Vokale en Konsonante (Vowels and Consonants)
Today, we are going to learn about vowels and consonants or vokale and konsonante in Afrikaans! These are the sounds we use to make words. Vowels are special sounds that come from our mouths without any blocks, and consonants are sounds that have a little block in them. Let’s explore them together!
1. Kort Vokale (Vowels): Vokale is a big word for special sounds we make with our mouths. In Afrikaans, we have five vowel sounds. They are represented by the letters a, e i, o, and u.
| Vowel | Pronounced | Listen |
| a | pronounced as “ah” in “father” | |
| e | pronounced as “eh” in “bed” | |
| i | pronounced as “ee” in “see” | |
| o | pronounced as “oh” in “robot” | |
| u | pronounced as “oo” in “food” |
Examples of words with kort vokale (short vowels):
- Kat (cat)
- Met (with)
- Kind (child)
- Son (sun)
- Mus (Beanie)
- Bed (bed)
- Sit (sit)
- Pot (pot)
- Bus (bus)
- Gom (glue)
- Min (few)
- Kom (come)
- Vet (fat)
2. Lang vokale (Long Vowels): Long vowels in Afrikaans are generally found in open syllables (we will learn about syllables later on) or when there is a double vowel in a word. The long vowels are represented by the same letters as the short vowels, but they are pronounced for a longer duration. For example:
| Long vowel | Pronounced | Listen |
| ‘aa’ | Pronounced like the ‘a’ in the English word “car.” | |
| ‘ee’ | Pronounced like the ‘ee’ in the English word “see.” | |
| ‘ie’ | Pronounced like the ‘ee’ in the English word “knee.” | |
| ‘oo’ | Pronounced like the ‘oo’ in the English word “boot.” | |
| ‘uu’ | Pronounced like the ‘oo’ in the English word “moon.” |
3. Konsonante (Consonants):
Konsonante is another big word for sounds that have a little block in them. They are not as open as vowels.
| Konsonant | Pronounced | Listen |
| b – | pronounced as “b” in “bat” | |
| C – | Pronounced as “ c “ in “ cut” | |
| d – | pronounced as “d” in “dog” | |
| f – | pronounced as “f” in “fun” | |
| g – | pronounced as “g” in “go” | |
| h – | pronounced as “h” in “hat” | |
| j – | pronounced as “y” in “yes” | |
| k – | pronounced as “k” in “key” | |
| l – | pronounced as “l” in “love” | |
| m – | pronounced as “m” in “man” | |
| n – | pronounced as “n” in “nice” | |
| p – | pronounced as “p” in “pen” | |
| q- | Pronounced as “q” in “que” | |
| r – | pronounced as a rolled “r” sound | |
| s – | pronounced as “s” in “sun” | |
| t – | pronounced as “t” in “top” | |
| v – | pronounced as “v” in “van” | |
| w – | pronounced as “v” in “vine” | |
| x – | pronounced as “x” in “extra” | |
| z – | pronounced as “z” in “zebra” |
Example words: (Look at the first letter of each word)
- bal (ball)
- dorp (village)
- fiets (bicycle)
- groot (big)
- huis (house)
- jakkals (jackal)
- kat (cat)
- lig (light)
- motor (car)
- nag (night)
- pen (pen)
- rond (round)
- son (sun)
- tafel (table)
- vogel (bird)
- wortel (carrot)
- xhosa (name of a language)
- zebra (zebra)
Understanding the difference between vowels and consonants is essential for accurate pronunciation and spelling in Afrikaans. Practice saying the vowel and consonant sounds and try using them in words and sentences. As you become more used to the sounds of Afrikaans, your ability to speak and understand the language will improve.