiced form; these latter are r, l, m, n, ɲ, ŋ, j. The first four of the “single” consonants can be syllabic (but only if preceded by a consonant and followed by another, or at the end of a word, e.g. pr̩st, obr̩, pl̩nɔ, ɔsm̩, cf. English people piːpl̩).
27. Of the “single” consonants ŋ never occurs at the end of a word, even when the following word begins with k or g, e.g. sponka = spɔŋka, but on káže = ɔn kaːʒɛ, etc.j never occurs at the end of a word or before a consonant; the semi-vowel ĭ is substituted for it in contractions such as baːjɛ, which is shortened into baːĭ.
28. The written d, g, z, etc., are pronounced as voiceless sounds in ordinary pronunciation before a pause or before another “single” consonant at the beginning of a following word, e.g. mám hlad = maːm ɦlat; hlad je zlý = ɦlat jɛ zliː, etc. In similar positions, the written h is pronounced as the velar fricative x, e.g. Bůh = buːx.
29. In inflected forms of such words, when a vowel suffix follows, the voiced sound is used, e.g. nom. sing., ɦlat, paːf, dlux; other cases, ɦladu, paːva, dluɦi.
30. A very large number of combinations of two or three consonants can occur in the language. The following facts, however, should be noted:—
(a) There is a general tendency to have syllables open, e.g. tɛ | pliː, dɔ | břɛ, ro | dniː, sta | tniː, praː | vjɛ, etc., even when this arrangement does not correspond to conventional word division or etymology.
(b) The affricates ʦ, ʧ are considered as single sounds, consequently their two elements cannot be divided between neighbouring syllables.
(c) When t or d precedes the affricate it is treated in three ways according to the style of pronunciation: e.g. prudce = prut-ʦɛ in declamatory style, prutʦe (with a prolonged occlusion) in careful reading, and pruʦɛ in ordinary conversation.
(d) In certain groups of two, and all groups of three or more consonants, the syllable division comes after the first consonant: e.g. vɛŋ | ku, zɛm | skiː, ʃkɔl | stviː.
(e) Consonants which are written double in ordinary orthography, are pronounced as single long consonants nɛklam:ɛsɛ, in careful speech: e.g. neklamme se = nɛklamːɛsɛ, vůz sena = vuːsːɛna, nad domem = nadːɔmɛm. But in popular speech a short consonant only is pronounced, if it does not interfere with the sense e.g. vyšší = viʃiː, bez sebe = bɛsɛbɛ, oddaný = ɔdaniː. When one consonant ends a word, and the same consonant begins the next word, both are shown in the transcriptions, but it must be remembered that they are generally reduced to single consonants, as in the above examples.
(f) In groups of a plosive followed by a nasal or lateral consonant, articulated at the same place, the plosive, in conversational style, is not exploded in the normal way, but nasally or laterally: e.g. putna, sɛdnu, kupmɛ, obmɲɛna, mɛtla, sɛdlɔ (cf. English sʌdn, litl, etc.). But where groups of plosive and nasal consonants, or two plosives of different articulation occur, the first one has its normal plosion: e.g. t-ma, p-taːk, k-tɔmu; this is unlike English usage (cf. ækt, dɔktə, etc.).
2. Vowels.
31. There are two varieties of i in Czech: the long iː has a higher tongue-position than the short i; every i has a higher tongue-position after the palatal consonants c, ɟ, ɲ, j, and a lower position after t, d, ʦ, ʧ, n, ř, ř̥, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, x, ɦ. The difference, however, is not sufficiently marked to require separate symbols to indicate it in practical transcriptions. The short e exists in some dialects of Moravia; eː is often heard instead of ɛː in oratorical style; oː exists only in the interjection “oh!” and in foreign words; o in the diphthong oŭ. The vowel a used in these texts represents a sound nearly halfway between cardinal a and ɑ; when long it resembles the French ɑ.
3. Diphthongs.
32. The diphthongs oŭ, aĭ, ɛĭ, ɔĭ occur frequently in Czech, uːĭ and aːĭ rarely; aŭ, eŭ only in foreign words and in dialects. The second element in each is closer than in German or English.
Stress.
33. Stressed syllables are not so strongly accented as in German, Russian, or Magyar.
34. The first syllable of every long word, or the initial syllable of a sense group is generally the most stressed. The first syllable of a sense group is generally a preposition before a noun or adjective, and the pronunciation of the group does not differ from that of a compound noun or adjective beginning with the corresponding prefix, e.g. bez ceny = ´bɛsʦɛni (without worth), pronounced as bezcenný = ´besʦɛniː (worthless), ´dɔ praɦi (to Prague) pronounced with the same stress as ´dɔjɛdu (I shall drive to).
35. All other monosyllabic formal words are unstressed before or after a longer word; these are the so-called proclita or enclita, e.g. jak ´praviːm, a´takɛː jen ´daːlɛ, ´bɔjiːm sɛ . . .
36. If two or more monosyllabic words follow each other, one of them is stressed, e.g. ´jak sɛ´praviː, ´a tag ´daːlɛ, a ´tak sɛ ´stalɔ.
37. The negative nɛ is always stressed and combined as prefix with the noun, adjective, or verb forms, e.g. noun, nɛpř̥iːtɛl; adj., nɛpřaːtɛlskiː; adv., nɛpřaːtɛlski; verb, pres., nɛbɛru; fut., nɛbudu; inf., nɛbiːci; pres. sing. 1st pers., nɛĭsɛm; 2nd pers., nɛĭsi; 3rd pers., nɛɲiː, etc.
38. Secondary stress is marked in the Reader (by the sign ˌ placed before the syllable), because expressions of more than three syllables may have this secondary stress either on the third or fourth syllable. Primary stress is marked only when its use does not follow one of the above rules.
Assimilation.
39. Assimilation plays an important part in Czech pronunciation. To understand its use we must bear in mind the division of Czech consonants into “pair” consonants and “single” consonants (see § 26).
40. When two or more of the “pair” consonants come together they are either all voiced or all voiceless; this assimilation is ordinarily determined by the last consonant, i.e. it is regressive, e.g. leckdy = lɛʣgdi, vztáhl = fstaːɦl̩, omluv to = ɔmluf tɔ, etc. It is to be noticed that v has not this influence on the preceding consonant, e.g. tvá = tvaː, svatý = svatiː. But v itself is subject to assimilation and f is substituted for it before voiceless consonants (see the example above).
41. The “single” consonants do not exercise this power of assimilation on preceding or following voiceless consonants, e.g. slaːva, ɔknɔ, tma, etc.
42. When t, d, or n is followed by a palatal consonant, e.g. tɲ, dɲ, nc, nɟ, the first is palatalized, hence a narrow transcription would be, e.g. letní = lɛƫɲi, dni = ᶁɲi, puntík = puᶇciːk, anděl = aᶇɟɛl. This transcription has not been used in the Reader, because these palatalized consonants are only subsidiary members of the t, d and n phonemes; moreover the palatalization is not very strong, and in declamatory style this pronunciation is not used.
43. Another very common and characteristic case of change of voiced consonants into voiceless has been mentioned in § 29.