Help:IPA/Alemannic German

This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Alemannic German on Wikipedia.

It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Alemannic German in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here. Some keys are built on consensus more strongly than others; if the conventions of this key are already in wide use, any substantive change to it should be discussed on the talk page first as it would affect a large number of articles. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

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The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Swabian, Low Alemannic, High Alemannic and Highest Alemannic German pronunciations. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Simple Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-gsw}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

Consonants
IPA	Examples	Closest equivalent
b̥	Huube [ˈhuːb̥ə] 'bonnet' (ZH)^[1]	bare
ç	Kicha [ˈkʰɪçɐ] 'kitchen' (Upper Swabian)	hew^[2]
d̥	Lade [ˈlɒd̥ə] 'store' (ZH)^[1]	dart
f	offe [ˈofə] 'open' (VS)	foot
fː	offe [ˈofːə] 'open' (BE)	staff function
ɡ̊	haage [ˈhɒːɡ̊ə] 'fence in' (ZH)^[1]	go
ɣ̊	mache [ˈmɒɣ̊ə] 'to make' (ZH)^[1]^[3]	Scottish loch
ʁ̥	mache [ˈmɒʁ̥ə] 'to make' (ZH)^[1]^[3]	Scottish loch
h	Hand [hɒnd̥] 'hand' (ZH)	hat
j	Jaar [jɒːr] 'year' (ZH)	you
k	Egge [ˈekə] 'edge' (BS)	scan
kː	Egge [ˈɛkːə] 'edge' (BE)	scan
kʰ	Kind [kʰind̥] 'child' (BS)^[4]	cone
kx	hocke [ˈhokxə] 'sit' (ZH)^[3]	Broad cockney cake
qχ	hocke [ˈhoqχə] 'sit' (ZH)^[3]	Broad cockney cake
l	maale [ˈmɒːlə] 'to paint' (ZH)	lover
lː	Müller [ˈmylːər] 'miller' (ZH)	real life
ɫ	Wält [ˈʋæɫt] 'world' (Saanenland)	build
ɫː	alli [ˈaɫːi] 'all' (Saanenland)	real life
m	zaame [ˈtsɒːmə] 'tame' (ZH)	mood
mː	Hammer [ˈhamːər] 'hammer' (BE)	film-maker
n	zaane [ˈtsɒːnə] 'to teethe' (ZH)	noon
nː	Sunne [ˈz̥ʊnːə] 'sun' (BE)	cleanness
ŋ	Zange [ˈtsɒŋə] 'pliers' (ZH)	ring
ŋː	Zange [ˈtsaŋːə] 'pliers' (BE)	ring, but longer
p	huupe [ˈhuːpə] 'to hoot' (BS)	span
pː	öppe [ˈœpːə] 'around' (BE)	span
pʰ	Pack [pʰɒkx] 'parcel' (ZH)^[4]	pole
pf	Soipfe [ˈz̥oi̯pfə] 'soap' (ZH)	cupfull
r	faare [ˈv̥ɒːrə] 'to drive' (ZH)^[5]	American water
rː	cheerren [ˈxeːrːən] 'to sweep' (Haslital)^[5]	Italian burro
ʀ	faare [ˈv̥ɒːʀə] 'to drive' (ZH)^[5]	French frere or Northumbrian burr
ʁ	faare [ˈv̥ɒːʁə] 'to drive' (ZH)^[5]	French frere or Northumbrian burr
ʁ̥	besser [ˈb̥esʁ̥] 'better' (BS)^[5]	Scottish loch
ʕ	ändard [ˈend̥aʕd̥] 'changes' (SWG)^[6]	RP ahead, but with pharynx constricted
s	hasse [ˈhɑsə] 'to hate' (VS)	soon
sː	hasse [ˈhasːə] 'to hate' (BE)	class size
ʃ	tüüsche [ˈtyːʃə] 'to exchange' (VS)	ship
ʃː	Äsche [ˈæʃːə] 'ash' (BE)	cash shortage
t	Latte [ˈlɑtə] 'lath' (BS)	stand
tː	Latte [ˈlatːə] 'lath' (BE)	stand
tʰ	Thee [tʰeː] 'tea' (ZH)^[4]	too
ts	butze [ˈb̥utsə] 'to clean' (ZH)	cats
tʃ	tätsche [ˈtætʃə] 'to clap' (ZH)	chip
v̥	Ofe [ˈov̥ə] 'oven' (ZH)^[1]	foot
ʋ	Wand [ʋɒnd̥] 'wall' (ZH)	between wine and vine
ʋː	niww [niʋː] 'new' (Haslital)	between wine and vine
w	Giel [ɡ̊iə̯w] 'boy' (BE)^[7]	wine
wː	Balle [ˈb̥awːə] 'ball' (BE)^[8]	roughly like bowwow
x	Chatz [ˈxɑts] 'cat' (Simmental)^[3]	Scottish loch
xː	lache [ˈlaxːə] 'to laugh' (Simmental)^[3]	Scottish loch, but longer
χ	Chatz [ˈχɑts] 'cat' (BE)^[3]	Scottish loch
χː	lache [ˈlaχːə] 'to laugh' (BE)^[3]	Scottish loch, but longer
z̥	Hase [ˈhɒz̥ə] 'hares' (ZH)^[1]	soon
ʒ̊	nuusche [ˈnuːʒ̊ə] 'to rummage' (ZH)^[1]	ship

Vowels
IPA	Examples	Closest equivalent
a	Affe [ˈafːə] 'apes' (SG)^[9]	art
aː	schlaaffe [ˈʒ̊laːfə] 'to sleep' (SG)^[9]	father
ɑ	Affe [ˈɑfːə] 'apes' (BE)^[9]	art
ɑː	schlaaffe [ˈʒ̊lɑːfə] 'to sleep' (BE)^[9]	father
ɒ	Mane [ˈmɒnə] 'men' (ZH)^[9]	RP hot
ɒː	maane [ˈmɒːnə] 'to remind' (ZH)^[9]	RP nod
æ	gäll [ɡ̊æl] 'isn't it?' (ZH)	hat
æː	gääl [ɡ̊æːl] 'yellow' (ZH)	had
e	Bett [ˈb̥et] 'bed' (ZH)	Scottish late
eː	deene [ˈd̥eːnə] 'stretch' (ZH)	Scottish day
ɛ	Hèr [hɛr] 'mister' (ZH)	bet
ɛː	hèèr [hɛːr] 'from' (ZH)	bed
ə	schwèche [ˈʒ̊ʋɛxə] 'to weaken' (ZH)^[10]	about
i	sibe [ˈz̥ib̥ə] 'seven' (ZH)	leaf
iː	siibe [ˈz̥iːb̥ə] 'to sieve' (ZH)	leave
ɪ	Rìtter [ˈrɪtər] 'knight' (BE)	kit
ɪː	Rììs [rɪːz̥] 'giant' (BE)	kid
ɔ	Òfe [ˈɔv̥ə] 'oven' (BE)	off
ɔː	Gòòfe [ˈɡ̊ɔːv̥ə] 'kids' (BE)	dog
o	hole [ˈholə] 'to fetch' (ZH)	Scottish oak
oː	hool [hoːl] 'hollow' (ZH)	Scottish stove
ø	Böge [ˈb̥øɡ̊ə] 'sheets of paper' (ZH)	Somewhat like nurse
œ	Blö̀ff [b̥lœf] 'bluff' (ZH)	Somewhat like nurse
øː	Böögge [ˈb̥øːkə] 'fools' (ZH)	Somewhat like fur
œː	tö̀ö̀rfe [ˈtœːrfə] 'to be allowed to' (ZH)	Somewhat like fur
u	Bruch [b̥rux] 'break' (ZH)	boot
uː	Bruuch [b̥ruːɣ̊] 'custom' (ZH)	food
ʉː	Muus [mʉːs] 'mouse' (BS)^[11]	Modern RP goose
ʊ	Schùtt [ʒ̊ʊt] 'debris' (BE)	foot
ʊː	Brùùch [b̥rʊːɣ̊] 'break' (BE)	good
y	Füli [ˈv̥yli] 'pen' (ZH)	Somewhat like cute
ʏ	hǜtt [hʏt] 'today' (BE)	Somewhat like cute
yː	Füüli [ˈv̥yːli] 'laziness' (ZH)	Somewhat like feud
ʏː	Tǜǜre [ˈtʏːrə] 'door' (BE)	Somewhat like feud

