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Klingonska Akademien

pIqaD, And How to Read It.

 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. The Klingon Alphabet (pIqaD)
  3. The Consonants
  4. The Vowels
  5. Stress
  6. The Numerals
  7. References
  8. Vocabulary
  9. Future Additions?
 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

Preface

     Throughout this document a green left margin denotes that the text is a quote from Okrandian Canon...
     ...while a red such is indicate that the text is a quote from some other material.

This is the beginning of an investigation into the Klingon alphabet and its typographical and phonological nuances. Since there does not really exist any canon Klingon alphabet (Okrand speaks about pIqaD but he never makes use of it.) I have adopted the KLI approved alphabet, used by most klingonists. Paramount themselves use a typeface constructed by the Image Astra Corporation containing only ten glyphs, but since this is the Klingon alphabet we see in the movies and in Star Trek: The Next Generation, I intend to do a comparison between the two, and hopefully be able to create a typeface which looks more like the pIqaD we see on the silver screen.

I also intend to do a survey of the different styles of useage of pIqaD among klingonists (mainly on the Internet, but other contributions are also welcome if you have any) to see how much one can actually play around with the glyphs and still be able read them.

There are also some interesting GIF­files in KLI's FTP­area created and uploaded by Nick Nicholas, one of the people behind the restored version of the Klingon Hamlet. They are very interesting as they show what seems to be pIqaD written with a ballpen, a calligraphy pen (sort of frakture, perhaps used in the first printed books on Kronos?) and with a brush.
     Worth mentioning is also the article "Writing Klingon: The Easy Way" by Theron P. Elliot, (published in HolQeD 2:2 pp.10-11) in which he uses a triangular grid as a basis for writing pIqaD. It is interesting mostly because is also shows the direction of the pen while writing, but otherwise I do not think that the grid makes the Klingon glyphs justice.
     Interstellar Language School (lead by Glen F. Proechel) has published "An Alien Writing System Primer" explaining (non­canon, of course - and to my knowledge not even endorsed by KLI) how to write pIqaD in longhand.

Thanks go to Nick Nicholas for his constructive critisism and helpful suggestions.  

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

The Klingon Alphabet (pIqaD)

     More recently we've been treated to a different alphabet, (often incorrectly attributed to Michael Okuda, scenic designer for TNG), one which corresponds to the phonemes of Klingon as described by Okrand in TKD. While the characters themselves are easily indentifiable from background displays on TNG (assuming one has access to video equipment and a reasonably large television screen), there has never been an "official" release describing the particular relationship between individual glyphs and specific sounds. As Okuda has indicated (...) all Klingon background displays are composed for appearance, not communication. And yet, an unofficial letter to a Klingon fan group from an unnamed source at Paramount resulted in the following alphabet:
a b ch D e gh H I j
abch Degh HIj
l m n ng o p q Q r
lmn ngop qQr
S t tlh u v w y '
Sttlh uvw y'
[Note: Characters have been rearranged slightly to presented them in correct Okrandian alphabetic order.]

     Unlike its predecessor, these glyphs provide an excellent fit to the phonology of Klingon, or more specifically that of tlhIngan Hol. However, other questions still remain.
     The keen observer of ST6 will note several Klingon glyphs which are not included in the alphabet above. While some appear to be simple rotations of characters (and one is reminded of Sequoyah's creation of the Cherokee syllabary), other appear to be completely novel. That they are not included in the alphabet need not necessarily be cause for distress, nor tempt us to suspect the assignment of sound to sign. Our own writing system is replete with logographs, single characters representing whole ideas or words (e.g., !, @, #, $, %), clearly a part of the system but not a part of the alphabet.
     Then too, it may be helpful to keep in mind Allan Wechsler's remarks (...) on the sparse distribution of consonants in tlhIngan Hol. While perhaps a bit far fetched, the unexplained characters might be instances of alphabetic characters from an earlier, and phonemically larger, form of the language, maintained either for historical purposes in affairs of state (I refer here to the trial scene in ST6), or more simply as decoration.
     In any case, there is clearly much much more to be learned about Klingon orthography, more tantilizing promises and secrects to be discovered. Of course it's unknown whether any futher explanations are apt to be forthcoming, but at least the exotica is there. Or, to make the case more clear by example, what precisely is "the Klingon mummification glyph," and what is its role in a larger writing system? [HolQeD 1:1 p. 19, Lawrence M. Schoen]
     And from the syllabary created by Astra Image Corporation (though usually attributed to ST:TNG Senic Designer Michael Okuda): [HolQeD 1:4 p. 17, Lawrence M. Schoen]
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
012 345 678 9
I have also (quite recently) learned that there seems to exist a "canon" set of Klingon punctuation marks, used on the SkyBox trading cards in their "pIqaD"­text. Though the use is somewhat inconsistent on these cards I would like to concur with Nick Nicholas interpretation that the upturned triangle funtion as a full stop (period) and the downturned triangle as a comma, or semicolon. These are also the only punctuation marks that the Klingon language really requires, since both both questions and imperatives are clearly marked grammatically.

