Comparative work of the
Afroasiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic ...
uses a semi-conventionalized set of symbols that are somewhat different than the
International Phonetic Alphabet and other phonetic notations. The more salient differences include the letters for IPA , the circumflex diacritic for
lateral obstruents, and the sub-dot for
emphatic consonant
In Semitic linguistics, an emphatic consonant is an obstruent consonant which originally contrasted with series of both voiced and voiceless obstruents. In specific Semitic languages, the members of this series may be realized as uvularized or ...
s, which depending on the language may be
ejective
In phonetics, ejective consonants are usually voiceless consonants that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated, voiced and tenuis consonants. So ...
,
implosive
Implosive consonants are a group of stop consonants (and possibly also some affricates) with a mixed glottalic ingressive and pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism.''Phonetics for communication disorders.'' Martin J. Ball and Nicole Müller. ...
or
pharyngealized
Pharyngealization is a secondary articulation of consonants or vowels by which the pharynx or epiglottis is constricted during the articulation of the sound.
IPA symbols
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, pharyngealization can be indicat ...
.
Conventions
Letters
Phonetic conventions are as follows:
is used only for Egyptian. Its value is not certain.
Sometimes IPA letters are used for the above, e.g. for , for or for , or intermediate notation such as for or for .
Other consonants are familiar from the IPA or may be extended from the patterns in the table (e.g. for , for , or for ).
Palatal/palatalized consonants are indicated with an acute accent: ; retroflex often with a grave accent: etc.; and uvulars sometimes with an inverted breve: etc. may be distinguished as a labialized consonant vs a consonant followed by a rounded vowel.
[Aharon Dolgopolsky (2008) ''Nostratic Dictionary.'']
There is some inconsistency between authors, often reflecting different phonetic interpretations, e.g. for and for , or for and for , or for and for .
;Vowels
are long vowels; etc. are short vowels. is a neutral vowel (
schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English ...
).
Symbols for reconstruction
Wildcards include:
[
:V for an undetermined vowel: ;
:H for a laryngeal or pharyngeal consonant: ;
:S for a sibilant: {s, z, c, ʒ, č, ǯ, ṣ, c̣, č̣}.
Thus *bVr- is shorthand for "either *bar- or *bir- or *bur-".
:/ means "or", e.g. *gaw/y- is *gaw- or *gay-.
:( ) means "with or without", e.g. *ba(w)r- is *bawr- or *bar-.
:~ means parallel proto-forms, e.g. *ʕad-at- ~ *ʕidd- means that the proto-form has two variant reconstructions.
]
See also
* Proto-Afroasiatic language
References
Phonetic alphabets
*