Irregularities and exceptions in Interlingua: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:21, 9 October 2011

Revision as of 05:58, 23 October 2011

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==Required==

===Pronunciation===

==Mandatory Exceptions==

*If ''e'', ''i'' or ''y'' succeeds ''c'', it is pronounced as '''{{IPA|[ts]}}''', or optionally '''{{IPA|[s]}}''' (instead of ''k'').

===Pronunciation===

*"ch" is pronounced like the {{IPA|[k]}} "e'''ch'''o" or "'''ch'''rome", occasionally as the {{IPA|[ʃ]}} in "'''ch'''ef".

*"rh" is pronounced as '''r'''.

Unlike [[Esperanto]], the most popular [[auxiliary language]], Interlingua doesn't have a 'one letter one sound' orthography. As in English, several letters can be pronounced in different ways; depending on where they are in a word. For instance, the letter '''S''' can be pronounced as either [s] (stato) or [z] (chinese). Here is a list of other mandatory exceptions in pronunciation:

*"sh" is pronounced {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, as in English.

*"th" is pronounced as '''t'''.

{| class="wikitable"

*"ph" is pronounced as '''f'''.

|-

*If "ti" is unstressed before a vowel and not preceded by ''s'', it is pronounced like "'''{{IPA|[tsj]}}'''" in "ge'''ts y'''ou", "'''{{IPA|[sj]}}'''" in "pa'''ss y'''ou" or "'''{{IPA|[tj]}}'''" in "le'''t y'''ou" (instead of as "'''ti'''").

! Letter / Digraph

*If ''u'' is unstressed before a vowel, it is pronounced {{IPA|[w]}}, like in "pers'''u'''ade" (instead of like in "pl'''u'''ral").

! Possible Pronunciations<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.optus.net/~ado_hall/interlingua/gi/spelling/spelling_&_pronunciation.html|author=Alexander Gode & Hugh Blair|publisher=|language=english|date=2011-10-23}}</ref>

*If ''y'' is unstressed before a vowel, it is pronounced {{IPA|[j]}}, like "'''y'''es" (instead of like in "mach'''i'''ne").

! Rules

*There exist unassimilated guest words which retain their original pronunciation and spelling minus all redundant diacritical signs.

! Examples

|-

| c

| [k] </br> [ts] (or [s])

| [k] when ''c'' is followed by ''a'', ''o'', ''u'' or any ''consonant'' </br> [ts] (or /s/) when ''e'', ''i'' or ''y'' come after ''c''

| camera, crear </br> acido, Cinderella

|-

| ch

| [k] </br> [ʧ] </br> [ʃ]

| like [k] in words of Greek origin </br> [ʧ] only in a few words (very rare) </br> [ʃ] in several words that come from the French

| cholera, chrome, echo </br> chic </br> machine, chef

|-

| h

| [h] </br> silent

| usually [h] </br> but silent after ''r'' and ''t''

| horlogio </br> rhetoria

|-

| rh

| [r]

*"rh"| isalways pronounced aslike '''[r'''.]

| rhetorica, rheumatic

|-

|-

| s

| [s] <br/> [z]

| [s] if followed by a consonant <br/> [z] between vowels

| son, spa <br/> accusative, abstruse

|-

| sh

| [ʃ]

| always pronounced like [ʃ]

| Shakespeare.

|-

| th

| [t]

*"th"| isalways pronounced aslike '''[t'''.]

| theatro

|-

| ph

| [f]

*"ph"| isalways pronounced aslike '''[f'''.]

| photographia, photosynthese

|-

| t

| [t] </br> [ts]

| [t] when it is followed by ''a'', ''o'', ''u'' or any ''consonant'' </br> [ts] when ''e'', ''i'' or ''y'' come after ''t''

| tourista </br> creation

|-

| u

| [u:] </br> [w]

| [u:] when between two consonants or stressed before a vowel </br> [w] when unstressed and precedes a vowel

| luna, plural </br> persuade, superflue

|-

| x

| [ks] </br> [z]

| usually [ks] </br> like [z] when precedes a vowel

| affixo </br> xenon, xenophobia

|-

| y

| [j] </br> [i:]

| [j] when unstressed before vowels </br> other like [i:]

| Yugoslavia, yoga </br> tyranno, typo

|}

Besides, there are also unassimilated guest words that retain their original pronunciation and spelling; though the diacritics are usually removed. Commons examples of such words are ''radios Röntgen'' (X rays) and ''kümmel''.

===Contractions===