fbpx
Wikipedia

Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Australian Aboriginal languages had been purely spoken languages, and had no writing system. On their arrival, Latin script became a standard for transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages, but the details of how the sounds were represented has varied over time and from writer to writer, sometimes resulting in a great many variant spellings of the same word or name.

A page from an 1856 book illustrating the letters of the alphabet for Gamilaraay at that time. Note the use of the letter eng (ŋ) and macrons (ˉ).

Early writing edit

At first, most Australian languages were written following English orthography (or in a few cases, German orthography), as it sounded to the writer. This meant that sounds which were distinguished in Australian languages but not in English were written identically, while at the same time sounds which were allophones in Australian languages but distinct in English were written differently.

Most Aboriginal words used in English follow these early conventions, and therefore do not usually give a good idea of how the word was pronounced in the original language.

Transcriptions of Australian languages through time
Language Meaning Early
spellings
Modern
spelling
Pronunciation (International Phonetic Alphabet) Notes
Guugu Yimithirr “tongue” unjar (1770)[1]
ngandar (1901)[2]
nganhdhaar (1979)[3] [ŋan̪d̪aːɻ] Early spellings may miss the word-initial [ŋ], and fail to properly distinguish dental consonants.
Gamilaraay “honey” wuddul (1903)[4] warrul (1993)[5] [waɾul] Early spellings may fail to distinguish between [ɾ] and [d], which are allophones in English but distinct in Australian languages.

Writers with more linguistic knowledge sometimes employed symbols such as ŋ or ġ for /ŋ/, ñ for /ɲ/, macrons ⟨ˉ⟩ or circumflexes ⟨ˆ⟩ for long vowels, breves ⟨˘⟩ for short vowels, but these were often applied inconsistently.

Modern practical orthography edit

Linguists working with Australian languages today purposely use unambiguous phonemic orthographies based on detailed phonological analysis of the language in question. In orthographies of this kind each spoken word can only be written one way, and each written word can only be read one way.

Usually, but not always, practical orthographies use just the letters of the basic Roman alphabet. This necessitates the use of digraphs for sounds that do not have a standard character. In some cases this can lead to ambiguities, for example where the single sound /ŋ/ and the consonant cluster /nɡ/ could both be written as ⟨ng⟩. These are commonly distinguished by writing the cluster ⟨n.g⟩ (inserting a full stop), ⟨n’g⟩ (inserting an apostrophe), or ⟨nk⟩.

Vowels and semivowels edit

Most Australian languages distinguish just three vowels, which are written ⟨i⟩, ⟨a⟩ and ⟨u⟩. Even though they may sound like ⟨e⟩ or ⟨o⟩ at times, they are not written ⟨e⟩ or ⟨o⟩, e.g. the Martuthunira word wirrirri "flame" is pronounced as [weɾeɾɪ]. Long vowels are represented by double letters, i.e. ⟨ii⟩ /iː/, ⟨aa⟩ /aː/, ⟨uu⟩ /uː/.

The semivowels ⟨w⟩ and ⟨y⟩ are usually pronounced as in English. In some languages, ⟨w⟩ may not be pronounced next to ⟨u⟩, and ⟨y⟩ next to ⟨i⟩, but for various reasons a linguist may still choose to write them, so that e.g. Gamilaraay yinarr "woman" is actually pronounced [inar].

A handful of languages have a dental semivowel, which is written ⟨yh⟩ (see Place of articulation below).

Rhotics edit

Most Australian languages have two rhotics or r-like sounds: a retroflex approximant, as in American English, written ⟨r⟩; and a trill or flap (both of which are found in Spanish), written ⟨rr⟩.

In languages that have only one of the two r's, it is simply written ⟨r⟩.

Place of articulation edit

The bilabial, velar and alveolar consonants are usually written the same as in English, i.e. ⟨p⟩ /p/, ⟨b⟩ /b/, ⟨m⟩ /m/, ⟨k⟩ /k/, ⟨g⟩ /ɡ/, ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/, ⟨t⟩ /t/, ⟨d⟩ /d/, ⟨n⟩ /n/, ⟨l⟩ /l/. ⟨ng⟩ may also be written using the non-English letter ⟨ŋ⟩, called eng. Note that ⟨ŋ⟩ sounds like the ng in singer, not as in finger; the latter would be written ⟨ŋg⟩.

