| Letteral | English equivalent | IPA-ASCII | X-SAMPA | features |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| a | dart (but more back) | /A/ | /A/ | low,bck,unr,vwl |
| â | dart | /a/ | /a/ | low,cnt,unr,vwl |
| 3 (or epsilon) | bet | /E/ | /E/ | lmd,fnt,unr,vwl |
| e | lay | /e/ | /e/ | umd,fnt,unr,vwl |
| i | see | /i/ | /i/ | hgh,fnt,unr,vwl |
| I | hit (but more back) | /i"/ | /1/ | hgh,cnt,unr,vwl |
| o | war (but unrounded) | /o-/ | /7/ | mid,bck,unr,vwl |
| u | soon (but unrounded) | /u-/ | /M/ | hgh,bck,unr,vwl |
| @ | an | /@/ | /@/ | mid,cnt,unr,vwl |
Diphthongs starting with u or i are pronounced as if the first letter is not present. These do, however, influence the pronunciation of consonants. See below.
[ ] = unrounded
front central back
+-------+-------+-------+
\[i] \ [I] | [u]| high
\ \ | | semi-high
\-------+----+-------|
\[e] \ | | upper middle
\ [@]| [o]| middle
\[3]----+-+-------| lower middle
\ \| |
\ [â] [a]| low
+--------------+
| Letteral | English equivalent | IPA-ASCII | features |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| p | pie (not aspirated) | /p/ | vls,blb,stp |
| alternatively: bet | /b/ | vcd,blb,stp | |
| alternatively: foe (but bilabial) | /f/ | vls,blb,frc | |
| m | man | /m/ | blb,nas |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| t (1) | tie (not aspirated) | /t[/ | vls,dnt,stp |
| d (1) | do | /d[/ | vcd,dnt,stp |
| þ/s (1) | thing | /T/ | vls,dnt,frc |
| ð/z (1) | this | /D/ | vcd,dnt,frc |
| r/y (1) | Spanish: pero | /r/ | vcd,alv,apr |
| n | no | /n[/ | dnt,nas |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tl | tl (proceeding to lh) | vls,dnt,stp | |
| dl | dl (proceeding to l) | vcd,dnt,stp | |
| lh | Scottish: llewellyn | /s<lat>/ | vls,alv,lat,frc |
| llh | (voiced fricative l) | /z<lat>/ | vcd,alv,lat,frc |
| l | lie | /l/ | vcd,alv,lat |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tsh | chip | /tS/ | |
| dzh | joe | /dZ/ | |
| sh | ship | /S/ | vls,pla,frc |
| zh | pleasure | /Z/ | vcd,pla,frc |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| t (2) | RP: tune | /c/ | vls,pal,stp |
| d (2) | RP: dune | /J/ | vcd,pal,stp |
| s/þ (2) | so | /s/ | vls,alv,frc |
| z/ð (2) | zoo | /z/ | vcd,alv,frc |
| y/r (2) | you | /j/ | vcd,pal,apr |
| n | RP: new, Spanish: niño | /n^/ | pal,nas |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| c | can (not aspirated) | /k/ | vls,vel,stp |
| g | go | /g/ | vcd,vel,stp |
| x | (voiceless velar fricative) | /x/ | vls,vel,frc |
| gh | Tolkien: ghâsh | /Q/ | vcd,vel,frc |
| R | (uvular r) | /r"/ | uvl,trl |
| ñ | ring | /N/ | vel,nas |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| h | hit | /h/ | vls,glt,apr |
Notes:
1) when followed by a back vowel (a, â, o, u or a diphthong starting with u)
2) when followed by a front vowel (3, e, I, i, @ or a diphthong starting with i), or when doubled at the end of a word by an underline.
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| blb | dnt | lat | pla | pal | vel |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| stp | p | t | tl | tsh | t | k |
| + +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | d | dl | dzh | d | g |
+-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| frc | | þ/s | lh | sh | s/þ | x | h |
| +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | ð/z | llh | zh | z/ð | gh |
+-----+-----+-----------+-----+-----+-----+
| apr | | r/y | l | y/r | R |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| nas | m | n | n | ñ |
+-----+-----+-----------+-----+-----+-----+
Consonants are never doubled. Vowels are always unrounded. The pronunciations p, b and f are considered variants of the same letter.
The letterals t, d, s/þ, z/ð and y/r deserve special attention. Their pronunciation depends on the letters immediately following it.
| letter | position | dental (1) | palatal (2) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| t | +back vowel | ta, tâ, to, tu | tia, tiâ, tio, tiu |
| t | +front vowel | tu3, tue, tuI, tui, tu@ | t3, te, tI, ti, t@ |
| t | final,+consonant | t | t_ |
| d | +back vowel | da, dâ, do, du | dia, diâ, dio, diu |
| d | +front vowel | du3, due, duI, dui, du@ | d3, de, dI, di, d@ |
| d | final,+consonant | d | d_ |
| s/þ | +back vowel | þa, þâ, þo, þu | sia, siâ, sio, siu |
| s/þ | +front vowel | þu3, þue, þuI, þui, þu@ | s3, se, sI, si, s@ |
| s/þ | final,+consonant | þ | s_ |
| z/ð | +back vowel | ða, ðâ, ðo, ðu | zia, ziâ, zio, ziu |
| z/ð | +front vowel | ðu3, ðue, ðuI, ðui, ðu@ | z3, ze, zI, zi, z@ |
| z/ð | final,+consonant | ð | z_ |
| y/r | +back vowel | ra, râ, ro, ru | yia, yiâ, yio, yiu |
| y/r | +front vowel | ru3, rue, ruI, rui, ru@ | y3, ye, yI, yi, y@ |
| y/r | final,+consonant | r | y_ |
Transcription partly reflects the change in pronunciation of the letterals t, d, s/þ, etc. by selecting between the transcriptions s and þ, etc.
The primary accent is normally on the first syllable of a two-syllable word. The accent shifts to the last syllable in plural nouns. See the grammar for more details.
Author: René Uittenbogaard.