Romanization challenge thread

[Sacemd]

I am not looking for them to distinguish between retroflex/postalveolars and alveolopalatals: it's more like finding an alternative way to spell <sh zh ch j>. <sy zy ty dy> has the drawback that people will tend to vocalize the <y>.

Maybe use <sch> for /ɕ/? (I saw this one in a transliteration for Russian, I believe). This is not as counter-intuitive for English speakers as any of <x sy sj>. Then <tsch> is a logical representation of /tɕ/. I think "batsch" would very likely be pronounced correctly by English speakers. (Or at least more likely than "baq". Or "bac", for that matter.)
<dj> looks perfectly fine for an English audience to me. That leaves /ʑ/. How bad is <zj>? Any better ideas?

[tezcatlip0ca]

I'd suggest <sh zh ch j> versus <sch zch tch dj>. English speakers are familiar with most of these, except for <zch> and maybe <zh>, but they’d probably figure out the relationship between /S s\/ and /Z z\/ more easily than with <zj>.

[Pole, the]

Both are quite unsuitable for a storylang though: English speakers will intuitively assume /ks/ for <x> and something along the lines of /k/ for <q>. So if I'd name a city, say, "Baq", I'd have to go around and tell people "It's pronounced "batch", not "back"".

I've largely assumed that English speakers might try to read them all as if <j> was /(d)ʒ/ so you'd get them trying to say something like /sʒ zʒ tʒ dʒ/ which'll either come out with a schwa in between the individual consonants of at least some of them or they'll end up with [sʃ zʒ tʃ dʒ]. I think it might depend where in a word they turn up really, but who knows without a study

What do you have with that "english speakers" thing?

[Sacemd]

The story is going to be written in English. The effect on speakers of French, German or whatever other language would be completely different (Well, not completely. You can safely use <sh> for /S/ in conlangs targeted at speakers of one of those two languages even though they are written <ch> and <sch> in their native orthographies respectively.) This orthography needs to be user-friendly to English speakers.

Geez, I try to adapt my orthography to the audience and everybody on here just loses their minds.

Anyway, this is the orthography so far:
/p b t d k g/ <p b t d k g>
/f v s z ɕ ʑ ʂ~ʃ ʐ~ʒ x/ <f v s z sch ? sh zh kh>
/ts dz tɕ dʑ ʈʂ~tʃ ɖʐ~dʒ/ <ts dz tch dj ch j>
/w j/ <w y>
/l~ɫ ɹ~ʀ~ɻ~ɾ~r/ <l r> (Variations based mainly on dialect)
/m n ŋ/ <m n ng>

I'm pretty uncertain about using either <zch> or <zj>. Both are a. ugly (But what did I expect? I'm not too pretty either, so who am I to make remarks about beauty?) b. unlikely to be actually pronounced /Z/ by the audience. I suppose using <zh> is fine though.

[finlay]

I am not looking for them to distinguish between retroflex/postalveolars and alveolopalatals: it's more like finding an alternative way to spell <sh zh ch j>. <sy zy ty dy> has the drawback that people will tend to vocalize the <y>.

Like they can actually pronounce alveolopalatals though. your best bet is to put in a tolkien style appendix explaining that the sound is only similar to [sj] but actually isn't. if you're really keen on the friendly-to-english-speakers conceit, you'd probably better take the sounds out altogether. i really think the set you've got there (sy etc) is the best option.

[Jipí]

The story is going to be written in English. […] This orthography needs to be user-friendly to English speakers.

To be honest, when I'm encountering languages I don't know in texts, I usually skip those lines and hope that there's a translation provided elsewhere or that the meaning is clear from context. I suppose that most people do this. The only time such things may go hairy is when you're reading out loud to someone else, but given today's reading habits, that shouldn't happen a lot.

[Sacemd]

I think there won't be full lines of the language in the story though (maybe in an appendix of sorts): basically a well-developed naming language - characters, cities and some unearthly concepts relating to magic and stuff. The first sketch had too plain a consonantal system (Basically English without the dental fricatives), so I decided to split the postalveolars up. Which is where things went horribly wrong.

So now I'm stuck with something completely unsuitable for a story...

AND I'M GONNA FIND A SUITABLE ORTHOGRAPHY FOR THIS LANG EVEN IF IT MEANS NEGLECTING WRITING THE STORY!

Wait, that's a pretty bad idea. I'm full of bad ideas lately.

[Click]

/m n n̠ n̠ʲ/
/p b t d t̠ d̠ t̠ʲ d̠ʲ k g ʔ/
/f s z s̠ z̠ s̠ʲ z̠ʲ x ħ h/
/ʋ r r̠ l l̠ j/

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/

[Nortaneous]

/m n n̠ n̠ʲ/ <m n nh ny>
/p b t d t̠ d̠ t̠ʲ d̠ʲ k g ʔ/ <p b t d th dh ty dy k g c>
/f s z s̠ z̠ s̠ʲ z̠ʲ x ħ h/ <f s z sh zh sy zy x j h>
/ʋ r r̠ l l̠ j/ <v r rh l lh y>

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/ <i ii e ee a aa o oo u uu>
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/ <ĭ ă ŭ ĕ>

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/[/quote]
Hizvaat păsaab suubĕcdŭ shullaalŭ syuutĕfă tidĕluk theehĭ viyool yeyĕ zhaatŭzyĕ cadiirgĭkĕ catmoon.

or <i ii ie ee ae aa o oo u uu> <ei a ou e>
Hizvaat pasaab suubecdou shullaalou syuutefa tideluk theehei viyool yieye zhaatouzye caediirgeika caetmoon.

[sangi39]

/m n n̠ n̠ʲ/ <m n ň ń>
/p b t d t̠ d̠ t̠ʲ d̠ʲ k g ʔ/ <p b t d c dz ć dź k g q>
/f s z s̠ z̠ s̠ʲ z̠ʲ x ħ h/ <f s z š ž ś ź ch j h>
/ʋ r r̠ l l̠ j/ <v r ŕ l ĺ y>

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/ <í ie é ai á au o ó ú uo>
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/ <i a u e>

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/
Hízvaut pasaub suobeqdu šullaulu śuotefa tídelúk caihi vijól yéye žautuźe qádiergike qátmón.

OR

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/ <í î é ê á â o ó ú û>
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/ <i a u e>

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/
Hízvât pasâb sûbeqdu šullâlu śûtefa tídelúk cêhi víyól yéye žâtuźe qádîrgike qátmón

[Dē Graut Bʉr]

/m n n̠ n̠ʲ/ <m n nh nj>
/p b t d t̠ d̠ t̠ʲ d̠ʲ k g ʔ/ <p b t d th dh tj dj k g '>
/f s z s̠ z̠ s̠ʲ z̠ʲ x ħ h/ <f s z ś ź sj zj x ȟ h>
/ʋ r r̠ l l̠ j/ <v r rh l lh j>

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/ <i ii e ee a aa o oo u uu>
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/ <î â û ê>

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/
Hizvaat pâsaab suubê'dû śullaalû sjuutêfâ tidêluk theehî vijool jejê źaatûzjê 'adiirgîkê 'atmoon.

[----]

/p t c k pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ/
/m n ɲ l/
/v s z dʒ h/
/a e i o u ə eː aː oː au əi əu/
+Contrastive stress. Every consonant can appear in the coda except /h/ and aspirated stops. No /u/ in stressed syllables. Consonant clusters are spread pretty liberally through the lexicon so consider that if you have any digraphs in your idea.