Palatal consonants are often represented by a digraph made of an alveolar consonant + ⟨j⟩ or ⟨y⟩, i.e. /c ɟ ɲ ʎ/ can be written ⟨tj⟩/⟨ty⟩, ⟨dj⟩/⟨dy⟩, ⟨nj⟩/⟨ny⟩, and ⟨lj⟩/⟨ly⟩. ⟨c⟩ and ⟨j⟩ are other possible ways of writing the palatal stops.

Dental consonants are represented by a digraph made of an alveolar consonant + ⟨h⟩, i.e. ⟨th⟩ /t̪/, ⟨dh⟩ /d̪/, ⟨nh⟩ /n̪/, ⟨lh⟩ /l̪/. Note that ⟨th⟩ is not a fricative as in Australian English, but a stop as in Irish English.

Retroflex consonants are usually represented by a digraph made of ⟨r⟩ + an alveolar consonant, i.e. ⟨rt⟩ /ʈ/, ⟨rd⟩ /ɖ/, ⟨rn⟩ /ɳ/, ⟨rl⟩ /ɭ/, as in Swedish. In some varieties, such as Pitjantjatjara, a digraph is not used and instead the alveolar consonant is underlined to indicate that it is retroflex thus: ⟨ṯ⟩, ⟨ṉ⟩ and ⟨ḻ⟩.

A handful of languages have palato-velar consonants, between palatal and velar. For Yanyuwa, these are written ⟨yk⟩ /ɡ̟/, ⟨nyk⟩ /ⁿɡ̟/ (a prenasalised stop—see Prenasalisation below), ⟨nyng⟩ /ŋ̟/.[6]

Voicing of stops edit

Most Australian languages do not distinguish between voiced and voiceless stops, so that e.g. t and d both occur as variants of the same sound. Both the voiced and voiceless allophone will usually be written the same way, but whether to use the voiceless symbol or the voiced symbol varies depending on which occurs more frequently in the language. Some languages have been written using the voiced symbols by one linguist and the voiceless symbols by another. Moreover, some linguists choose to use voiceless symbols for some consonants in a language and voiced symbols for others.

Some languages do distinguish between voiced and voiceless stops, however.

Prenasalisation edit

Some languages have prenasalized consonants, a stop preceded by a nasal sound which is considered one consonant. In Yanyuwa these are written ⟨mb⟩ /ᵐb/, ⟨ngk⟩ /ᵑɡ/, ⟨nj⟩ /ᶮɟ/, ⟨nth⟩ /ⁿd̪/, ⟨nd⟩ /ⁿd/, ⟨rnd⟩ /ᶯɖ/.[6]

Other systems edit

Russian system edit

Below is the Russian Wikipedia's transcription system for Indigenous Australian languages.

Latin transcription IPA Russian transcription
a a, æ а (э/е)
i / e i, e и (е)
u / o u, ɯ, o у (о)
aa аа
ii ии
uu уу
oo u у
w w в
y j й
ya, yi, yu ja, ji, ju я, (й)и, ю
p, b p / b п
t, d t / d т
th, dh t̪ / d̪ т
rt, rd, ṯ ʈ / ɖ т
tj/ty/dj/dy/c/j tʲ / c / dʲ / ɟ ть (тя, тьи, тю)
yk k̟ / ɡ̟ кь
k, g k / g к
m m м
n n н
nh н
rn, ṉ ɳ н
ny, nj, ñ nʲ / ɲ нь (ня, ньи, ню)
nyng, nyŋ ŋ̟ нгь
ng, ŋ, ġ ŋ нг
ngg, ŋg ŋk / ŋg нгк
n.g, n’g, nk nk / ng нк
l l л
lh л
rl, ḻ ɭ л
ly, lj lʲ / ʎ ль (ля, льи, лю)
rr r, ɾ рр
r, ṟ ɻ р
rd ɽ р

References edit

  1. ^ Cook, James (1955). The Journals of Captain James Cook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Roth, Walter (1901). The structure of the Koko-Yimidir language. Brisbane: Government Printer.
  3. ^ Haviland, John (2002). "Guugu Yimidhirr Sketch Grammar". In Dixon, Robert M. W. (ed.). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–180. ISBN 978-0-521-47378-1.
  4. ^ Mathews, R. H. (Jul–Dec 1903). "Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 33. 33: 259–283. doi:10.2307/2842812. JSTOR 2842812.
  5. ^ Austin, Peter (1992). A Reference Dictionary of Gamilaraay, Northern New South Wales. La Trobe University, Department of Linguistics. ISBN 978-0-85816-851-0.
  6. ^ a b Bradley, John; Kirton, Jean (1992). . unpublished. Archived from the original on 2005-12-22.

Bibliography edit

  • Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • McGregor, William (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. London, New York: Taylor & Francis. pp. 21–26.

External links edit

  • The Phonetics and Phonology of Australian Aboriginal Languages

transcription, australian, aboriginal, languages, this, article, contains, phonetic, transcriptions, international, phonetic, alphabet, introductory, guide, symbols, help, distinction, between, brackets, transcription, delimiters, prior, arrival, europeans, au. This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Prior to the arrival of Europeans Australian Aboriginal languages had been purely spoken languages and had no writing system On their arrival Latin script became a standard for transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages but the details of how the sounds were represented has varied over time and from writer to writer sometimes resulting in a great many variant spellings of the same word or name A page from an 1856 book illustrating the letters of the alphabet for Gamilaraay at that time Note the use of the letter eng ŋ and macrons ˉ Contents 1 Early writing 2 Modern practical orthography 2 1 Vowels and semivowels 2 2 Rhotics 2 3 Place of articulation 2 4 Voicing of stops 2 5 Prenasalisation 3 Other systems 3 1 Russian system 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksEarly writing editAt first most Australian languages were written following English orthography or in a few cases German orthography as it sounded to the writer This meant that sounds which were distinguished in Australian languages but not in English were written identically while at the same time sounds which were allophones in Australian languages but distinct in English were written differently Most Aboriginal words used in English follow these early conventions and therefore do not usually give a good idea of how the word was pronounced in the original language Transcriptions of Australian languages through time Language Meaning Earlyspellings Modernspelling Pronunciation International Phonetic Alphabet NotesGuugu Yimithirr tongue unjar 1770 1 ngandar 1901 2 nganhdhaar 1979 3 ŋan d aːɻ Early spellings may miss the word initial ŋ and fail to properly distinguish dental consonants Gamilaraay honey wuddul 1903 4 warrul 1993 5 waɾul Early spellings may fail to distinguish between ɾ and d which are allophones in English but distinct in Australian languages Writers with more linguistic knowledge sometimes employed symbols such as ŋ or ġ for ŋ n for ɲ macrons ˉ or circumflexes ˆ for long vowels breves for short vowels but these were often applied inconsistently Modern practical orthography editLinguists working with Australian languages today purposely use unambiguous phonemic orthographies based on detailed phonological analysis of the language in question In orthographies of this kind each spoken word can only be written one way and each written word can only be read one way Usually but not always practical orthographies use just the letters of the basic Roman alphabet This necessitates the use of digraphs for sounds that do not have a standard character In some cases this can lead to ambiguities for example where the single sound ŋ and the consonant cluster nɡ could both be written as ng These are commonly distinguished by writing the cluster n g inserting a full stop n g inserting an apostrophe or nk Vowels and semivowels edit Most Australian languages distinguish just three vowels which are written i a and u Even though they may sound like e or o at times they are not written e or o e g the Martuthunira word wirrirri flame is pronounced as weɾeɾɪ Long vowels are represented by double letters i e ii iː aa aː uu uː The semivowels w and y are usually pronounced as in English In some languages w may not be pronounced next to u and y next to i but for various reasons a linguist may still choose to write them so that e g Gamilaraay yinarr woman is actually pronounced inar A handful of languages have a dental semivowel which is written yh see Place of articulation below Rhotics edit Most Australian languages have two rhotics or r like sounds a retroflex approximant as in American English written r and a trill or flap both of which are found in Spanish written rr In languages that have only one of the two r s it is simply written r Place of articulation edit The bilabial velar and alveolar consonants are usually written the same as in English i e p p b b m m k k g ɡ ng ŋ t t d d n n l l ng may also be written using the non English letter ŋ called eng Note that ŋ sounds like the ng in singer not as in finger the latter would be written ŋg Palatal consonants are often represented by a digraph made of an alveolar consonant j or y i e c ɟ ɲ ʎ can be written tj ty dj dy nj ny and lj ly c and j are other possible ways of writing the palatal stops Dental consonants are represented by a digraph made of an alveolar consonant h i e th t dh d nh n lh l Note that th is not a fricative as in Australian English but a stop as in Irish English Retroflex consonants are usually represented by a digraph made of r an alveolar consonant i e rt ʈ rd ɖ rn ɳ rl ɭ as in Swedish In some varieties such as Pitjantjatjara a digraph is not used and instead the alveolar consonant is underlined to indicate that it is retroflex thus ṯ ṉ and ḻ A handful of languages have palato velar consonants between palatal and velar For Yanyuwa these are written yk ɡ nyk ⁿɡ a prenasalised stop see Prenasalisation below nyng ŋ 6 Voicing of stops edit Most Australian languages do not distinguish between voiced and voiceless stops so that e g t and d both occur as variants of the same sound Both the voiced and voiceless allophone will usually be written the same way but whether to use the voiceless symbol or the voiced symbol varies depending on which occurs more frequently in the language Some languages have been written using the voiced symbols by one linguist and the voiceless symbols by another Moreover some linguists choose to use voiceless symbols for some consonants in a language and voiced symbols for others Some languages do distinguish between voiced and voiceless stops however Prenasalisation edit Some languages have prenasalized consonants a stop preceded by a nasal sound which is considered one consonant In Yanyuwa these are written mb ᵐb ngk ᵑɡ nj ᶮɟ nth ⁿd nd ⁿd rnd ᶯɖ 6 Other systems editRussian system edit Below is the Russian Wikipedia s transcription system for Indigenous Australian languages Latin transcription IPA Russian transcriptiona a ae a e e i e i e i e u o u ɯ o u o aa aː aaii iː iiuu uː uuoo u uw w vy j jya yi yu ja ji ju ya j i yup b p b pt d t d tth dh t d trt rd ṯ ʈ ɖ ttj ty dj dy c j tʲ c dʲ ɟ t tya ti tyu yk k ɡ kk g k g km m mn n nnh n nrn ṉ ɳ nny nj n nʲ ɲ n nya ni nyu nyng nyŋ ŋ ngng ŋ ġ ŋ ngngg ŋg ŋk ŋg ngkn g n g nk nk ng nkl l llh l lrl ḻ ɭ lly lj lʲ ʎ l lya li lyu rr r ɾ rrr ṟ ɻ rrd ɽ rReferences edit Cook James 1955 The Journals of Captain James Cook Cambridge Cambridge University Press Roth Walter 1901 The structure of the Koko Yimidir language Brisbane Government Printer Haviland John 2002 Guugu Yimidhirr Sketch Grammar In Dixon Robert M W ed Australian Languages Their Nature and Development Cambridge University Press pp 26 180 ISBN 978 0 521 47378 1 Mathews R H Jul Dec 1903 Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Vol 33 33 259 283 doi 10 2307 2842812 JSTOR 2842812 Austin Peter 1992 A Reference Dictionary of Gamilaraay Northern New South Wales La Trobe University Department of Linguistics ISBN 978 0 85816 851 0 a b Bradley John Kirton Jean 1992 Yanyuwa Wuka language from Yanyuwa country unpublished Archived from the original on 2005 12 22 Bibliography editDixon R M W 2002 Australian Languages Their Nature and Development Cambridge Cambridge University Press McGregor William 2004 The Languages of the Kimberley Western Australia London New York Taylor amp Francis pp 21 26 External links editThe Phonetics and Phonology of Australian Aboriginal Languages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages amp oldid 1131438151, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.