Diphthong offsets
IPA	Examples	English approximation
a̯	nia [nia̯] 'never' (SWG)	roughly like ear
æ̯	niä [niæ̯] 'never' (UR)
ə̯	nie [niə̯] 'never' (ZH)
i̯	frei [v̥rei̯] 'free' (ZH)	The y-like ending in day
o̯	Chüo [xyo̯] 'cow' (VS)	The w-like ending in go
u̯	äu [æu̯] 'also' (ZH)	The w-like ending in go
y̑	vlöüge [ˈv̥lœy̑ɡ̊ə] 'to fly' (Saanenland)	Roughly like the w-like ending in go

Suprasegmentals
IPA	Examples	Explanation
ˈ	deene [ˈd̥eːnə] 'stretch' (ZH)	Primary stress, as in deer /ˈdɪər/
ˌ	Hèrdöpfel [ˈhɛrˌd̥øpfəl] 'potato' (ZH)	Secondary stress, as in commandeer /ˌkɒmənˈdɪər/

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Some scholars choose to transcribe the lenis obstruents with the symbols ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩, rather than ⟨b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, ɣ̊, v̥, z̥, ʒ̊⟩. In that case, the fortis obstruents are transcribed ⟨pː, tː, kː, xː, sː, ʃː⟩ or ⟨pp, tt, kk, xx, ss, ʃʃ⟩, rather than ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩. Here, we choose to transcribe the lenis obstruents as ⟨b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, ɣ̊, v̥, z̥, ʒ̊⟩, whereas the fortis obstruents are transcribed ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩. Long fortis obstruents or geminates occur in most of Switzerland except for the extreme Northeast, Wallis, and the Grisons–St. Gall Rhine valley.
↑ If pronounced different from yew, cf. yew–hew merger.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 ^3.4 ^3.5 ^3.6 ^3.7 The dorsal obstruents /kx, x, ɣ̊/ are realized as velar [kx, x, ɣ̊] or uvular [qχ, χ, ʁ̥], depending on the dialect.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 The aspirated consonants [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] occur in borrowings from Standard German (Fleischer & Schmid (2006:244)). In the dialects of Basel and Chur, an aspirated [kʰ] is also present in native words.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 The /r/ phoneme can be pronounced as an alveolar trill [r] or an alveolar tap [ɾ] (with both being transcribed with ⟨r⟩ in this guide for the sake of simplicity),, a uvular trill [ʀ], a voiced uvular fricative or approximant [ʁ], a voiceless lenis uvular fricative [ʁ̥]. Some dialects (e.g. Zurich German) use all six realizations (Fleischer & Schmid (2006:244)).
↑ In Swabian German, /r/ is realized as a uvular approximant [ʁ̞] in syllable onset, but as a pharyngeal approximant [ʕ̞] in other positions (Markus Hiller. "Pharyngeals and "lax" vowel quality" (PDF). Mannheim: Institut für Deutsche Sprache.). For simplicity, we transcribe these sounds as, respectively, [ʁ] and [ʕ].
↑ In Bernese German, /l/ in the syllable coda is realized as [w].
↑ In Bernese German, the geminate /lː/ is realized as [wː].
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 The open vowels /a, aː/ can be front or central (with both sets transcribed as [a, aː] for simplicity), back unrounded [ɑ, ɑː] or back rounded [ɒ, ɒː], depending on the dialect.
↑ The schwa /ə/ occurs only in unstressed syllables.
↑ In Basel German and in the dialect of Markgräflerland, /uː/ is fronted to [ʉː].

