If you're familiar with the Russian alphabet, the Kyrgyz alphabet is a breeze, almost everything is the same except for the addition of three letters: Ң, Ө, Ү. The last two are similar to German Umlauts, and the first is an NG. There are also glottal versions of K and G, and Ж is closer to J than Zh. The most difficult part is vowel pronunciation/tone, which Russians tend to miss. You'll also notice double vowels, such as Ооба (Yes). These generally just lengthen the sound.
Кыргыз тамгулары
Аа--ah soft short a as in
arm
Бб--beh slighty smaller mouth than English B
Вв--vuh again, slighty softer than English V, I've heard a slight B shift sometimes, as is common in Spanish
Гг--guh As the first g in
gague, OR sometimes deep glottal G closer to Arabic (with hard vowels)
Дд--duh slightly softer than English
Ее--yeay "eh" as in egg
Ёё--yo as in
yo-yo
Жж--juh Closer to an English J (as in
Giraffe) than a Russian Ж.
Зз--zuh shorter than American Z
Ии--ee slightly more vertical than American long E
Йй--ee-uh? Usually found in a dipthong "ai" as in
dry. In Russian words, formed by rounding the tongue and pushing air over the top with an "ee" sound.
Кк--kay same as English K, sometimes strong glottal KH (With hard vowels)
In Northern Kyrgyz Pronunciation, soft K's are more than halfway to G, similar to
gum.
Лл--el significantly softer than English
Мм--em about the same as English M
Нн--en English N, softer
Ңң--ng Like English ng, but with a stop at the end
Oo--oh Round soft O
Өө--oo Like German umlaut Ö. Strong round O/EW
Пп--peh softer and more forward than English P
Рр--ruh rolled, but only once (a tap)
Сс--suh like s in
soul
Тт--teh softer than English
Уу--ooh like oo in
noodle
Үү--oeyh German umlaut Ü--Ooh with a little Ew in it, very round.
Фф--ef like English F, just slightly softer
Хх--huh glottal h
Цц--tsuh TS (with a sharp T)
Чч--chuh like English CH
Шш--shuh like English sh
Щщ--shch like English sh that changes midway to ch, Russian pronunciation seems to vary
Ыы--ooey oo combined with ee. one of the harder Russian sounds, VERY common in Kyrgyz.
Ээ--eh schwa. English E as in
bed
Юю--yu as in
You or
Yugoslavia
Яя--ya like German
Ja, mostly in Russian words.
This is the only video I could find, it's not the greatest, the first lady is a Russian speaker (Kyrgyz may or may not be her first language), and the second guy has a very distinct American accent, neither sound extremely Kyrgyz:
http://kyrgyz.peacecorps.gov/public_ftp/kyrgyz_alphabet.mp4
