Konkani is a gendered language that uses both Devanagari and Roman scripts. For simplification, these cards use a transliterated pronunciation with an American-English slant, using the North Goan dialect. There is no formal tense.
Vowels
a
sounds like the ‘u’ in “fun” (short, central)
aa
sounds like the ‘a’ in “father” (long, open)
e
sounds like the ‘e’ in “bet”
ee
sounds like the ‘ee’ in “feet” (long)
i
short ‘i’ as in “sit”
o
as in “go”
oo
as in “boot”
ow
as in “cow”
Consonants & special sounds
ng
nasal, as in “sing”
ny
palatal nasal, like ‘ñ’ in Spanish “mañana”
zh
retroflex approximant — tongue curves back
tth
retroflex ‘t’ — tongue tip curled to roof of mouth
ddh
retroflex ‘d’, same tongue position
kh
aspirated ‘k’ — ‘k’ with a puff of air
gh
voiced velar fricative
x
in Romi Konkani, represents ‘sh’ (e.g. Xett = Shett)