- d and
t
The d (dan) and t (top) are dental sounds. They are pronounced with th
etip of the tangue touching the back of the upper teeth, not the ridge
back of the teeth as in English. These sounds do not have such a puff
of breath after them as they do in English. Put your hand before your
mouth when saying the English words: tall or dig. In this way you get
a softer sound, which is Serbian t and d.
tata (dad)
top (canon)
dan (day)
danas (today)
- b,
p,
k and
g
These consonants are less emphatic than in English and have no
aspiration which is heard when pronouncing these consonants in
English. The sounds h and p are produced by closing the upper and
lowel lips.
brod (boat)
boja (colour)
pilot (pilot)
pero (pen)
kapa (cap)
kuca (house)
grad (city)
glava (head)
- h
h is produced by touching the back part of the roof of the mouth. It
is much stronger than in English, because it is a glottal sound.
hleb (bread)
hotel (hotel)
hiljada (thousand)
- ch and
dj
The ch is softer than "ch" in "archer". Its sound is between the "ch"
of "chalk" and "tu" of "tune". The sound dj is between the "d3" of
"bridge" and "de" of "dew". To pronounce these two consonants the
teeth must be brought close together and the lips are slightly
opened. The blade of the tongue must touch the frontal palate (gum).
chilim (rug)
cherka (daughter)
vodja (leader)
Djordje (George)
- lj and
nj
The lj and nj are similar to the English sounds as in "million" and
"news".
ljubav (love)
kljucc (key)
konj (horse)
knjiga (book)
- r
The r is not like the English one. It is almost identical with the
Russian r or similar to the Scotish "r", but not as strong. It is
trilled with the tip of the tongue against the teeth ridge, just
behind the upper teeth, and the mouth is more closed than in
pronouncing the English "r".
reka (river)
sport (sport)
riba (fish)