Bibliography

Dauwalder, Hans (1992), Wie mma s seid und cha schriiben. Eine haslideutsche Kurzgrammatik, Meiringen: Gemeinnütziger Verein
Dieth, Eugen; Schmid-Cadalbert, Christian (1986), Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Dieth-Schreibung (2nd ed.), Aarau: Sauerländer
Fleischer, Jürg; Schmid, Stephan (2006), "Zurich German" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 36 (2): 243–253, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002441
Hotzenköcherle, Rudolf, ed. (1962–1997), Sprachatlas der deutschen Schweiz, Bern: Francke
Werlen, Iwar (1977), Lautstrukturen des Dialekts von Brig im schweizerischen Kanton Wallis, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner
Marti, Werner (1985), Berndeutsch-Grammatik, Bern: Francke, ISBN 3-7720-1587-5

[lenisobstruents-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Some scholars choose to transcribe the lenis obstruents with the symbols ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩, rather than ⟨b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, ɣ̊, v̥, z̥, ʒ̊⟩. In that case, the fortis obstruents are transcribed ⟨pː, tː, kː, xː, sː, ʃː⟩ or ⟨pp, tt, kk, xx, ss, ʃʃ⟩, rather than ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩. Here, we choose to transcribe the lenis obstruents as ⟨b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, ɣ̊, v̥, z̥, ʒ̊⟩, whereas the fortis obstruents are transcribed ⟨p, t, k, x, s, ʃ⟩. Long fortis obstruents or geminates occur in most of Switzerland except for the extreme Northeast, Wallis, and the Grisons–St. Gall Rhine valley.

[2] If pronounced different from yew, cf. yew–hew merger.

[velaruvular-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 ^3.4 ^3.5 ^3.6 ^3.7 The dorsal obstruents /kx, x, ɣ̊/ are realized as velar [kx, x, ɣ̊] or uvular [qχ, χ, ʁ̥], depending on the dialect.

[aspirated-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 The aspirated consonants [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] occur in borrowings from Standard German (Fleischer & Schmid (2006:244)). In the dialects of Basel and Chur, an aspirated [kʰ] is also present in native words.

[r-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 The /r/ phoneme can be pronounced as an alveolar trill [r] or an alveolar tap [ɾ] (with both being transcribed with ⟨r⟩ in this guide for the sake of simplicity),, a uvular trill [ʀ], a voiced uvular fricative or approximant [ʁ], a voiceless lenis uvular fricative [ʁ̥]. Some dialects (e.g. Zurich German) use all six realizations (Fleischer & Schmid (2006:244)).

[6] In Swabian German, /r/ is realized as a uvular approximant [ʁ̞] in syllable onset, but as a pharyngeal approximant [ʕ̞] in other positions (Markus Hiller. "Pharyngeals and "lax" vowel quality" (PDF). Mannheim: Institut für Deutsche Sprache.). For simplicity, we transcribe these sounds as, respectively, [ʁ] and [ʕ].

[7] In Bernese German, /l/ in the syllable coda is realized as [w].

[8] In Bernese German, the geminate /lː/ is realized as [wː].

[open-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 The open vowels /a, aː/ can be front or central (with both sets transcribed as [a, aː] for simplicity), back unrounded [ɑ, ɑː] or back rounded [ɒ, ɒː], depending on the dialect.

[10] The schwa /ə/ occurs only in unstressed syllables.

[11] In Basel German and in the dialect of Markgräflerland, /uː/ is fronted to [ʉː].

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

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