diff --git a/docs/languages/gmw/en.md b/docs/languages/gmw/en.md index b80405ff..162bc37b 100644 --- a/docs/languages/gmw/en.md +++ b/docs/languages/gmw/en.md @@ -1,24 +1,41 @@ # English -- [Short Vowels](#short-vowels) -- [Long Vowels](#long-vowels) -- [Rhotic Vowels](#rhotic-vowels) -- [Reduced Vowels](#reduced-vowels) -- [Diphthongs](#diphthongs) -- [Split Vowels](#split-vowels) +- [Vowels](#vowels) + - [Short Vowels](#short-vowels) + - [Long Vowels](#long-vowels) + - [Rhotic Vowels](#rhotic-vowels) + - [Reduced Vowels](#reduced-vowels) + - [Diphthongs](#diphthongs) - [References](#references) ---------- +The following English accents are supported by eSpeak NG and are referenced in +this document: + +| BCP47 | Abbreviation | Accent Name | +|----------------|--------------|------------------------| +| en | | British English | +| en-029 | | Caribbean | +| en-GB-scotland | ScE | Scottish English | +| en-GB-x-gbclan | | Lancastrian | +| en-GB-x-gbcwmd | | West Midlands | +| en-GB-x-rp | RP | Received Pronunciation | +| en-US | GenAm | General American | + +The BCP47 name is the standard language identifier for the accent, used as the +espeak language name. The Abbreviation is used in the tables below for the IPA +transcriptions of that accent, and the BCP47 names are used for the eSpeak NG +phoneme names. + +## Vowels + The English language support uses a vowel system based on John Wells' Lexical Sets\[1\]. These were created by Wells in 1982 by comparing the Received Pronunciation British (RP) and General American (GenAm) accents in use at that time. -The `en` transcriptions listed below are the phonemes used by eSpeak NG to -transcribe the different lexical sets. - -## Short Vowels +### Short Vowels | Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | |-------------|-------|-------|-------| @@ -29,7 +46,15 @@ transcribe the different lexical sets. | STRUT | `V` | ʌ | ʌ | | FOOT | `U` | ʊ | ʊ | -## Long Vowels +Additionally, Wells defines the following lexical sets to describe vowels that +are different in both RP and GenAm: + +| Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | +|-------------|-------|-------|-------| +| BATH | `aa` | ɑː | æ | +| CLOTH | `O2` | ɒ | ɔ | + +### Long Vowels | Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | |-------------|-------|-------|-------| @@ -38,25 +63,32 @@ transcribe the different lexical sets. | THOUGHT | `O:` | ɔː | ɔ | | GOOSE | `u:` | uː | u | -## Rhotic Vowels +### Rhotic Vowels These are vowels that are followed by an `r` that is not part of the next syllable when considering the root form of the word containing that vowel. -| Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | -|-------------|-------|-------|-------| -| NURSE | `3:` | ɜː | ɝ | -| START | `A@` | ɑː | ɑɹ | -| NORTH | `O@` | ɔː | ɔɹ | -| FORCE | `o@` | ɔː | oɹ | -| CURE | `U@` | ʊə̯ | ʊɹ | -| NEAR | `i@3` | ɪə̯ | ɪɹ | -| SQUARE | `e@` | eə̯ | ɛɹ | +| Lexical Set | en | en-GB-scotland | RP | GenAm | ScE | +|-------------|-------|----------------|-------|-------|-------| +| NURSE | `3:` | `VR` | ɜː | ɝ | ʌɾ | +| START | `A@` | `A@` | ɑː | ɑɹ | ɐ̟ɾ | +| NORTH | `O@` | `O@` | ɔː | ɔɹ | ɔɾ | +| FORCE | `o@` | `o@` | ɔː | oɹ | oɾ | +| CURE | `U@` | `U@` | ʊə̯ | ʊɹ | ʉɾ | +| NEAR | `i@3` | `i@3` | ɪə̯ | ɪɹ | iɾ | +| SQUARE | `e@` | `e@` | eə̯ | ɛɹ | eɾ | __NOTE:__ `/i@3/` is used for the NEAR lexical set to differentiate it from `/i@/` used in words like `million`. -## Reduced Vowels +Additionally, espeak-ng has the following phonemes for different accents: + +| Lexical Set | en | en-GB-scotland | RP | GenAm | ScE | +|-------------|-------|----------------|-------|-------|-------| +| TERM | `3:` | `3:` | ɜː | ɝ | ɛɾ | +| BIRD | `3:` | `IR` | ɜː | ɝ | ɪɾ | + +### Reduced Vowels These are unstressed vowels that differ from the vowels in the main lexical sets. @@ -85,29 +117,22 @@ The RABBIT lexical set is used for unstressed KIT vowels. Some American accents have merged this with the COMMA lexical set, such that `rabbit` and `abbot` rhyme. -## Diphthongs +### Diphthongs | Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | |-------------|-------|-------|-------| -| FACE | `eI` | eɪ̯ | eɪ̯ | -| PRICE | `aI` | aɪ̯ | aɪ̯ | -| CHOICE | `OI` | ɔɪ̯ | ɔɪ̯ | -| GOAT | `oU` | əʊ̯ | oʊ̯ | -| MOUTH | `aU` | aʊ̯ | aʊ̯ | - -## Split Vowels - -These are lexical sets defined by John Wells that are merged with other lexical -sets in both RP and GenAm, so have split from one of those lexical sets and -merged with the other. - -| Lexical Set | en | RP | GenAm | -|-------------|-------|-------|-------| -| BATH | `aa` | ɑː | æ | -| CLOTH | `O2` | ɒ | ɔ | +| FACE | `eI` | eɪ̯ | eɪ̯ | +| PRICE | `aI` | aɪ̯ | aɪ̯ | +| CHOICE | `OI` | ɔɪ̯ | ɔɪ̯ | +| GOAT | `oU` | əʊ̯ | oʊ̯ | +| MOUTH | `aU` | aʊ̯ | aʊ̯ | ## References 1. Wikipedia. [Lexical set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_set). 2017. Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). + +2. Wikipedia. + [IPA chart for English dialects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet_chart_for_English_dialects). + 2018. Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA).