IPA for Bemé

Revision as of 18:34, 5 June 2025 by Jukethatbox (talk | contribs)

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Standard Bemé, Bijun and Columbé pronunciations. English approximations are loose in some cases and are only intended to give a general idea of the pronunciation. For more information, see Help:IPA.

Consonants
Bemé orthography IPA Examples English approximation
Poccasin.svg
Bemé
Bijun.svg
Bijun
Columban.svg
Columbé
b b bemeh bow
ch ts chena China
d d dan done
g g gud good
gr gɹ~dʒɹ grinyeh grill or drink
kw grown (Bijun) quay
h h ʔ h hampo ham
ʔ jihad uh-oh
j ʒ jamis jeans
k k kaneh king
kr tɹ̥~kɹ̥~tʃɹ̥ kriyal krill or tree
kw krom (Bijun) quay
l l ɫ l kolo lid
ʎ Beybl (Columbé) million
m m ameh mother
n n n chena nice
ɲ dampini (Columbé) canyon
ng ŋ kring swimming
ny ɲ ɲ snyek canyon
grinyeh (Columbé) Polish Gdańsk
p p dampini spin
r ɹ ɹ ɾ ridem rhythm
w krom (Bijun) wing
s s sebis service
sh ʃ shik shine
t t titrink tea
w w wan want
y j yu you
z z s z mazik zoo
Vowels
Bemé orthography IPA Examples English approximation
Poccasin.svg
Bemé
Bijun.svg
Bijun
Columban.svg
Columbé
a a jamis trap
e e i e~ɛ bemeh may
eh ɛ bemeh bed
i i bi eat
o o ɔ o kolo yawn
(Bijun) off
u kolo (Bijun) hook
u u ʊ ʌ yu hook
Diphthongs
Bemé orthography IPA Examples English approximation
ey ei̯ skey may
oi oi̯ woiwoi joy
ow ou̯ grown bow

The distinction between /kr tr tʃr/, as well as between /gr dʒr/, has been historically neutralised, leading to a varying pronunciation:

  • ⟨kr⟩ may be heard as /tɹ̥ kɹ̥ tʃɹ̥/;
  • In the most basilectal(Kriyal) varieties, the stop may be simply strongly aspirated, leaving /tʰː kʰː tʃʰː/;
  • The realisation may be aspirated retroflex /ʈʰ/, and similarly affricated to /ʈʂ ʈʂʰ/.

The pronunciation of ⟨gr⟩ is less variable; there still exists a distinction between /gr~dʒr/ and /dr/, though /dr/ is extremely rare and only exists in certain words, such as grag "stop (v.)" and drag "drag queen".