The International Phonetic Alphabet. ... Phonetic (pho-NET-ic) is a nationwide voicemail-to-text messaging service available for most digital mobile phones in which a subscriber is provided a custom voice mailbox for the purpose of receiving all incoming voice messages as actual transcribed text for reading via short messaging (also known as SMS... In computing, Unicode provides an international standard which has the goal of providing the means to encode the text of every document people want to store on computers. ...

Diachronical Phonological Features in Relation to Latin

Several characteristic features of Catalan as a Romance language: The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ...

• Like Occitan, loss of Latin final unstressed vowels, except -a; and then after some of the resulting consonantic groups a support vowel [ə] appears, e. g. fame → fam "hunger"; bucca → boca "mouth"; nostru → nostre "ours".
• Loss of final -n after the demise of final unstressed vowels, e. g. manu → *man → mà "hand".
• In Oriental dialects: Latin short e → closed [e], and Latin long e → neutral vowel [ə] and then later → open [ɛ]; so the final outcome of Latin short and long e is reversed in relation to other Romance languages.
• Unlike Occitan and other Gallic Romance languages, Catalan preserves the three degrees for rounded back vowels /ɔ o u/, and /u/ is not centralised to /y/.
• Unlike Spanish and other Iberian Romance languages, betacism or loss of b/v distinction seems to be in Catalan an innovation since the modern era, although non-betacist dialects are still preserved in some areas.
• Like Asturian, palatalization of Latin word initial l-; e.g. luna → lluna "moon"; lupu → llop "wolf".
• Vocalization to [w] of final -d of diverse origins and the Latin verbal ending -tis: pede → peu [pɛw] "foot"; credit → creu['krɛw] "he believes"; miratis → miratz → mirau → mireu [mi'rɛw] "you watch".
• Consonantic palatalizations, similar to most Romances:
  • /k/ + [e], [i], [j] → *[ts] → [s]; e. g. caelu → cel [sɛl] "sky, heaven".
  • /g/ + [e], [i], [j] → *[dʒ] → [ʒ]; e. g. gelu → gel [ʒɛl] "ice".
  • -ly-, -ll-, -c'l-, -t'l- → ll [ʎ]; e. g. muliere → muller "wife"; caballu → cavall "horse", but cf other cases like villa → vila "town", where the geminate has been simplified; auricula → *oric'la → orella "ear"; uetulus → *vet'lu → vell "old man".
  • -ny-, -gn-, -nn- → ny [ɲ]; e. g. ligna → llenya "wood".
• Consonantic lenition, similar to most of Western Romances:
  • Intervocalic voiced stops become fricatives or zero. E. g. caballu → cavall "horse", volebat → volia "s/he wanted", pavore → pahor → por "awe".
  • Intervocalic voiceless stops become voiced. E. g. vita → vida "life".
  • Intervocalic geminate voiceless stops are simplified, but intervocalic geminate voiceless fricatives are preserved. E. g. bucca → boca "mouth", passare → passar "pass".

See also specific articles on: Alguerese, Balearic, Ribagorçan, Valencian. OC redirects here. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... OC redirects here. ... The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Latin/Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ... Asturian, Leonese, Astur-Leonese or Bable (Asturianu in Asturian, Llïonés in Leonese) is a Romance language spoken in some parts of the provinces of Asturias, León, Zamora and Salamanca in Spain, and in the area of Miranda de Douro in Portugal (where it is officially recognized as... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... Alguerese or Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero, in the north-east of Sardinia. ... Balearic is the Catalan variant spoken in the Balearic Islands (Spanish Illes Balears), Spain. ... Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ... This page deals with language. ...

Phoneme inventory and orthography

A summary of the phonemes of contemporary Catalan, their graphemes and sounds:

Plosives

Plosives in final position become voiceless. A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ...

• /p/ p
• /b/ b, v (see /v/ below), articulated as fricative [β] between vowels or liquides; [p] in final position
• /t/ t
• /d/ d, articulated as fricative [ð] between vowels or liquids; [t] in final position
• /k/ c before a, o, u; qu before e, i; qu for /kw/ before a, o, u; qü for /kw/ before e, i
• /g/ g before a, o, u; gu before e, i; gu for /gw/ before a, o, u; gü for /gw/ before e, i, articulated as fricative [ɣ] between vowels or liquids, [k] in final position

Affricates

Affricates in final position become voiceless. Word final /ts, tʃ/ followed by a vowel become voiced. An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ...