Klingon punctuation.
 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

The Consonants

b b b b b
voiced bilabial stop
     As in English bronchitis or gazebo. Some Klingons pronounce this sound as if it were m and b articulated almost simultaneously. Speakers of English can approximate this sound by saying imbalance without the intitial i sound. A very small number of Klingons pronounce b as if it were m. [TKD 1.1]
     In ta' Hol, b is pronounced the same as b in Federation Standard bribe. In the Krotmag dialect of Klingon, however, b and m are pronounced identically, both of them sounding like Federation Standard m as in mime. [KGT p. 18]
     Speaking in a manner that is sort of between that of the Krotmag region and ta' Hol are the peoples of Tak'ev (taq'ev), who, though still a minority population, greatly outnumber the residents of Krotmag. These people maintain the distinction between b and m but pronounce the bas if it were mb; that is, starting off as the m aound but ending up at a b. [KGT p. 22]

ch ch ch ch ch
voiceless palato­alveolar affricate
(i.e. alveolar stop + palato­alveolar fricative)
     As in English chew or artichoke. [TKD 1.1]

D D D D D
voiced retroflex (i.e. apico­postalveolar) stop

     This sound is close to English d in dream or android, but it is not quite the same. The English d sound is made by touching the tip of the tongue to that part of the roof of the mouth just behind the upper teeth. Klingon D can best be approximated by English­speakers by touching the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth at a point about halfway between the teeth and the velum (or soft palate), that part of the roof of the mouth that is rather gooshy. As with Klingon b, some speakers pronounce D as if it were more like an nd, and a distinct minority as if it were n - but, of course, with the tongue in the same position as for D. [TKD 1.1]
     The sound at the end of the first syllable of this word, toD, is D. To make this sound, point the tip of your tongue directly upwards, and touch the hard part of the roof of your mouth, and the do the same thing you would do to make a d sound. [CK]
     For instance Dal. means It is boring. To get the first sound in that word right make sure your tongue is pointed straight up towards the roof of your mouth. [PK]
     Krotmag dialect speakers have a distinctive pronounciation of D as well: it sounds like n, except the tip of the tongue touches a point in the middle of the roof of the mouth rather than one behind the top teeth as it does for n. (For the sake of clarity in this discussion the way Krotmag dialect speakers pronounce D will be written N, to distingguish if from n.) The D sound in ta' Hol is also produced with the tongue pointing upward and not near the teeth (just like N), but otherwise the D sound is similar to that of Federation Standard d as in did. For speakers in the Krotmag region, the sounds n and N are distinct (...)
     Speakers of other forms of Klingon, on the other hand, find the Krotmag pronounciation of N and n to be so similar as to be indistinguishable. When trying to speak in the Krotmag manner, they tend to produce all words with D as if they used n instead, rather than N, making it possible for a true Krotmag speaker to differentiate a fellow resident from an outsider, but also making communication difficult. [KGT pp. 20-21]
     Speaking in a manner that is sort of between that of the Krotmag region and ta' Hol are the peoples of Tak'ev (taq'ev), (...) D is pronouced more like nD (or, more accurately, ND). [KGT p. 22]

gh gh gh gh gh
voiced velar fricative
     This is not like anything in English. It can be produced by putting the tongue in the same position it would be in to say English g as in gobble, but relaxing the tongue somewhat and humming. It is the same as Klingon H (see below), but with the vocal cords vibrating at the same time. [TKD 1.1]
     The first sound of the word is gh. It's the same as the last sound of toDSaH, but hum while you say it. [CK]

