MyWiki:WikiProject Linguistics/Phonetics/Phonology template

A short introduction on the general aspects of the language, major dialects and what makes it unique in terms of sound inventory, phonotactics, etc.

Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet is encouraged. Surround phonemic/phonetic symbols with the IPA template, like this:

{{IPA|/ʃut/}} ("shoot") for phonemic transcription

{{IPA|[ɹænt]}} ("rant") for phonetic transcription, whether broad or narrow

Even if the IPA symbols are part of the normal Latin script (as in /bid/ "bead"), the IPA template should be used to force a consistent style and flag IPA text as such for your browser.

The {{IPA notice}} should be placed on or near the top of the page.

Use the standard orthography for the language where appropriate, but explain how orthography maps to actual phonetics in a different place. This may be on the main language page, or another page called "xxx orthography" (eg Russian orthography). Do not start by explaining phonetics in terms of the written form ("the letter D is pronounced /d/"). Speech came first, and then writing.

All examples of tables and transcriptions here are based on the American English section of the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association .

Consonants

A table containing the consonant phonemes. Using a modified version of the IPA tables is recommended. The table below can be copied, deleting the sounds, rows and columns which are not required. The rows may be reordered to illustrate connections between them that are significant to the language in question.

Parentheses may be used to set off marginal phonemes, or ones found only in loanwords, for example (m); the meaning of the parentheses should be explained in the text. Allophones are not normally shown, being relegated to the section on allophony below, but may be presented when it is not clear which should be taken as the default allophone of the phoneme. In such cases they should be clearly marked as variants of the same phoneme, for example m ~ mb, and not set off in separate cells.

Consonant phonemes

	Bilabial		Labio- dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar (Palato- alveolar)		Retroflex		Palatal		Palata- lized velar		Velar		Labia- lized velar		Uvular		Pharyn- geal		Epi- glottal		Glottal
Plosive	p	b					t	d			ʈ	ɖ	c	ɟ	kʲ	ɡʲ	k	ɡ	kʷ	ɡʷ	q	ɢ			ʡ		ʔ
Ejective plosive	pʼ						tʼ								kʲʼ		kʼ		kʷʼ
Implosive		ɓ						ɗ						ʄ				ɠ				ʛ
Affricate							ts	dz	tʃ	dʒ
Ejective affricate							tsʼ		tʃʼ
Fricative	ɸ	β	f	v	θ	ð	s	z	ʃ	ʒ	ʂ	ʐ	ç	ʝ	xʲ	ɣʲ	x	ɣ	xʷ	ɣʷ	χ	ʁ	ħ	ʕ	ʜ	ʢ	h	ɦ
Lateral fricative							ɬ	ɮ
Nasal		m		ɱ				n				ɳ		ɲ				ŋ		ŋʷ		ɴ
Trill								r														ʀ
Tap or flap								ɾ				ɽ
Lateral flap								ɺ
Approximant				ʋ				ɹ				ɻ		j				ɰ	ʍ	w
Lateral approximant								l				ɭ		ʎ				ʟ

Vowels

If possible, draw a vowel chart based on available literature. Examples of these can be found at Dutch, Sindhi and Swedish. Otherwise, make a table like this one:

Monophthong phonemes

	Front		Central		Back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
Close	i	y	ɨ	ʉ	ɯ	u
Near-close	ɪ	ʏ			ʊ
Close-mid	e	ø	ɘ	ɵ	ɤ	o
Mid	e̞	ø̞	ə		ɤ̞	o̞
Open-mid	ɛ	œ	ɜ	ɞ	ʌ	ɔ
Near-open	æ		ɐ
Open			a		ɑ	ɒ

Diphthongs need to be in a separate table. How best to organize them depends on what diphthongs are present in the language's phonemic inventory. If almost any monophthong can be followed by /j/ or /w/, consider treating them as vowel + glide sequences rather than as monophonemic diphthongs.

Diphthong phonemes

	Closer component is front	Closer component is back
Opener component is unrounded	aɪ	aʊ
Opener component is rounded	ɔɪ

Phonotactics

Describe syllable structure, consonant clusters, etc. See phonotactics.

Phonological processes

Describe aspects such as allophones, assimilation, epenthesis, elision and vowel harmony.

Prosody

Describe prosodic features such as intonation, tone, rhythm, and stress.

Samples

A sound sample spoken by a native speaker consisting of a shorter text with a complete IPA-transcription, preferably one broad (phonemic) and one narrow. Make sure to note the age, sex and the dialect of the speaker. A recommended text to read is a translation of the fable "The North Wind and the Sun", traditionally used by the IPA. The following, taken from the IPA Handbook, was read by a speaker of California English.

Broad transcription

ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ən ðə ˈsʌn wɚ dɪsˈpjutɪŋ ˈwɪtʃ wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ, wɛn ə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˌkem əˈlɑŋ ˈɹæpt in ə ˈwoɹm ˈklok. ðe əˈgɹid ðət ðə ˈwʌn hu ˈfɚst səkˈsidəd ɪn ˈmekɪŋ ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈtek ɪz ˈklok ˌɑf ʃʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚd ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ðɪ ˈəðɚ. ðɛn ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈblu əz ˈhɑɹd əz i ˈkʊd, bət ðə ˈmoɹ hi ˈblu ðə ˈmoɹ ˈklosli dɪd ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈfold hɪz ˈklok əˈɹand ɪm; ˌæn ət ˈlæst ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd ˌgev ˈʌp ði əˈtɛmpt. ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn ˈʃaɪnd ˌaʊt ˈwoɹmli ənd ɪˈmidiətli ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈtʊk ˌɑf ɪz klok. ən so ðə ˈnoɹθ ˌwɪnd wəz əˈblaɪʒ tɪ kənˈfɛs ðət ðə ˈsʌn wəz ðə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ əv ðə ˈtu.

Orthographic version

"The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took his cloak off. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two."