The [[:language]] itself amongst [[species:Threadwielders]] is a selection of syllables, meaning that in combination with its audio-independent nature, technically the alphabet consists of syllabic ideograms. Since that would be a pain to note down, though, we'll use the quasi-latin transcription on this page and follow the commonplace (draconic, ancient Nayabaru, human-compatible) pronunciations.

===== Pronunciation =====

  * //a// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel|/a/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_central_unrounded_vowel|/ä/]], rather than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel|/æ/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_unrounded_vowel|/ɑ/]]ː as is common in English.
  * //e// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel|/ɪ/]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel|/e/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_front_unrounded_vowel|/e̞/]]; //not// [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel|/i/]].
  * //g// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_uvular_stop|/ɢ/]].
  * //h// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_glottal_fricative|/h/]].
  * //i// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel|/i/]].
  * //j// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_palatal_stop|/ɟ/]].
  * //k// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_stop|/q/]].
  * //l// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_lateral_approximant|/l/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroflex_lateral_approximant|/ɭ/]].
  * //o// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_central_rounded_vowel|/ɞ/]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_back_rounded_vowel|/ɔ/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_back_rounded_vowel|/o/]].
  * //q// is pronounced //kw//.
  * //r// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_trill|/r/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_tap|/ɾ/]].
  * //s̈// which has no direct IPA phonetic alphabet equivalent and is best described as a "hollow 'sh'" (like taking [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_retroflex_sibilant|/ʂ/]] a step further away from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_palato-alveolar_sibilant|/ʃ/]]). (If you're having trouble, you can also use the sound the //ch// digraph typically makes in English as a substitute sound. Do //not// use the //sh// digraph sound.)
  * //u// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_back_rounded_vowel|/u/]].
  * //v// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_fricative|/β/]] more than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_labiodental_fricative|/v/]], but both are valid.
  * //w// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_fricative|/β̞ /]].
  * //y// serves a function both as a vowel and a consonant, as in English.
    * As a vowel, it is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_rounded_vowel|/y/]], or as the sequence ji in some dialects.
    * As a consonant, it is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatal_approximant|/j/]].

Digraphs:

  * //ai// is usually not a digraph (exceptions will be noted as //a͡i// in dictionary), but if it is, it's a tight sequence of //a// and //i// as in German.
  * //ei// is also not usually a digraph (exceptions will be noted as //e͡i// in dictionary), but if it is, it's a tight sequence of //e// and //i// as in German.
  * In general, for a duplicated vowel, such as //aa// or //uu//, each vowel should be pronounced as its own syllable; for example, //daarav// has three syllables, and is pronounced //'da-a-rav'//, rather than //'daa-rav'//.
  * //-h// with //-// a consonant, as long as //-// is not //s// or //t//, serving the same sound as //-//, plus a modifier for the vowel that follows. Example: '//kha//' is pronounced akin to '//kah//'; '//rha//' is pronounced akin to '//rah//'; ...
  * //ks//, pronounced as //x// would be in English.
  * //sh// for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_palato-alveolar_sibilant|/ʃ/]].
  * //sz//, serving as the same sound as 'z', plus a modifier for the vowel that follows; '//sza//' is pronounced akin to '//zah//').
  * //th// for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_fricative|/θ/]] as in English (**@todo not sure if also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_dental_fricative|/ð/]]... think not**).

Redundancies (i.e. letters or digraphs that exist for aesthetic purposes only):

  * //c// at the start of words is synonymous with //s//.
  * //c// not at the start of words is synonymous with //k//.
  * the digraph //k͡w// is synonymous with //q//.
  * the digraph //p͡h// is synonymous with //f//.
  * the digraph //z͡h// is synonymous with //sz//.
  * in the digraph //q͡u//, the u is silent (the letters as a true sequence would either be written as //quu// or (predominantly) //q'u//).
  * in some dialects, the digraph //e͡e// may be pronounced as //i//.

Assume compatibility with most common English pronunciations unless otherwise noted.

===== Punctuation ======

Punctuation varies regionally, but the following punctuation forms (albeit not the symbols; they can and do vary) are inherit to the language design:

| .\\ period | !\\ exclamation mark | ?\\ question mark | ‽\\ interrobang | '\\ apostrophe | ,\\ comma |

  * . denotes the end of a sentence.
  * ! denotes the end of an exclamation.
  * ? denotes the end of an enquiry.
  * ‽ denotes the end of an exclaimed enquiry.
  * , denotes a short pause, usually at the end of a clause. Regionally, various greater pauses can exist in punctuation, such as ";" or "-" or "...", but they're not typical.
  * ' denotes the end of a syllable. This is optional when the end of the syllable is otherwise implied. Examples: //adreth'a// - the apostrophe is necessary to prevent reading the plural form as //ad-re-tha//, rather than //ad-reth-a//; contrast with //kenda'a//, which can be written as //kendaa//, because //aa// is not a digraph.

{{tag>[comprehensive]}}