Sample text: /cʰeːɲ ˈenzoːhə ˈkimaː əsˈdʒi mɲəsəˈpi cətʰaːvˈdʒeməunu/

[Nortaneous]

/p t c k pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ/ <b d j g p t c k>
/m n ɲ l/ <m n ñ l>
/v s z dʒ h/ <v s z ʒ h>
/a e i o u ə eː aː oː au əi əu/ <a e i o ū u ē ā ō au ei ou>
+Contrastive stress. Every consonant can appear in the coda except /h/ and aspirated stops. No /u/ in stressed syllables. Consonant clusters are spread pretty liberally through the lexicon so consider that if you have any digraphs in your idea.

Sample text: /cʰeːɲ ˈenzoːhə ˈkimaː əsˈdʒi mɲəsəˈpi cətʰaːvˈdʒeməunu/
Cēñ énzōhu kímā usʒí mñusupí jutāvʒemounu.

or /c cʰ dʒ/ <c q j>
Qēñ énzōhu kímā usjí mñusupí cutāvjemounu.

or, hell
Cēñ énzōhu kímā usᵹí mñusupí jutāvᵹemounu.
or even
Cēñ énzōhu kímā usrí mñusupí jutāvremounu.

[Nortaneous]

Voangh: (/wə̃ʔ/)

Initials:
/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/
/s x h/
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/l r j w/
Initial /h/ doesn't contrast with null.

Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/
/ai əi əy əu/
/æə eə iə/
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/
All vowels and diphthongs contrast for length.

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/ (ɴ = nasalization of the preceding vowel)

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rʊ wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dʊː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.

[ivazaéun]

Let's have a go at one of these...

Voangh: (/wə̃ʔ/)

Initials:
/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/ <p b mp mb t d nt nd tr dr ntr ndr c j nc nj k g nkk ngg q>
/s x h/ <s x h>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ñ ng>
/l r j w/ <l r y w>

Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/ <á a e ö o é ő ĕ ó i ü ĭ u>
/ai əi əy əu/ <ai ei eü eu>
/æə eə iə/ <aĕ eĕ iĕ>
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/ <ĭa ĭe ĭi>
Acutes for the higher of two similar vowels, umlauts for rounded front vowels, and a double acute for the overlap of those groups. Breves for the central vowels. Some accents removed from some diphthongs when they didn't seem necessary.
Length is shown by doubling a single vowel, or the non-central element of a diphthong (for <ai>, it's the <a>).

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/ (ɴ = nasalization of the preceding vowel) <j w ̨ q>
Nasalisation is shown with an ogonek on a single vowel, or on the non-central element of a diphthong (for <ai>, it's the <a>).

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rʊ wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dʊː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.

Yaĕq he yeĕ gĕ ru wįĕ nnka. Qa tĭę gĭ qoo lew, qa xĕ ré he sĕinaa, qa seiijeii ga. Tĭę wę jei hĭ cá waq reiw hĭ ca jüüq. Ñą́ reiw hę̆ nĭa, ñą́ duu hę̆ ntaĕ. Qa wę hĭ ca wo cei drĕ, hĭ ca drĕ he tiĕ woq tow ha me lele ję rĕq.

Well that's suitably horrible for a first attempt. Someone who knows what they're doing should have a go.

[Vuvuzela]

Wenq: (/wə̃ʔ/)

Initials:
/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/<p b mp mb t g nt nd tr dr ntr ndr c z nc nz k g nk mg q>
/s x h/<s x h>
/m n ɲ ŋ/<m n nj ng>
/l r j w/<l r j w>
<h> appears at the beginning of every vowel-initial syllable
Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/ <ae a ea oe oa ei eu e o i u y ou>
/ai əi əy əu/<aj ai au ew>
/æə eə iə/<ao eo io>
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/<ya ye yj>
length is marked by doubling the first letter of the grapheme

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/<j w n q>

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rʊ wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dʊː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.
Jaoq hea jeo ge rou wyen nka. Qa tyen gi qoo leaw, qa xe rei hea sainaa, qa saaizaai ga. Tyen wean zai hy cae waq raiw hy ca zuuq. Njaen raiw hen nya njaen doou hen ntao. Qa wean hy ca woa zai dre, hy ca dre hea tio woaq toaw ha mea lealea zean req.

