The haček is a
diacritic mark used in the
Czech and Lithuanian languages. (
Note that the "c" in haček should have a haček over it.) It looks like an
upside-down circumflex or a pointed
breve-essentially a small "
v" over the letter. (I've managed to find a
HTML symbol for the "s":
š. It may appear over letters including "
Č", "
Ď", "
Ě", "
Ř", etc.
The "Ř" with a hacek is acknowledged in the Guinness Book of World Records as the rarest sound in the world. It is described as a "rolled post-alveolar fricative".
So what does it sound like?
Č: /ch/
Ď: The same way the tilde modifies the n, the hacek modifies the d--it sort of adds a tiny vowel sound.
/dy/, /diuh/, /die/
Ě:Modifies the letter that it follows. For example de => dyeh.
/yeh/, /eih/
Ř: Might be described as a strongly rolled /r/ with a kind of undertone of /d/ and an expulsion of air.
/rrrdh/, /rd/
Š: /sh/
Ť:Like "d", only with /t/.
/tiuh/ etc.
Ž: /zh/ Kind of like pronouncing the letter J with your teeth together, like /jh/.
Additional information due to Gritchka:
Ň: /ny/
Č, Š, and Ž with haceks are used in Croatian and Latvian.