Transcription: Difference between revisions

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Below is a list of techniques one can use to transcribe foreign words into Toaq's phonology. It is rarely important to transcribe a word in any particular way, so the techniques can be regarded as suggestions to be used or ignored depending on context and taste.
'''Transcription''' is the act of representing the sound of a foreign name in Toaq, given its restrictive rules of what constitutes a valid syllable or not. (Name phrases headed with the name marker {{t|mı}} or the quote marker(s) {{t|shu}} and {{t|mo}} should themselves contain valid Toaq.) For ad-hoc, on-the-fly, one-use borrowings, more meticulous-sounding transcriptions may be more appropriate (see first section); for new coinings/borrowings, however, you should take artistic licence in collapsing the foreign word into a more Toaq-friendly form (see second section).


* Render approximate onsets /w/ as {{T|ba}}.
Examples on this page use English as the source language, but the general process is language-agnostic.
* Render approximate onsets /j/ as {{T|j}}.
 
* Render unacceptable consonant clusters as {{T|Cy}} syllables: "past" -> {{T|pasyty}}.
== Conforming to Toaq phonotactics ==
** Render "n + consonant" pairings as a syllable-final {{T|q}} on the previous word: "pans" -> {{T|paqsy}}.
There are a few important restrictions which need to be sidestepped when transcribing:
** Render "t + s" pairings as {{T|c}} and "d + z" pairings as {{T|z}}: "rights" -> {{T|raıcy}} and "rides" -> {{T|raızy}}. (This may seem like an obvious rule, but it can be easy to forget that these particular "consonant clusters" are allowed in Toaq's morphology.)
* There may be at most one consonant in front of any vowel, and at most a {{t|q}} following any vowel.
With this in mind, the primary way of “inflating” a foreign word so that it conforms to Toaq’s phonotactics is by breaking up consonant clusters with a vowel that is the same as a neighbouring one and nasals to either {{t|-m}} or {{t|-q}}
{|
| ''past'' || → || {{t|pasata}}
|-
| ''rumble'' || → || {{t|raqbala}}
|-
| ''cardamom'' || → || {{t|karadamoq}}
|-
| ''dragon'' || → || {{t|daragoq}}
|}
 
== Reducing consonant clusters ==
Depending on the situation, it may be appropriate to remove a sound or two from the word you’re transcribing to avoid long strings of repetitive-sounding syllables (''scrumptious'' → {{t|sakaraqpachasa}} anybody??). This approach involved identifying the less important sound out of a two in a consonant cluster; usual suspects include sibilants like {{t|s}} and liquids like {{t|l r}}:
{|
| ''stooge'' || → || {{t|tuju}} || (/st/ → /t/)
|-
| ''transpose'' || → || {{t|raqposo}} || (/tɹ/ → /ɹ/ → {{t|r}}; /nsp/ → /np/ → {{t|-qp-}})
|-
| ''smile'' || → || {{t|maılı}} || (/sm/ → /m/)
|-
| ''cardamon'' || → || {{t|kadamom}} || (/ɹd/ → /d/)
|-
| ''scrumptious'' || → || {{t|saraqchasa}}
|}
Also pay attention to soundalikes and actual pronunciations of words rather than their spellings, which may aid in producing a nicer-sounding form:
{|
| ''rumble'' || → || {{t|raqbo}} || (final syllabic /l̩/ sound often realized as [o] or something similar in some dialects of English)
|-
| ''empty'' || → || {{t|emtı}} || (/mpt/ → /mt/ reduction already present in spoken English)
|}
There are two things to keep in mind when following this approach:
* You are very likely to run into existing Toaq words. Such a connotation may sometimes be undesirable. (Note that if you’re attempting [[wikipedia:phono-semantic matching|phono-semantic matching]], then this technique may give you bountiful results.)
* Intelligibility suffers. If you’re trying to coin a word via a borrowing, then this is perhaps the appropriate thing to do, but if you’re invoking the name of a person or thing on the fly, you may not be understood. Exercise due taste.
 
For consonant clusters ending in /s/ or /z/ specifically, it is often enough to turn them into {{t|s}} or {{t|c}} or {{t|z}}:
{|
| ''capsaicin'' || → || {{t|kaseısıq, kaceısıq}} || (/ps/ → /s, ts/)
|-
| ''axolotl'' || → || {{t|asoloty, acoloty}} || (/ks/ → /s, ts/)
|}
Similar treatment could be applied to consonant clusters ''beginning'' in /s/ or /z/, such as /st/, /sk/ (''past'' → {{t|?paca}}); however, this sort of transformation is highly dependent on your sense of aesthetics and doesn’t read very clearly. It may be acceptable in borrowings and coinages.
 
