The Hvetshrenu pronunciation is rather hard for native speakers of any human language. However, as soon as the pronunciation of every single sound has been mastered, it is as easy as just reading what is written in the transcription.
Tone and intonation[]
Hvetshrenu is not a tonal language, since every vowel has only one variation. However, rising or falling intonation at the end of a sentence indicate respectively an interrogative and narrative type of sentence. Even when a sentence is not a literal question, ending in a yen or another question word, it means the speaker is asking for confirmation.
Decreasing or increasing the volume of the voice throughout the sentence makes a difference in meaning as well. Where ending your sentence in a softer tone means holding back or being careful, with a louder ending they will become an order or, in the case of an interrogative sentence, a request. The same tone may also be held throughout the sentence, but will give the impression of a prediction of facts in the case of a narrative sentence.
The general tone Hvetshran keep when speaking Hvetshrenu is average lower than any human language, even though it still depends from one person to another, depending on for instance gender and age as well.
Vowels[]
Hvetshrenu has nine different vowels, which are transcribed as a, æ, e, i, ü, u, ø, o and å. When a single vowel is written in a word, it can be pronounced both long or short depending on the decision of the speaker. Two vowels are connected with a slight y-sound when they are the same. When two different vowels are combined, they are pronounced short when enclosed by consonants, or either long or short depending on the speaker when not enclosed or only pre/succeeded by (a) consonant(s) at one side.
| Vowel | Pronunciation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| A, a | /a/ | like the a in most non-English languages |
| Æ, æ | /ɛɪ/ | like ei in eight |
| E, e | /ɛ/ | like French è |
| I, i | /i/ | like i in fit, or ee in greed |
| Ü, ü | /y/ | like German ü, French u, Finnish y
as if you would pronounce ee but rounding the mouth in a small o-shape, like you would do when pronouncing the oo |
| U, u | /u/ | like u in pull, ue in blue, or oo in book |
| Ø, ø | /œ/ | like Norwegian ø, French eu |
| O, o | /ɔ/ | like o in octopus, or the o in only |
| Å, å | /ɒ/ | like Scandinavian å, in between the oh and ah
close to the English a when it is placed before an l (such as in all, alternative) |
Consonants[]
The normal alphabet is used for the Hvetshrenu consonants, mostly with the same pronunciation as in English. For additional sounds that might cause confusion, additional letters have been adopted from other alphabets. These are в, ð, ł and ŋ. Letters that are used differently from English are c, h, q and x.
| Consonant | Pronunciation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| B, b | /b/ | like b in bed |
| В, в | /β/ | in between b, v and w, somewhat like German w |
| C, c | /ts/ | like ts in cats |
| D, d | /d/ | like d in duck |
| Ð, ð | /ð/ | like th in thing, but slightly voiced |
| F, f | /f/ | like fin fit, ph in philosophy |
| G, g | /ɡ/ | like g in get |
| H, h | /ɣ/ | like Greek χ, but slightly voiced, in between English h and g |
| J, j | /dʒ/ | like j in jungle |
| K, k | /k/ | like c in car, k in karma |
| L, l | /l/ | like l in love |
| Ł, ł | /ʟ/ | like Polish ł, in between l and w |
| M, m | /m/ | like m in mother |
| N, n | /n/ | like n in night |
| Ŋ, ŋ | /ŋ/ | like ng in ring |
| P, p | /p/ | like p in path |
| Q, q | /tʃ/ | like ch in chill |
| R, r | /r/ | like r in rat, but more rolling |
| Ř, ř | /ʀ/ | like the French r |
| S, s | /s/ | like s in sock, but more towards hissing; the escaping air is also part of this sound |
| ẞ, ß | /s͡ʃ/ | starting with a s that slides into a sh-sound |
| T, t | /t/ | like t in tank |
| V, v | /v/ | like v in vine |
| W, w | /w/ | like w in will |
| X, x | /ʃ/ | like sh in shake |
| Y, y | /j/ | like y in yes |
| Z, z | /z/ | like z in zebra |
Alternative notations[]
The above pronunciation guide is based on the modern transcription. In older texts, translators must be aware that some sounds are written differently nowadays than at the time of compilation. The same is the case for Hvetshrenu terms adopted in hvetshranology, as well as sources written by Hvetshran themselves, who usually develop or developed their own way of transcribing.