How to read and say Bosnian

The Serbo-Croatian pronunciation, like other Slavic languages, is very phonetic. Each letter represents only one sound, and multiple sounds are produced only when several letters are combined.

The letter "A" represents the sound "ah" in Bosnian and represents only that sound.

Speakers of Spanish and Italian will find most sounds in Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian to be similar to the ones in their own languages.

Keep in mind that Serbo-Croatian is the ONLY Slavic language written in both Latin and Cyrillic, the latter with considerable differences from the more popular Russian/East Slavic version.

Although learning the two alphabets will keep out of trouble and endear the locals, the Latin script is more commonly used, even in Belgrade. The particles -ij and -j found in the middle of a number of words may be omitted due to regional applications and would still be correct.

Vowels

a

like 'a' in "above"

e

like 'e' in "enemy"

i

like 'i' in "sing"

o

like 'o' in "opera"

u

like 'u' in "put"

Stress

Unfortunately, neither stresses (usually it is the second or third-last one, but never the last) nor vowel lengths are marked in the written language, but the stress is more predictable than it is in Russian or Bulgarian, where it is almost obligatory to put an accent on the stressed syllable.

For example, in the sentence sam sam (I am alone), the first "sam" is long, and the second is short (SAHM sam); in the clause da da (that he/she gives), it is reverse (da DAH). The most notorious example is a pun Gore gore gore gore (Up there, forests are burning worse), but it is not likely that you will use this sentence in everyday speech. Unlike Bulgarian, Russian and other East Slavic languages, however, wrongly pronounced vowel length will seldom cause misunderstandings.

Consonants

Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian consonants are crisper than their counterparts in the English language. Approximating the corresponding consonants in Italian or Russian is closer to their true pronunciation.

b

like 'b' in "bed"

c

like 'ts' at the end of "cats" (never like an "s" or "k")

č

pronounced like "ch" as in "church", but with the tongue up on the roof of the mouth

ć

like "tch" as in "catch", but softer, with tongue behind top front teeth

d

like 'd' in "dog"

dž

very close to "j" as in judge, with tongue up on the roof of the mouth; very seldom used

đ

like "j" as in "judge", but softer, with tongue behind top front teeth; hardly used at the beginning of the word

f

like 'f' in "fish"

g

like 'g' in "go" (never pronounced like the "g" in "large")

h

a little more emphasized than the 'h' in "help", somewhat close to the Spanish jota (j), pronounced in the throat. Usually an aspirated sound like the 'ck' in "brick"

j

like 'y' in "yellow"

k

like 'k' in "kite"

l

like 'l' in "love"

lj

like the "li" sound in "million". Combo of the Bosnian/SC "l" "j" sounds together

m

like 'm' in "mother"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

nj

like "ny" in "canyon" Like the Spanish " ñ " sound.

p

like 'p' in "pappy"

r

rolled slightly, like the Spanish r in "pero"

s

like 's' in "sun"

š

like "sh" in "sheep", with tongue raised toward roof of mouth

t

like 't' in "top"

v

like 'v' in "victory"

z

like 'z' in "haze"

ž

like the "s" in "measure", with tongue raised toward roof of mouth

Other Sounds

ije

(ie) like the Spanish word "miedo"

lje

(lyeh) like the Italian word "moglie"

nje

(nyeh) like the Spanish word "muñeco"

ija

(ia) like the Spanish word "mia"

vje

(vyeh) like the Spanish word "viento"