== Handling foreign sounds ==
* /w/ and /j/ can be turned into {{t|ꝡ}}. In past versions, they were turned either into {{t|b}} and {{t|j}} respectively or dropped.
* /ts/ and /dz/ should always be {{t|cy, zy}}, never {{t|tysy, dyzy}} (e.g., ''rights'', ''rides'' → {{t|raıcy, raızy}} not {{t|*raıtysy, *raıdyzy}}). /z/ can stay as {{t|z}}, even though the two are not the same.
* /θ/ and /ð/ (as in English ''thought'', ''thigh'') may be transformed into {{t|s/z, t/d, f/–, p/b}}. There is no consensus about which transcription is the superior one, but some may be more appropriate for some source languages than others (e.g., Spanish [θ] is really a variation of /s/, so transcribe it as {{t|s}}).

Latest revision as of 06:43, 28 December 2022

Transcription is the act of representing the sound of a foreign name in Toaq, given its restrictive rules of what constitutes a valid syllable or not. (Name phrases headed with the name marker or the quote marker(s) shu and mo should themselves contain valid Toaq.) For ad-hoc, on-the-fly, one-use borrowings, more meticulous-sounding transcriptions may be more appropriate (see first section); for new coinings/borrowings, however, you should take artistic licence in collapsing the foreign word into a more Toaq-friendly form (see second section).

Examples on this page use English as the source language, but the general process is language-agnostic.

Conforming to Toaq phonotactics

There are a few important restrictions which need to be sidestepped when transcribing:

  • There may be at most one consonant in front of any vowel, and at most a q following any vowel.

With this in mind, the primary way of “inflating” a foreign word so that it conforms to Toaq’s phonotactics is by breaking up consonant clusters with a vowel that is the same as a neighbouring one and nasals to either -m or -q

past pasata
rumble raqbala
cardamom karadamoq
dragon daragoq

Reducing consonant clusters

Depending on the situation, it may be appropriate to remove a sound or two from the word you’re transcribing to avoid long strings of repetitive-sounding syllables (scrumptioussakaraqpachasa anybody??). This approach involved identifying the less important sound out of a two in a consonant cluster; usual suspects include sibilants like s and liquids like l r:

stooge tuju (/st/ → /t/)
transpose raqposo (/tɹ/ → /ɹ/ → r; /nsp/ → /np/ → -qp-)
smile maılı (/sm/ → /m/)
cardamon kadamom (/ɹd/ → /d/)
scrumptious saraqchasa

Also pay attention to soundalikes and actual pronunciations of words rather than their spellings, which may aid in producing a nicer-sounding form:

rumble raqbo (final syllabic /l̩/ sound often realized as [o] or something similar in some dialects of English)
empty emtı (/mpt/ → /mt/ reduction already present in spoken English)

There are two things to keep in mind when following this approach:

  • You are very likely to run into existing Toaq words. Such a connotation may sometimes be undesirable. (Note that if you’re attempting phono-semantic matching, then this technique may give you bountiful results.)
  • Intelligibility suffers. If you’re trying to coin a word via a borrowing, then this is perhaps the appropriate thing to do, but if you’re invoking the name of a person or thing on the fly, you may not be understood. Exercise due taste.

For consonant clusters ending in /s/ or /z/ specifically, it is often enough to turn them into s or c or z:

capsaicin kaseısıq, kaceısıq (/ps/ → /s, ts/)
axolotl asoloty, acoloty (/ks/ → /s, ts/)

Similar treatment could be applied to consonant clusters beginning in /s/ or /z/, such as /st/, /sk/ (past?paca); however, this sort of transformation is highly dependent on your sense of aesthetics and doesn’t read very clearly. It may be acceptable in borrowings and coinages.

Handling foreign sounds

  • /w/ and /j/ can be turned into . In past versions, they were turned either into b and j respectively or dropped.
  • /ts/ and /dz/ should always be cy, zy, never tysy, dyzy (e.g., rights, ridesraıcy, raızy not
  • raıtysy, *raıdyzy). /z/ can stay as z, even though the two are not the same.
  • /θ/ and /ð/ (as in English thought, thigh) may be transformed into s/z, t/d, f/–, p/b. There is no consensus about which transcription is the superior one, but some may be more appropriate for some source languages than others (e.g., Spanish [θ] is really a variation of /s/, so transcribe it as s).