• /ts/ ts (not considered a separate phoneme but /t/ + /s/, by most authors).
• /dz/ tz (not considered a separate phoneme but /t/ + /z/, by most authors). In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /dz/ has merged with voiceless /ts/.
• /tʃ/ tx; sometimes ig in word final position; many exceptions.
• /dʒ/ tj before a, o, u; tg before e, i; many exceptions. In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /dʒ/ has merged with voiceless /tʃ/.

Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ... Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ...

Fricatives

Fricatives in final position become voiceless. Word final /s/ and /ʃ/ followed by a vowel become voiced. Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

• /f/ f
• /v/ v. In most modern Catalan dialects /v/ has merged with bilabial plosive /b/ (a phenomenon called betacism). /v/ is still a separate phoneme in Balearic, Alguerese, Valencian (except the comarques around Valencia city), and the comarques around Tarragona city.
• /s/ s; ss between vowels; also c before e, i and ç elsewhere.
• /z/ z; s between vowels. In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /z/ has merged with voiceless /s/.
• /ʃ/ x; ix after vowel or in word final position. In Occidental variants (Lleida, Valencian), the written form -ix- is pronounced [jʃ] or [js]. In Barcelona city, /ʃ/ in initial position or after nasals is pronounced as affricate [tʃ].
• /ʒ/ j before a, o, u; g before e, i; many exceptions. In Barcelona city, /ʒ/ in initial position or after nasals is pronounced as affricate [dʒ]. Some j from standard correspond to [j] in Pallarese or Ribagorçan, and then the rest of j from standard correspond to [tʃ] in Ribagorçan. Most j of standard correspond to [dʒ] in Valencian, and then in Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city) /dʒ/ has merged with voiceless /tʃ/.

Valencia from space, June 1996 The Hemispheric at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències by Santiago Calatrava, Valencia, Spain. ... A picture from the air Tarragona Ampitheatre Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. ... Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ... Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ... Ribagorçan dialect is a variant of the Catalan language, which has some transitional traits to Aragonese: Palatalization of L in PL, CL, FL groups, e. ... This page deals with language. ...

Nasals

Nasals in final position retain distinct point or articulation, unlike in Spanish or French. A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ...

• /m/ m
  • The digraph tm in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate [m:], as in setmana "week", except usually in some learned words such as ritme "rhythm".
  • The syllable final digraph mp is reduced to [m], as in compte "account", temptar "to tempt".
• /n/ n
  • The digraph tn in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate n [n:], as in cotna "bark", except usually in some learned words such as ètnia "ethnic group".
• /ɲ/ ny, palatal nasal, as in Hungarian
• velar nasal [ŋ], which is written as nc or ng in final position, is not considered a separate phoneme, but /n/ + /k/ or /n/ + /g/, by most authors.

Laterals

• /l/ l. Catalan /l/ has a distinctive velar resonance: [ʟ], like English "dark l" (as in full) unlike the Spanish or French equivalent.
  • l·l is ela geminada, a Catalan characteristic grapheme, appearing only in intervocalic position and which stands for a geminate [ʟ:]. This geminate pronunciation is always maintained in several popular words, such as til·la "linden" and xarel·lo "muscatel grape". However, by influence from Spanish, many speakers no longer pronounce them geminate in many other words (mostly borrowed words from Latin).
  • The digraph tl in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate /l/, as in espatla (shoulder), except usually in some borrowed words such as atleta "athlete".
• /ʎ/ ll, palatal lateral. Standard Catalan /ʎ/ has not merged with /j/, unlike Spanish or French ones, and yeismo is socially stigmatized in the prestigious speech of Barcelona. There is a kind of yeismo called "etymological yeism", affecting only the Eastern dialects and originating from the 13th century, which weakened the /ʎ/ from the etymological intervocalic -c'l-, -g'l-, -l'y-, -t'l- (in Spanish those groups have resulted in /x/). This way, some ll from standard correspond to [j] or to nothing at all in Balearic; e. g. uetula → vella "old woman", Balearic vea.
  • tll, this trigraph is assimilated into a geminate ll [ʎ:], as in rotllo "roll".

Main article: Spanish phonology Yeísmo is a distinctive feature of many dialects of the Spanish language, which consists in the merge of the palatal lateral approximant phoneme (written ll) with another phoneme, usually realized as a palatal fricative or affricate. ... Barcelona within Barcelonès Population (2003) 1,582,738 Area 1004 Km2 Population density (2001) 15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, and Spains second-largest city (after Madrid). ...

Rhotics

Two rhotic sounds exist in Catalan, like in Spanish. Rhotic consonants, or R-like sounds, are non-lateral liquids. ...

• /ɾ/ Alveolar flap, written r in all positions but word initial.
• /r/ Alveolar trill, written r word-initially, rr between vowels.

