Javanese — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Javanese and English. Javanese and English share 18 sounds — about 55% of Javanese's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (15)
These phonemes exist in Javanese but not in English. English speakers will need to learn to produce and perceive them as new categories — not just a variation of an existing English sound.
Familiar sounds (18)
These phonemes exist in both Javanese and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Javanese (27)
These English phonemes don't exist in Javanese. Native Javanese speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.