[Dē Graut Bʉr]

/p t c k pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ/ <p t c k ph th ch kh>
/m n ɲ l/ <m n nj l>
/v s z dʒ h/ >v s z dz h>
/a e i o u ə eː aː oː au əi əu/ <a e i o u ë ee aa oo au ei eu>
Stress is indicated with an acute accent.

Sample text: /cʰeːɲ ˈenzoːhə ˈkimaː əsˈdʒi mɲəsəˈpi cətʰaːvˈdʒeməunu/
Cheenj énzoohë kímaa ësdzí mnjësëpi cëthaavdzémeunu.

[Nortaneous]

/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/ <p b mp mb t d nt nd tr dr ntr ndr c j nc nj k g ngk ngg h>
/s x h/<s x h> <s x 0>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ñ ng>
/l r j w/ <l r y v>

Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/ <ea a e eo o ie io oa uo i iu ou u>
/ai əi əy əu/ <ae ei eu au>
/æə eə iə/ <oe ia oi>
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/ <ua ue ui>

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/ <y v n h>

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rəu wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dəuː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.
Yoeh he yia goa rau voin ngka. Ha tuen gou huuo lev, ha xoa rie e seinaa, ha seeijeei ga. Tuen ven jei ou cea wah reiv ou ca jiiuh. Ñean reiv oan nua, ñean daau oan ntoe. Ha ven hou ca vo jei droa, ou ca droa e toi voh tov a me lele jen roah.

[kanejam]

/m n n̠ n̠ʲ/ <m n ň ń>
/p b t d t̠ d̠ t̠ʲ d̠ʲ k g ʔ/ <p b t d č dž ć đ k g h>
/f s z s̠ z̠ s̠ʲ z̠ʲ x ħ h/ <f s z š ž ś ź kh qh h>
/ʋ r r̠ l l̠ j/ <v r ř l ł j>

/i iː e eː a aː o oː u uː/ <i ī e ē a ā o ō u ū>
/ɪ ɐ ʊ ə/ <y â û ê>

/hizʋaːt pɐsaːb suːbəʔdʊ s̠ullaːlʊ s̠ʲuːtəfɐ tidəluk t̠eːhɪ ʋijoːl jejə z̠aːtʊz̠ʲə ʔadiːrgɪkə ʔatmoːn/
Hizvāt pâsāb sūbêqdû šullālû śūtêfâ tidêluk čēhy vijōl jejê žātûźê qadīrgykê qatmōn.
I think it would work better with overdots instead of carons and also acutes or doubled letters instead of macrons.


/p t c k pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ/ <b d j g p t q k>
/m n ɲ l/ <m n ń l>
/v s z dʒ h/ <w s z đ h>
/a e i o u ə eː aː oː au əi əu/ <a e i o uh u eh ah oh ei ou>
+Contrastive stress. Every consonant can appear in the coda except /h/ and aspirated stops. No /u/ in stressed syllables. Stress marked with acute.

Sample text: /cʰeːɲ ˈenzoːhə ˈkimaː əsˈdʒi mɲəsəˈpi cətʰaːvˈdʒeməunu/
Qehń énzohhu gímah usđí mńusupí jutahwđémounuh.

Voangh: (/wə̃ʔ/)

Initials:
/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/
<p b mp mb t d nt nd tr dr ntr ndr ch j nch nj k g nk ng (')>
/s x h/ <s kh h>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ny ng>
/l r j w/ <l r y w>
Initial /h/ doesn't contrast with null.

Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/ <a o e ö au ei ö e ou i ü ï u>
/ai əi əy əu/ <ai ei eü eu>
/æə eə iə/ <ae ea ie>
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/ <ïo ïe ïi>
All vowels and diphthongs contrast for length.

