The Fonetik Mode
Version 1.9.5

Thanks to Justin B Rye for much collaborative aid.

This is a guide on how to write in the Fonetik transcription mode for the English language. This mode is one of my own design (with much help from JBR), and I don't really expect anyone to use it (unfortunately), but I have decided to write it up anyway. One interesting aspect of Fonetik is that when you are writing it, your accent is written in to the text itself, so Fonetik written in different areas will stand out, and sources can be seen more clearly, and greater impressions made. (such as the word tomato, or with: English with is (with) in American, but commonly (widh) in British)

Some basic rules:

• No double-letters (such as in letters, platter, or carrot, which become letirz, platir, and kérot) unless actually pronounced that way (such as in unnamed, which is unnémd in Fonetik)).
• No silent letters of any kind
• No question about word pronunciation

Updates

• 1.9: Circumflexes replaced with acutes. o, oh, and ó are rethought and have become ó, o, and û. ai replaced by ý. All symbols are now circumflexes except û, the vowel in cup (kûp) (u is taken by the vowel in soot (sut), and ú by the vowel in room (rúm)).
• 1.8: Introduction of â for ah, ê for ei.
• 1.7: o and oh reversed.
• 1.6: Introduction of î, ô, and û. Alteration of some diphthongs.
• 1.5: Much restructuring of vowels, q and x, ng, jh and zh, and others, thanks to JBR's help.
• 1.3: oo has been brought back for the longer of the long o-sounds
• 1.2: the German ch is replaced by q
• 1.1 A new character combination added: jh. This is for sounds like the s in version (spelt verjhun in Fonetik).

The Character Changes

• a - as in hat (hat), cat (kat), or Latin (Latin)
• á - as in raw (rá), saw (sá), ball (bál), fall (fál). Codes are Alt-0225 ( á ) and Alt-0193 ( Á ).
• au - as in pound (paund), round (raund), crown (kraun)
• b - no change
• c - makes the ch sound in Fonetik (so church becomes curc). S-sound Cs are now s. K-sound Cs are now k.
• d - no change
• dh - th-sound as in that (dhat), there (dhér), this (dhis), wither (widhur), and weather (wedhur). Note also th.
• e - as in bed (bed), red (red), and said (sed)
• é - as in bay (bé), pay (pé), or baseball (bésbál). Codes are Alt-0234 ( é ) and Alt-0202 ( É ).
• f - no change
• g - as in gray (gré), Gary (Gérí), garden (garden). Never a j-sound.
• h - no change
• i - as in bill (bil), sick (sik), mill (mil). Note also ý.
• í - as in peel (píl), seal (síl), meal (míl). Codes are Alt-0237 ( í ) and Alt-0205 ( Í ). Note also ý.
• j - no change
• k - no change
• l - no change
• m - no change
• n - no change
• ng - as in ungainly (ûngénlí), unglued (ûnglúd)
• nh - as in ring (rinh), song (sonh)
• nhg - as in finger (finhgur)
• o - o-sound as in pop (pop), sock (sok), rock (rok).
• ó - o-sound as in toe (tó), flow (fló), broken (bróken). Codes are Alt-0244 ( ó ) and Alt-0212 ( Ó ).
• oi - as in oink (oinhk), point (point), joy (joi).
• p - no change
• ph - replaced by f
• q - completely eliminated
• r - no change
• ?~? - as in Spanish rolled rr
• s - standard s-sound. When pronounced as a z-sound, this is changed to z.
• sh - no change
• t - no change
• th - a th-sound as in thistle (thisl), cloth (kloth), or bath (bath). Note also dh.
• u - u-sound as in put (put), soot (sut), look (luk), hook (huk). Note also ú, û, and yú.
• ú - as in suit (sút), boot (bút), Luke (Lúk), rude (rúd). Codes are Alt-0250 ( ú ) and Alt-0218 ( Ú ). Note also u, û, and yú.
• û - u-sound as in cup (kûp), mud (mûd), jump (jûmp), shut (shût). Never as the sounds in put (put), mute (myút), or rude (rúd). Codes are Alt-0251 ( û ) and Alt-0219 ( Û ). Note also u, ú, and yú.
• v - no change
• w - no change
• x - Xs completely eliminated, and replaced by z, ks, gz, or whatever other odd purpose it is used in. X is now the German ch as in buch (bux) or Scottish loch (lox). Never the ch as in English church (curc). I guess Professor Xavier (Prófesor Egzévyur) is going to have to stop going by Professor X, and rename the X-Men...
• y - consonant y-sound as in you (yú), yellow (yeló), yard (yard), New York (Nú Yórk).
• ý - as in pie (pý), flight (flýt), climb (klým), sigh (sý), cry (krý), or eye (ý). Codes are Alt-0253 ( ý ) and Alt-0221 ( Ý ).
• yú - as in pew (pyú), mute (myút), cute (kyút), or you (yú). Not as in crew (krú) or flew (flú). Note also u, ú, and û.
• z - no change
• zh - a sound similar to sh. Found in words such as version (vurzhûn), evasion (ívézhûn).

• Notes:
• ch - Completely eliminated. English ch in church becomes c. German ch in buch becomes x.
• ea - when sounded like:

  read ("I will read the book later.")	ríd
  read ("I read that book before.")	red
  bear	bér
  beauty	byútí
  bureau	byúró
  changeable	cénjábl
  create	kríét
  deal	díl

• oo/u - eliminated in favor of u or ú. Indicates a longer o-sound (the difference between soot (sut in Fonetik) and suit (sút in Fonetik)).
• ou - when sounded like pound, pout, or round changed to au. When sounded like soup changed to ú.
• ow - when sounded like pound, how, or now, changed to au. When sounded like row or tow, changed to oh.
• ui - when sounded like:

  guide	gýd
  alleluiá	álélúyá
  mosquito	moskító
  Jesuit	Jezúit
  build	bild
  squirt	skwurt
  bruise	brúz
  quit	kwit

• unc/unk - when pronounced like uncommon replaced by ûnk (ûnkomûn). When pronounced like uncle replaced by ûnhk (ûnhkl).
• y (vowel) - eliminated in favor of appropriate vowels or vowel combinations (toy becomes toi, fly becomes flý, rhythm becomes ridhm)

The Alphabet

A Á B C D E É F G H I Í J K L M N O Ó P Q R S T U Ú Û V W X Y Ý Z - Seven additions (Á á, É é, Í í, Ó ó, Ú ú, Û û, Ý ý).

Digraphs

Other Notable Character Combinations

Uncommon Characters

Vowel + R Combinations

Easily Mistranslated

• (Fonetik) wórd (English) ward
• (Fonetik) wírd (English) weird
• (Fonetik) wurd (English) word
• (Fonetik) murdur (English murder
• Check Cs (should be k and s when not ch) and Ss such as was, is, or as (should be wûz, iz and az, or however it is in your accent).

Examples

Here are some basic phrases translated in to the Fonetik mode.

The pronunciations of the names of the letters of the English alphabet written in Fonetik.

The pronunciations of the names of the letters of the Fonetik alphabet written in Fonetik.

Click here to view this page partially translated to Fonetik.

Click here to go back to deadpete.tripod.com.