H H H H H
voiceless velar fricative
     This is also not like anything in English, but it is just like ch in the name of the German composer Bach or in the Yiddish toast l'chaim, or the j in the Mexican city of Tijuana in Baja California. It is produced in the same way as Klingon gh, but is articulated with a very coarse, strong rasp. Unlike Klingon gh, the vocal cords do not vibrate in saying Klingon H. [TKD 1.1]
     The last sound in the word is H, this is the same as the sound at the end of the name of the ancient terran composer Bach. You'd make it the same way you make a k sound, but force air out of your mouth at the same time. [CK]

j j j j j
voiced palato­alveolar affricate
(i.e. alveolar stop + palato­alveolar fricative)
     As in English junk; never ever as in French jour. [TKD 1.1]

l l l l l
voiced alveolar lateral approximant
     As in English lunge or alchemy. [TKD 1.1]

m m m m m
voiced bilabial nasal
     As in English mud or pneumatic. Those few Klingons who pronounce b as m would say Klingon baH fire (a torpedo) and maH we the same way, and have to memorize which word is spelled which way. [TKD 1.1]

n n n n n
voiced alveolar nasal
     As in English nectarine or sunspot. Those Klingons who pronounce D more like n can easily articulate and hear the two sounds differently. Even a D that sounds like n is pronounced with the tongue in the Klingon D position, not in the English d position. Klingon n is produced with the tongue in same position as English d. [TKD 1.1]

ng ng ng ng ng
voiced velar nasal
     As in English furlong; never as in in English engulf. The g is never pronounced as a separate sound. This sound never occurs at the beginning of an English word, but it does come at the beginning at a number of Klingon words. English­speakers may practice making this sound at the beginning of a word by saying English dang it!, then saying it again without the da. [TKD 1.1]
     The sound at the beginning of the second syllable, ngan, is the same as the sound that comes at the end of the word thing or hang. [CK]
     That sound in the middle of the last word is the same as the sound in the end of the federation standard thing. Be sure to say ngev, not nev or njev. [PK]

p p p p p
aspirated voiceless bilabial stop
     As in English parallax or opprobrium. It is always articulated with a strong puff or pop, never laxy. Speakers of English may want to exercise care to avoid discharging saliva while articulating this sound. It should be noted, however, that Klingons do not worry about this. [TKD 1.1]

q q q q q
aspirated voiceless uvular stop
     Similar to English k in kumquat, but not quite that. The tongue position for English k is like that for Klingon gh and H. Indeed, the tongue reaches for or touches the uvula (the fleshy blob that dangles down from the back of the roof of the mouth), so articulating q approximates the sound of choking. The sound is usually accompanied by a slight puff of air. English speakers are reminded that Klingon q is never pronounced kw as in the beginning of English quagmire. [TKD 1.1]
     There's a new sound at both the beginning and end of the second syllable qeq, be careful, this is not the federation standard k sound. You make it like a k, but as you did for Q, shove the back of your tongue as far back into your mouth as you can. [CK]
     ­qoq Be sure you pronounce the sound at the beginning and end of this suffix as far back in your mouth as you can. [PK]

Q Q Q Q Q
voiceless uvular affricate
(i.e. uvular stop + uvular fricative)
     This is like nothing particulary noteworthy in English. It is and overdone Klingon q. It is identical to q except that it is very guttural and raspy and strongly articulated, somewhat like a blend of Klingon q and H. [TKD 1.1]
     The word begins with the common Klingon sound Q. To make this sound, put the back of your tongue as far back into your mouth as you can, then force the air up harshly, as if you're trying to dislodge a piece of food. [CK]

r r r r r
voiced apico­alveolar trill
     This is not like the r in American English, but it does resemble the r in some dialects of British English, as well as the r in many languages of Europe. It is slightly trilled or rolled. [TKD 1.1]

