Kaszëbsczé Abecadło- Kashubian Alphabet
a- IPA [a], like the “a” in English “father” or Polish “jak”
ã- IPA [ã], like “a” but nasalised
ą- IPA [õ], like the “oa” in English “loan,” but nasalised. Identical to Polish “ą”
b- IPA [b], like in English/Polish
c- IPA [ts], like the “ts” in English “cats”
ch- IPA [x], like “ch” in English “loch”. Identical to Polish “ch”
cz- IPA [tʂ], like “ch” in English “chair”. Identical to Polish “cz”
d- IPA [d], like in English/Polish
dż- IPA [dʐ], like “j” in English “jail”. Identical to Polish “dż”
dz- IPA [dz], like “ds” in English “lads”. Identical to Polish “dz”
e- IPA [e], like the “a” in English “cake”. Identical to Polish “e”
é- IPA [ɨj]/[ɨ], somewhere between the “uy” and English “buy” and the “i” in English “ski”. Like “e” in English “roses” at the end of a word. Like the “yj” in Polish “przyj”. Like Polish “y” at the end of a word
ë- IPA [ə], between the “u” in English “but” and the “e” in English “bet”. Between Polish “y” and “a”
f- IPA [f], like in Polish/English
g- IPA [g], like in Polish/English
h- IPA [x], like “ch” in English “loch”. Identical to Polish “h”
i- IPA [i], like “i” in English “ski”. Identical to Polish “i”
j- IPA [j], like “y” in English “yes”. Identical to Polish “j”
k- IPA [k], like “c” in English “scat”. Identical to Polish “k”
l- IPA [l], like l in English “listen”. Identical to Polish “l”
ł- IPA [w], like “w” in English “wear”. Identical (for most speakers) to Polish “ł”
m- IPA [m], like in Polish/English
n- IPA [n], like in Polish/English
ń/ni- IPA [ɲ], like “ny” in English “canyon”. Identical to Polish “ń” and “ni”
o- IPA [ɔ], between the “o” in English “broke” and the “au” in English “caught”. Identical to Polish “o”
ó- IPA [u], like “oo” in English “boot”. Identical (for most speakers) to Polish “ó”
ò- IPA [wɛ], like the “we” in English “west”. Like the “łe” in Polish “płetwa”
ô- IPA [ɞ], somewhere between the “e” in English “bet” and the “o” in English “bot”, but pronounced with rounded lips. Between Polish “o”, “y” and “e” with rounded lips
p- IPA [p], like the “p” in English “spin”. Identical to Polish “p”
r- IPA [r], a trilled/rolled “r” like Spanish “rr”. Identical to Polish “r”
rz- IPA [ʐ], like “s” in English “measure”. Identical (for most speakers) to Polish “rz”
s- IPA [s], like “s” in English “spin”. Identical to Polish “s”
sz- IPA [ʂ], like “sh” in English “ship”. Identical to Polish “sz”
t- IPA [t], like “t” in English “stun”. Identical to Polish “t”
u- IPA [u], like the “u” in English “lute”. Identical (for most speakers) to Polish “u”
ù- IPA [wu], pronounced like the English “woo”. Like “łu” in Polish “łuk” (for most speakers)
w- IPA [v], like the “v” in English “vat”. Identical (in most circumstances) to Polish “w”
y- IPA [ɨ], like the “e” in English “roses”. Identical (for most speakers) to Polish “y”
z- IPA [z], like the “z” in English “zoo”. Identical to Polish “z”
ż- IPA [ʐ], like the “s” in English “measure”. Similar to Polish “ż”, but softer, and at times similar to Polish “ź”
1. The letters k, g, p, b, and l, when followed by an i, are pronounced as though followed by a j.
2. Due to a process called “kaszubienie,” the Polish letters “ć”, “ś”, and “ź” are not used in Kashubian, instead corresponding to the letters c, s, and z respectively. Similarly the Polish digraphs “ci”, “si” and “zi” are not used before vowels. When they do occur they are pronounced as a simple combination of the letters, not a digraph.
3. Due to the immense dialectal diversity of Kashubian, the above phonetic values will not be used by all speakers. I have attempted to give here an overview of the most “standard” pronunciations of each letter/digraph.
