How to read and say Waray

Vowels

Unaccented vowels

a

near-open central unrounded vowel IPA [ɐ]; like the u in cut

e

open-mid front unrounded vowel IPA [ɛ]; like the e in bed

i

near-close front unrounded vowel IPA [ɪ]; like the i in sit

o

close-mid back rounded vowel IPA [o]; like the au in author

u

near-close back rounded vowel IPA [ʊ]; like the oo in foot

Accented vowels

a

open central unrounded vowel IPA [a]; like the a in far

e

close-mid front unrounded vowel IPA [e]; like the a in hand

i

close front unrounded vowel IPA [i]; like the ee in see

o

open-mid back rounded vowel IPA [ɔ]; like the o in off

u

close back rounded vowel IPA [u]; like the oo in soon

Consonants

b

as in best

k

as in key

d

as in dough

g

as in gold

h

as in heat

l

as in let

m

as in me

n

as in net

ng

as in song

p

as in pea

r

as in raw

s

as in sea

t

as in talk

w

as in we

y

as in yes

Some consonants are borrowed from Spanish and English and are used in writing names of places and personal names.

c

When followed by a, o or u, it is pronounced like c in scare. When followed by e or i, it is like c in pencil

f

like f in fine

j

like h in ham

ll

although not a letter in the Philippines but of Spanish influence, pronounced as ly

ñ

like ny in canyon

q

like q in quest (always with a silent u)

v

pronounced the same way as b (see above) like b in elbow.

x

like x in flexible

like ss in hiss (at beginning of a word)

like h as in he in the family name Roxas

z

like s in supper

Common diphthongs

aw *** EDIT: I want to correct this. The pronunciation guides below with "-AW" (words ending in "-o") below should all be pronounced "oh" like in "oh my goodness." Example: Ano (meaning "what") is pronounced "ah-NO" like in yes or no. Ako (meaning "I") is pronounced "Ah-KO" like the co sound in cocoa.

as in how

iw

as in kiwi

ay

as in high

oy

as in boy