S S S S S
voiceless retroflex (i.e. apico­postalveolar) fricative
     This sound is halfway between English s and sh, as in syringe and shuttlecock. It is made with the tip of the tongue reaching toward that part of the roof of the mouth which it touches to produce the Klingon D. [TKD 1.1]
     The sound at the beginning of the second syllable, SaH, is S. It's not quite either the s or the sh sound you're familiar with. For the Klingon S, put your tongue in the same place you did to make the D sound, and say it with me. [CK]

t t t t t
aspirated voiceless alveolar or dental stop
     As in English tarpaulin or critique. It differs from Klingon D in two ways: (1) like p, it is accompanied by a puff of air; and (2) the tongue touches a position on the roof of the mouth father forward than that for D. [TKD 1.1]

tlh tlh tlh tlh tlh
alveolar lateral affricate
(i.e. voiceless alveolar stop + voiceless alveolar lateral fricative)
     This sound does not occur in English, but is very much like the final sound in tetl, the Aztec word for egg, if properly pronounced. To produce this sound, the tip of the tongue touches the same part of the roof of the mouth it touches for t, the sides of the tongue are lowered away from the side upper teeth, adn the air is forced through the space on both sides between tongue and teeth. The sound is produced with a great deal of friction, and the warning given in the description of Klingon p might be aptly repeated here. [TKD 1.1]
     To make this tlh sound, say a t and at the same time whisper, loudly, but still just whisper, an l. [...] Do you feel the sides of the tongue going down as you say the sound? - You should. [CK]
     The speech of residents of the planet Morska has some indentifiable phonological characteristics also. Most striking is the absence of the sound tlh. Syllables ending with tlh in most dialects end with ts (pronounced the same as ts in Federation Standard cats) in the Morskan dialect; at the beginning of syllables, instead of saying tlh, Morskans say something that sounds very much like a combination of standard Klingon gh and l - that is, ghl. [KGT p. 22]

v v v v v
voiced labio­dental fricative
     As in English vulgar or demonstrative. [TKD 1.1]

w w w w w
voiced rounded labiovelar approximant
     Usually as ing English worrywart or cow. On rare occasions, especially if the speaker is being rather deliberate, it is pronounced strongly, more like Hw or even Huv. [TKD 1.1]

y y y y y
voiced palatal central approximant
     As in English yodel or joy. [TKD 1.1]

' ' ' ' '
glottal stop
     The apostrophe indicates a sound which is frequently uttered, bu not written, in English. It is a glottal stop, the slight catch in the throat between the two syllables of uh­oh or unh­unh, meaning "no." When KLingon ' comes at the end of a word, the vowel preceeding the ' is often repeated in a very soft whisper, as if an echo. Thus, Klingon je' feed almost sound like je'e, where the articulation of the first e is abruptly cut­off by the ', and the second e is an barely audible whisper. When ' follows w or y at the end of a word, there is often a whispered, echoed u or I respectively. Occasionally the echo is quite audible, with a guttural sound like gh preceeding the echoed vowel. For example, yIlI' transmit it! can sound more like yIlI'ghI. This extra­heavy echo is heard most often when the speaker is particulary excited or angry. [TKD 1.1]
     Did you hear the sounds cut­off abruptly in the middle of the word? The correct pronounciation is Qu'vatlh, not Quvatlh. This abrupt cut­off is a very common feature of Klingon, you'll hear it a lot. [CK]
     ­na' Notice how the sound stops abruptly at the end of this suffix, it's ­na', not ­naa. [PK]
     Many nonnative speakers of Klingon, especially those for whom Federation Standard is a first language, seem to have trouble with ', the glottal stop, at the end of a word. Articulated correctly, ' is simply a very abrupt cessation of vocalization. The most common mispronunciation of ' is as q, though some newer speakers leave ' off altogether. Errors of this type could lead to confusion or confrontation. [KGT pp. 194-195]

Consonant inventory of Klingon
  Bilabial Labio­
dental		 Apico­
alveolar		 Apico­
palatoalveolar
(possibly)		 Apico­
domal
(retroflex)		 Dorso­
velar		 Dorso­
uvular		 Glottal
Stop
pb
  
t
  
D
  
q
'
Fricative  
v
    
S
Hgh
    
Affricate      
chj
    
Q
  
Nasal Stop
m
  
n
  
(N)
ng
    
Glides
w
    
y
        
Trill    
r
          
Lateral    
l
          
Lateral Affricate    
tlh
          
Where characters appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant.
Source: HolQeD 1:1, p. 4
 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

