# Zebra - pronunciation



## RedNitz

Hallo! How would you pronounce the word 'zebra' in Dutch? Is the vowel <e> half open or half closed? And is <a> central or back?


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## Peterdg

I'm not so familiar with the terms "open" or "closed" as to vowel pronunciation.

In Dutch we call it a "long" or a "short" vowel. 

The "e" is pronounced as a long "ee" (like in "zee" = "sea") and the "a" as a short "a" (like in "kat" = "cat")


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## Timidinho

It's a long "a".


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## Peterdg

Timidinho said:


> It's a long "a".


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## Timidinho

"A" als in "water", niet als in "kat". Althans, hiero.


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## Peterdg

Timidinho said:


> "A" als in "water", niet als in "kat". Althans, hiero.


Ja, dat had ik begrepen, maar wij spreken het kort uit.

Je kan hier luisteren. In "Select a voice", scroll omhoog tot bv Dutch (BE) -Jeroen en tik het woordje "zebra" in het "text" vak en druk dan op "Say it".


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## Frank06

Van Dale en de iets oudere ABN-uitspraakgids geven beide /zebra/.

F


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## Peterdg

Frank06 said:


> Van Dale en de iets oudere ABN-uitspraakgids geven beide /zebra/.
> 
> F


Bedankt Frank. Ik moet echt wel eens een nieuwe Van Dale kopen.

PS. Weet jij wat er bedoeld wordt met "open" of "closed" ivm de uitspraak van klinkers?


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## RedNitz

> PS. Weet jij wat er bedoeld wordt met "open" of "closed" ivm de uitspraak van klinkers?


Hi, Peterdg. Long and short is one vowel distinction - based on length. Open - close distinction is based on the position of the jaw: closed is /i/ for example, as your mouth is almost closed whan you say this vowel; /a/ is open so your mouth is open. Front and back describe tongue position: /i/ is front and /u/ is back. There is one more, rounded - unrounded based on shape of mouth: rounded vowel is e.g. /u/ in contrast to unrounded /i/. You can see the difference while speaking.



> Van Dale en de iets oudere ABN-uitspraakgids geven beide /zebra/.


Hi, Frank. Where did you find the pronounciation? All I can see is a bunch of texts... I think I'm not able to use this site, because I don't know Dutch...

Thank you all for help. This means a lot to me!


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## Knateltje

I would pronounce 'zebra' with a long [ee] sound and a short open [aa] sound.


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## RedNitz

Thanks a lot.


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