Wikipedia: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. (Standard transliteration schemes like SAMPA are OK but not preferred.) Surround phonemic/phonetic symbols with the IPA template, like this:


 * ("shoot") for phonemic transcription
 * ("rant") for phonetic transcription

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

The 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 ISBN 0-521-63751-1.

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.

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:

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 or, consider treating them as vowel + glide sequences rather than as monophonemic diphthongs.

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.

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."