Key Turkmen Latin-alphabet letters and sounds, vowel harmony, and stress patterns for accurate pronunciation. Front: the sound pattern or example word. Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.
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- Ä sound
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A front, open vowel like the "a" in English "cat," distinct from plain "a." Example: är (husband, man).- Ç sound
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Pronounced like English "ch" in "chair." Example: çaý (tea).- Ž sound
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Pronounced like the "s" in English "measure," a soft "zh" sound. Example: žurnal (magazine, a Russian loanword).- Ň sound
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A velar nasal, like "ng" in English "sing." Example: meniň (my, mine).- Ö sound
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A rounded front vowel, similar to German "ö" or French "eu." Example: öý (house).- Ş sound
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Pronounced like English "sh" in "shoe." Example: şäher (city).- Ü sound
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A rounded front vowel, similar to German "ü" or French "u." Example: üzüm (grape).- Ý sound
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Pronounced like English "y" in "yes." Example: ýyl (year).- W sound
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Pronounced like English "w" in "water," used in native Turkmen words. Example: söwda (trade).- Vowel harmony
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Turkmen suffixes change their vowel to match the last vowel of the word's root, a feature shared with other Turkic languages.- Long vowels
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Turkmen distinguishes short and long vowels in certain words, with vowel length able to affect meaning.- Word stress pattern
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Turkmen word stress generally falls on the last syllable of a word.- Minimal pair: at and ot
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"At" (horse) and "ot" (fire, or grass) are distinguished only by the vowel.- Minimal pair: ol and öl
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"Ol" (he, she, it) and "öl" (wet) are distinguished only by the vowel "ö" versus "o."- Consonant cluster simplicity
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Turkmen generally avoids complex consonant clusters at the start of native words, unlike many Russian loanwords.
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