The Vowels

     A third characteristic of the Krotmag accent is the nasal quality of the vowels, caused by the air being expelled though the mount and nose at the same time while speaking. This in no way impedes communication with speakers of other dialects, but it does give the dialect a distinct tone. [KGT p. 21]
     The nasal vowel quality found in the Krotmag region is characteristic of Tak'ev speech as well. [KGT p. 22]

a a a a a
low back unrounded vowel (tense)
     As in English psalm; never as in American English crabapple. [TKD 1.2]
     as in pa [TKD Appendix, p169]

e e e e e
lower­mid front unrounded (lax)
     As in English sensor. [TKD 1.2]
     as in pet [TKD Appendix, p169]

I I I I I
semi­high front unrounded vowel (lax)
     As English i in misfit. Once in a while, it is pronounced like i in zucchini, but this is very rare and it is not yet known exactly what circumstances account for it. [TKD 1.2]
     as in pit [TKD Appendix, p169]

o o o o o
upper­mid back rounded (tense)
     As in English mosaic. [TKD 1.2]
     as in go [TKD Appendix, p169]

u u u u u
high back rounded (tense)
     As in English gnu or prune; never as in but or cute. [TKD 1.2]
     as in soon [TKD Appendix, p169]

Vowel inventory of Klingon
[-cons] [+front]
[-back]		 [-front]
[-back]		 [+round]
[+tense]
[-front]
[+back]
[+high]
[-low]		I u
[-high]
[-low]		e o
[-high]
[+low]		 a 
Source: HolQeD 1:1, p. 3

 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

Stress

The below reasoning is based on the comments on stress made by Okrand in TKD (section 1.3), and additional analysis of the "rough pronunciation guide" (which is the only transcription with stress marked) in the "cheat sheet" section (pages 170-172) in the same work.
     Each Klingon word of more than one syllable normally contains one stressed (or accented) syllable. The stressed syllable is pronounced at a slightly higher pitch and with a little more force than the nonstressed syllable(s).
     In a verb, the stressed syllable is usually the verb itself, as opposed to any prefix or suffix. If, however, a suffix ending with ' is separated from the verb by at least one other suffix, both the verb and the suffix ending in ' are stressed. In addition, if the meaning of any particular suffix is to be emphasized, the stress may shift to that syllable. Suffixes indicating negation or emphasis (section 4.3) are frequently stressed, as is the interrogative suffix (section 4.2.9).
     In a noun, the stressed syllable is usually the syllable right before the first noun suffix, or the final syllable if there is no suffix. If, however, a syllable ending in ' is present, it is usually stressed instead. If there are two syllables in a row ' both ending in ', both are equally stressed.
     Finally, it should be noted that there are some words which seem to have variable stress patterns, with the stress sometimes heard on one syllable and sometimes on another. This phenomenon is not yet understood. The rules given above do not account for this variability, but if they are followed, stress will wind up on acceptable syllables.
     In the system used to transcribe Klingon in this dictionary, stress is not indicated. [TKD §1.3]

I have also relied on the notes on stress and rythm in klingon, made in KLI's new edition of Hamlet (Appendix II, pages 215-216) for disambiguation when such have been needed.
     Readers who wish do declaim Khamlet properly should be aware that the notes on stress in Okrand (2292), while accurate, are not always explicit. Therefore, the following brief guide may be of some help:

Nouns are stressed on the final syllable of the stem: ghóp hand, puyjáq nova, bortás revenge. Any suffixes added on to the stem are not stressed: puyjáqvam this nova, bortáSmey revenges.

However, if any syllable in a noun, whether in the stem or in a suffix, ends in a glottal stop, it is stressed instead of the the stem's final syllable. Thus: bó'DIj court, ghopDú' hands, puyjaqvó' from the nova. Adjacent syllables ending in glottal stops receive equal stress: chú'wÍ' trigger, although Klingon verse tends to stress the latter. Note that nouns derived from verbs are considered nouns: vúm to work, vumwÍ' worker, vumtaHghách working, vumpú'ghach a bout of work.

Verbs are likewise stressed on the final syllable of the stem: Dál to be boring, ghIpDÍj to court­martial. Unlike nouns, if the first suffix after the verb ends in a glottal stop, the suffix is not stressed. Thus the verb she has been an alien is nóvpu', while the noun aliens in novpú'. If the suffix ending in a glottal stop is other than the first, then both it and the final syllable of the verb re stressed: mughIpDÍjchoHDÍ' when she started court­martialling me, HóH'eghrupmó' because he was ready to suicide.

