Standard Swahili has five vowel phonemes: /ɑ/, /ɛ/, /i/,
/ɔ/, and /u/. The pronunciation of the phoneme /u/ stands between International
Phonetic Alphabet [u] and [o]. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress.
The vowels are pronounced as follows:
/ɑ/ is pronounced like the "u" in hut
/ɛ/ is pronounced like the "e" in bed
/i/ is pronounced like the "i" in ski
/ɔ/ is pronounced like the "o" in or
/u/ is pronounced like the "u" in rule.
Swahili has no diphthongs; in vowel combinations, each vowel
is pronounced separately. Therefore, the Swahili word for "leopard",
chui, is pronounced /tʃu.i/; that is, as two syllables.
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