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/ (ɴ = nasalization of the preceding vowel) <y w n '>

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rʊ wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dʊː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.
Yae' he yea ge ru wien nka. O tïen gï ou lew, o khe rei he seino, o seijei go. Tïen wen jei hï cha wo' reiw hï cho jü'. Nyancat reiw hen nïa, nyan du hen ntae. O wen hï cho wau jei dre, hï cho dre he tie wau' tauw ho me lele jen re'.
Wow, is there like an award for worst orthography?

[KathTheDragon]

Semi-finalised Future British English (Provisionally Börtis)

/p t tʃ k kʷ pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ kʰʷ b d dʒ g gʷ/
/f θ s ɬ ʃ ç h v ð/
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/r l j ɥ ɰ w/

/i i: y ɯ u u:/
/ɛ e: œ ʌ ɔ o:/
/æ ɶ ɑ ɒ/

/æe ɒo ɛe ɔo ɛɔ iu ui/

Sample:
/ini: sutætɛŋ wɔɬ ði: ɰɛrt ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ ɥið gɔd ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ gɔd/

[Nortaneous]

Wow, is there like an award for worst orthography?

it can always get worse. if, for example, i wanted to do a diachronic orthography:


/p b mp mb t d nt nd tr̥ dr ntr̥ ndr tʃ dʒ ntʃ ndʒ k g ŋk ŋg ʔ/ <p b mp mb t d nt nd tr dr ntr ndr c z nc nz k g ngk ngg ʔ>
/s x h/ <s x 0>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ñ ng>
/l r j w/ <l r j v>

Medials:
/æ ɑ ɛ œ ɔ e ø ə o i y ɨ u/ <ea a e eo o hCe hCeo y hCo hCi hCeu hCy hCu>
/ai əi əy əu/ <oe oi eu u>
/æə eə iə/ <ey hCea hCey>
/ɨɑ ɨe ɨi/ <hCoa hCoe hCoi>

Finals:
/j w ɴ ʔ/ <j v n ʔ> : <h>

jæəʔ hɛ jeə gə rəu wĩə̃ ŋkɑ. ʔɑ tɨ̃ẽ gɨ ʔoː lɛw, ʔɑ xə re hɛ səinɑː, ʔɑ səiːdʒəiː gɑ. tɨ̃ẽ wɛ̃ dʒəi hɨ tʃæ wɑʔ rəiw hɨ tʃɑ dʒyːʔ. ɲæ̃ rəiw hə̃ nɨa, ɲæ̃ dəuː hə̃ ntæə. ʔɑ wɛ̃ hɨ tʃɑ wɔ dʒəi drə, hɨ tʃɑ drə hɛ tiə wɔʔ tɔw hɑ mɛ lɛlɛ dʒɛ̃ rəʔ.
Jeyʔ e hjea gy ru hveyn ngka. ʔA htoan hgy ʔoh lev, ʔa xy hre e soinah, ʔa soihzoih ga. Htoan ven zoi cey vaʔ roiv hy ca hzeuhʔ. Ñean roiv yn hnoa, ñean deuh yn ntey. ʔA ven hy ca vo zoi dry, hy ca dry e htey voʔ tov a me lele zen ryʔ.

[Nortaneous]

/p t tʃ k kʷ pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ kʰʷ b d dʒ g gʷ/ <p t ch k qu ph th chh kh qhu b d j g gu>
/f θ s ɬ ʃ ç h v ð/ <f th s ll sh ch h v dh>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ñ ng>
/r l j ɥ ɰ w/ <r l y yh wh w>

/i i: y ɯ u u:/ <i ee ue ui ou oo>
/ɛ e: œ ʌ ɔ o:/ <e ay oe u au oa>
/æ ɶ ɑ ɒ/ <a oi aa o>

/æe ɒo ɛe ɔo ɛɔ iu ui/ <ie ow ey aw ew yu uy>

Sample:
/ini: sutætɛŋ wɔɬ ði: ɰɛrt ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ ɥið gɔd ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ gɔd/[/quote]
Inee sutateng waull whert ent dhee whert waull yhith gaud ent dhee whert waull gaud.