Semantically important suffixes can end up stressed instead of the verb stem. In practice in Klingon metre (which systematises this tendency) negative and interrogative suffixes are always stressed: jIDalbé' I am not boring, bImatlhHá' you are disloyal, luDelQó' they refuse to describe it, chol'á' is he coming? Note that adjectival verbs are considered verbs: 'útlh mátlhqu' a truly loyal officer. There are often cases where monosyllabic verbs and nouns are juxtaposed. In this text, adjectival verbs and subject nouns tend to be stressed more strongly, following an iambic pattern. Thus 'utlh mátlh a loyal officer, matlh 'útlh the officer is loyal. [Hamlet, Appendix II]

 

From this I have extrapolated the following rules for determining which syllables should recieve stress:

Nouns:

Verbs:

Exclamations (adverbials etc?):

 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

The Numerals

TKD pp. 52-53 (canon):
     Klingon originally had a ternary number system; that is, one based on three. Counting proceeded as follows: 1, 2, 3; 3+1, 3+2, 3+3; 2×3+1, 2×3+2, 2×3+3; 3×3+1, 3×3+2, 3×3+3; and the it got complicated. In accordance with the more accepted practice, the Klingon Empire sometime back adopted a decimal number system, one based on ten.
      Though no one knows for sure, it is likely that this change was made more out of concern for understanding the scientific data of other civilizations than out of a spirit of cooperation. [TKD pp. 52-53]
     Older Klingon music was based on a nonatonic scale - that is, one made up of nine tones. Each tone has a specific name, comparable to the "do, re, mi" system used in describing music on Earth. The nine tone names are (the first and ninth, as with Earth's "do," being the same): yu, bIm, 'egh, loS, vagh, jav, Soch, chorgh, yu. While the first three (and ninth) of these words apparently are used only for singing the scale, the remaining five are also numerals: loS, "four"; vagh, "five"; jav, "six"; Soch, "seven"; chorgh, "eight." It is possible that, at some time in the past, the numerals were "borrowed" into the lexicon of music in order to sing the scale but, for some reason, the first three (presumably wa', cha', wej ["one, two, three"]) were either changed or never used. It is far more likely, however, that the borrowing went in the other direction. As is well documented, the Klingon counting system was originally a ternary system (one based on three, with numbers higher than three formed from the words for "one," "two," and "three"). Later, owing to outside influences, it changed to a decimal system (based on ten). The independent words for the numbers three through nine were not originally a part of the Klingon counting system, but they had to come from somewhere. The musical scale is the likely source. The word for the fourth musical tone, loS, began to be used for the number four, and so on through the eighth tone, chorgh. (The origins of the words Hut ["nine"] and the suffix ­maH, used in the words for "ten," "twenty," "thirty," and so on, are obscure.) [KGT pp. 72-73]

Value Pronunciation pIqaD Name
0 0 0 0 zero, none
1 1 1 1 one
2 2 2 2 two
3 3 3 3 three
4 4 4 4 four
5 5 5 5 five
6 6 6 6 six
7 7 7 7 seven
8 8 8 8 eight
9 9 9 9 nine
 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

References

 

