Burmese Pronunciation

In this book, Burmese pronunciation is the same as that used in the textbooks by Okell. The tones and some of the consonants may seem difficult at first. The best way to overcome this problem is to listen tothe way the speakers differentiate between the tones.

Tones

Burmese tones are largely a matter of relative stress between adjoining syllables. They exist in English too – think about the different stresses, and hence meaning, between ‘He’s thought less’ and ‘He’s thoughtless’.

There are three tones, plus two other possibilities, for any syllable. Every syllable has one of these five alternatives.

Three Tones

1) Creaky High Tone

This is made with the voice tense, producing a high-pitched and relatively short creaky sound, such as occurs with the English words ‘heart’ and ‘squeak’. It is indicated by an acute accent above the vowel, for example, ká, က ‘dance’.

For example: dance             က             ká

2) Plain High Tone

The pitch of the voice starts quite high, then falls for a fairly long time, similar to the pronunciation words like ‘squeal’, ‘car’ and ‘way’. It is indicated by a grave accent above the vowel, for example kà which, conveniently, is also the Burmese word for ‘car’.

For example: car                  ကား           kà

3) Low Tone

The voice is relaxed, stays at a low pitch for a fairly long time, and does not rise or fall in pitch. It is indicated by no accent above the vowels, for example ka, ‘shield’.

For example: shield             ကာ            ka

Two other possibilities

1. Stopped Syllable

This is a very short syllable, on a high pitch, cut off at the end by a sharp catch in the voice (a glottal stop); this is like the sound in the middle of the exclamation used in a dangerous situation, ‘uh-oh’, or the Cockney pronunciation of ‘t’ in a word like ‘bottle’. If you have trouble with this sound, try replacing it with a ‘t’; but keep the syllable short. It is indicated in this book by a ‘q’ after vowel, for example kaq, ‘join’. However the ‘q’ is not pronounced.

For example: join                 ကပ်           kaq

2. Reduced (Weak) Syllable

This is a shortened syllable, usually the first syllable of a two-syllable word, which is said without stress, like the first syllable of ‘again’ in English. Only the vowel ‘a’, sometimes preceded by a consonant, occurs in a reduced syllable; this is indicated by ă above the vowel. For example ălouq, ‘work’. Any syllable but the last in a word can be reduced.

For example: work               အလုပ်          ălouq

Extracted from Burmese Phrasebook published by Lonely Planet Publications in January 1997