With the advance of technology and its ongoing refinement, far-flung areas of the world are getting closer and closer. Business, education, travel, and media reference a plethora of cultures more than ever before.
In 2000, Voice of America‘s pronunciation guide was developed to help media with tricky pronunciations. Now it is an invaluable tool for a broader audience. “People all around the world use it thousands and thousands of times a day,” said Jim Tedder, the broadcaster responsible for the guide. He noted that usage spikes around major world events. VOA’s guide is codified, public and it includes spoken samples, reports the Washington Post.
Try pronouncing these words as they are pronounced in the phonetic languages of India:
Modi, Narendra – nah-rehn–drah moh-dhee
Gujarat – guh-jah-rath
Kashmir – K-ush-meer
Hyderabad – h-eye-dhrah-baadh
Arun Jaitley – uh-roon jay-th-lee
Namasthe – nah-mus-thay
Avatar – uh-vah-thaar
Chutney – ch-ut-nee
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