[kanejam]

Wow, is there like an award for worst orthography?

it can always get worse. if, for example, i wanted to do a diachronic orthography

Oh god those vowels



Börtis

/p t tʃ k kʷ pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ kʰʷ b d dʒ g gʷ/ <b d j g gw p t ch c/k qu mb nd nj ngg nggw>
/f θ s ɬ ʃ ç h v ð/ <f th s ls sh hy v th>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ny ng>
/r l j ɥ ɰ w/ <r l y wy wh w> (wh shamelessly stolen from Nort)

/i i: y ɯ u u:/ <i ie ü eu u ue>
/ɛ e: œ ʌ ɔ o:/ <e ee ö eo o oe>
/æ ɶ ɑ ɒ/ <a ä a å>

/æe ɒo ɛe ɔo ɛɔ iu ui/ <ai au ei ou ea iu ui>

Sample:
/ini: sutætɛŋ wɔɬ ði: ɰɛrt ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ ɥið gɔd ɛnt ði: ɰɛrt wɔɬ gɔd/
<Inie sutateng wols thie wherd ent thie wherd wols wyith nggond ent thie whert wols nggond.

[Bristel]

How should I romanize this?

Marsuna:

/p t k tɕ tʃ/
/pː tː kː/
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/ɸ ð ðʲ s ɕ ʃ x/
/l ʎ r/
/w j/

/æ ɒ e o i y ɯ u/

vowel harmony: i~ɯ (I) y~u (U) æ~ɒ (A), neutral: e and o

Sample: /ðæ pikatixyn kymteɸumðʲokːu mɯxɒʃutːes ʃɯkːɯ t͡ʃæɕt͡ɕiðʲ jænt͡ɕit͡ʃyʃ ritæl/

[Nortaneous]

/p t k tɕ tʃ/ <p t k tj tx>
/pː tː kː/ <pp tt kk>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ñ ng>
/ɸ ð ðʲ s ɕ ʃ x/ <f d dj s j x h>
/l ʎ r/ <l ll r>
/w j/ <w y>

/æ ɒ e o i y ɯ u/ <ä a e o i ü ı u>

Sample: /ðæ pikatixyn kymteɸumðʲokːu mɯxɒʃutːes ʃɯkːɯ t͡ʃæɕt͡ɕiðʲ jænt͡ɕit͡ʃyʃ ritæl/
Dä pikätihün kümtefumdjokku mıhaxuttes xıkkı txäjtjidj yäntjitxüx ritäl.

or

/p t k tɕ tʃ/ <p t k tj ch>
/pː tː kː/ <pp tt kk>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n nj ng>
/ɸ ð ðʲ s ɕ ʃ x/ <f d dj s sj sh h>
/l ʎ r/ <l lj r>
/w j/ <w j>

/æ ɒ e o i y ɯ u/ <ä a e o i ü y u>

Sample: /ðæ pikatixyn kymteɸumðʲokːu mɯxɒʃutːes ʃɯkːɯ t͡ʃæɕt͡ɕiðʲ jænt͡ɕit͡ʃyʃ ritæl/
Dä pikätihün kümtefumdjokku myhashuttes xykky txäsjtjidj jäntjichüsh ritäl.

or

/p t k tɕ tʃ/ <p t k ć č>
/pː tː kː/ <pp tt kk>
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ń ng>
/ɸ ð ðʲ s ɕ ʃ x/ <f d đ s ś š h>
/l ʎ r/ <ł l r>
/w j/ <w j>

/æ ɒ e o i y ɯ u/ <ä a e o i ü y u>

Sample: /ðæ pikatixyn kymteɸumðʲokːu mɯxɒʃutːes ʃɯkːɯ t͡ʃæɕt͡ɕiðʲ jænt͡ɕit͡ʃyʃ ritæl/
Dä pikätihün kümtefumđokku myhašuttes šykky čäśćiđ jänćičüš ritäł.