Vowels
Unlike in English, the vowels are pretty simple. There are 5 of them, and they are pronounced similarly to the vowels of Swahili or Spanish.
In the table below, I've given a rough guide to their sounds.
| Giriama | English | Swahili | French | Spanish |
| a | (can / can't) | jambo | pas | año |
| e | (day) | e | et | es |
| i | feet | bibi | il | mi |
| o | (boat) | pole | haut | hola |
| u | boot | Mugumu | vous | mucho |
Things to note which are different from English:
<a> is a sound halfway between <can> and <can't>.
<e> is the sound in the middle of <day>. If you say the English word 'day' very, very slowly, you will notice that you start with an 'eh' sound, move through the French 'et' sound, and finish with an 'ee' sound. This movement is what you want to avoid in Giriama. Just say the French 'et' sound without the 'eh' or 'ee'.
<o> is another monophthong where in English we only have a diphthong. Remember: it's one vowel sound, and if you hold it for ages - singing it, for example - it should always sound the same in Giriama. It shouldn't change from 'oh' to 'oo' or 'w'. It should stay as the 'continental' o sound.