Vowels

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

The Standard vowel system has seven different vowels in stressed position /ɑ ɛ e i ɔ o u/, but only [ə i u] can appear in unstressed positions. In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by an open configuration of the vocal tract, in contrast to consonants, which are characterized by a constriction or closure at one or more points along the vocal tract. ...

In most of Balearics, /ə/ (written e, è) can be a distinct phoneme as well in stressed position. In Valencian and NW Catalan [e] and [o] can appear as well in unstressed positions.

Dialectal variation

The differences in the vocalic systems outlined above are the main criteria used to diferentiate between the major dialects:

• Central (Girona province, Barcelona province, Tarragona province but the Ebro bassin)
• Northern (Roussillon)
• Balearic (Balearic Islands)
• Alguerese (L'Alguer)
• North-Western (Andorra, Lleida province, Ribagorça, Ebre bassin of Tarragona province)
• Valencian (Eastern half of País Valencià, and Carxe in the Murcia province)

• /ɑ/ a, à. Catalan /ɑ/ is tenser and more open than the Spanish or French ones. Only in stressed position. When unstressed coalesces to [ə], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian).
• /ɛ/ e, è. Only in stressed position. When unstressed coalesces to [ə], but in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) to [e].
• /e/ e, é. Only in stressed position. When unstressed coalesces to [ə], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian).
• /i/ i, í, ï.
• /ɔ/ o, ò. Only in stressed position. When unstressed coalesces to [u], but in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) and Majorca to [o].
• /o/ o, ó. Only in stressed position. When unstressed coalesces to [u], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) and Majorca.
• /u/ u, ú, ü.

Majorca (Mallorca in Catalan and Spanish (sometimes also encountered in English), from Latin insula maior, later Maiorica major island) is one of the Balearic Islands (Catalan: Illes Balears, Spanish: Islas Baleares), which are located in the Mediterranean Sea and are a part of Spain. ... Majorca (Mallorca in Catalan and Spanish (sometimes also encountered in English), from Latin insula maior, later Maiorica major island) is one of the Balearic Islands (Catalan: Illes Balears, Spanish: Islas Baleares), which are located in the Mediterranean Sea and are a part of Spain. ...

Diphthongs and triphthongs

Unlike Spanish or French, contiguous vowels normally form descending diphthongs, not ascending ones. Examples: In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds) is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

• mai "never" [mɑj] (1 syllable)
• noi "boy" [nɔj] (1 syllable)
• rei "king" [rej] (1 syllable)
• pau "peace" [pɑw] (1 syllable)
• bou "ox" [bɔw] (1 syllable)
• neu "snow" [new] (1 syllable)
• diu "he says" [diw] (1 syllable)
• vuit "eight" [bujt] (1 syllable)

But:

• dia "day" ['di ə] (2 syllables)
• cua "tail" ['ku ə] (2 syllables)
• deia "he said" ['dɛ jə] (2 syllables)
• diuen "they say" ['di wən] (2 syllables)

The only ascending diphthongs are those of the kind gu(a/o), gü(e/i) and qu(a/o), qü(e/i):

• aigua "water" ['ɑj gwə] (2 syllables)
• ungüent "ointment" [uŋ 'gwɛnt] (2 syllables)
• pingüí "penguin" [piŋ 'gwi] (2 syllables)
• llenguota "big tongue" [ʎəŋ gwɔ tə] (3 syllables)
• quatre "four" ['kwa trə] (2 syllables)
• qüestió "question" [kwəs 'tjo] (2 syllables)
• aqüífer "aquifer" [ə 'kwi fər] (3 syllables)
• quota "quota" ['kwɔ tə] (2 syllables)

A few triphthongs are formed upon those:

• aguaitar "to look at" [ə gwəj 'tɑ] (3 syllables)
• liqüeu "you liquify" [li 'kwɛw] (2 syllables)

If a diaeresis appears over the i or u of what would otherwise be a descending diphthong, the diphthong is broken into a hiatus:

• raïm "grape" [rə 'im] (2 syllables)
• taüt "coffin" [tə 'ut] (2 syllables)
• ruïna "ruin" [ru 'i nə] (3 syllables)

See also

• List of phonetics topics

A acoustic phonetics affricate airstream mechanism allophone alveolar approximant alveolar consonant alveolar ejective fricative alveolar ejective alveolar flap alveolar nasal alveolar ridge alveolar trill alveolo-palatal consonant apical consonant approximant consonant articulatory phonetics aspiration auditory phonetics B back vowel bilabial click bilabial consonant bilabial ejective bilabial nasal bilabial trill breathy...

External links

• A proposal for Catalan SAMPA