Toba-Batak — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Toba-Batak and English. Toba-Batak and English share 16 sounds — about 59% of Toba-Batak's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (11)
These phonemes exist in Toba-Batak 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 (16)
These phonemes exist in both Toba-Batak and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Toba-Batak (29)
These English phonemes don't exist in Toba-Batak. Native Toba-Batak speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.