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

Vocabulary

Affricate. Consonant composed of initial stop phase followed by a release phase taking the form of a homorganic fricative.
Alveolar. Relating to the alveolar ridge, the bony ridge behind the upper teeth.
Apical. Relating to the apex (tip) of the tongue.
Apico­alveolar. Articulation involving the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge,
Apico­postalveolar. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| No explanation written yet.
Approximant. Frictionless continuant. For Ladgefoged, who coined the term (1964), a consonantal sound articulated in a manner involving an opening in the oral tract not radical enough to produce audible friction; thus, IPA [j], [w], [l], etc. Catford (1977, 119-22) refines this, defining approximants as having non­turbulent airflow when voiced but tubulent airflow when voiceless.
Back. (Of vowels) Relating to the system of Cardinal Vowels devised by Daniel Jones for representing vowel quality in term of a grid of absolute values. Cardinal 1 is defined as the highest and most front vowel physiologically producible; Cardinal 5 is defined as the lowest and most back vowels physiologically producible; Carndinals 1, 2, 3, and 4 are front unrounded vowels whose openness evenly increases toward the maximum possible, and Cardinals 5, 6, 7, and 8 are back vowels whose closeness and rounding evenly increases toward the maximum possible. A second series, Cardinals 9 through 16, is then defined as having identical tongue positions but opposite rounding.
Bilabial. Relating to articulation involving the two lips.
Central. (Of consonants) Non­lateral, i.e. articulated in a manner that involves airflow predominantly down the center line of the oral cavity (from uvula to middle front teeth) rather than around the sides of the tongue; (of vowels) involving a tongue position with its highest point neither in the front third nor in the back third of the oral cavity, i.e. roughly below the junction of the hard and soft palate. Note that for consonants the center referenced is between left and right cheeks, but for vowels the center is between front and back of the oral cavity. Median is an unambiguous and thus preferable term for the former.
Dental. Relating to the upper front teeth.
Fricative. Consonantal sound articulated in a manner involving approximation of articulators to narrow a part of the oral tract radically enough to produce audible friction.
Front. (Of vowels) Articulated with the highest point of the tongue in the front region of the mouth, i.e. below the hard palate.
Glide. Nonvocalic central approximant; semivowel.
Glottal. Relating to the glottis or to the vocal cords.
Hard palate. See palate.
High. (Of vowels) Articulated with a tongue height that involves raising the body of the tongue above its neutral position to (or near) the maximal extent possible; (fully) close.
Homorganic. Having the same place of articulation (as some give adjacent segment, for example).
Labiovelar, Labial­velar. Relating to an articulation involving both the lips (either rounded or closed) and dorsal part of the tongue raised toward the velum.
Labio­dental. Articulated by bringing the lower lip into contact with the upper teeth.
Lateral. Articulated in a manner that involves oral airflow predominantly around a central obstructions across the sides of the tongue rather than down the center line of the oral cavity.
Lax. The opposite of tense.
Low. (Of vowels) Articulated in a manner that involves lowering the tongue below its neutral position to (or near) the maximal extent possible; (fully) open.
Lower­mid. (Of vowels) Articulated with the highest point of the tongue slightly lower than the mid position; at or around the height of Cardinal 3.
Nasal. Stop consonont articulated with a lowered velum, produced by airflow through the nasal cavity rather than the oral cavity. (As an adjective, it is synonymous with nasalized.)
Palatal. Relating to the hard palate or roof of the oral cavity.
Palate. The roof of the mouth. The hard palate is the bony central region of the roof the mouth; the soft palate or velum is the soft flap of tissue between it and the uvula.
Palato­alveolar. Relating to the region just behind the alveolar ridge. (The IPA draws a distinction betwen the palato­alveolar region, roughly where the Enlish consonant in shy is articulated, and the alveolo­palatal region, which is slightly further back, but still not palatal; see Principles, p.10.)
Retroflex. Articulated in a manner involving retraction of the apex of the tongue so that its lower surface is brought into proximity to the hard palate.
Rounded. Articulated in a manner that involves rounding of the lips.
Semi­high. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| No explanation written yet.
Soft palate. See palate.
Stop. Consonant articulated in a manner involving a complete blockage of airflow somewhere in the oral tract.
Tense. A problematic term phonetically; it is claimed by some that there is an identifiable class of tense speech sounds characterized by and articulation involving relatively more forceful and extreme motions of the articulators, but there is considerable controversy in the experimental literature about such phonetic correlates. In phonology, the feature has played and important role in Chomsky and Halle's (1968) classification of the English vowels, the long vowels and diphthongs being called tense and the short vowels lax.
Trill. Consonant articulated in a manner that involves a mobile active articulator fluttering in a turbulent air stream and striking another articulator rapidly and repeatedly - for example, the apex of the tongue fluttering against the aveolar ridge, or the uvula vibrating against the root of the tongue.
Unrounded. Articulated in a manner that does not involve a rounding of the lips.
Uvula. The small appendage of soft tissue hanging down at the back of the mouth, at the lower end of the velum.
Uvular. Relating to the uvula.
Velar. Relating to the velum.
Velum. The soft palate.
Voiced. Articulateed in a manner involving free vibration of the vocal cords under the influence of pulmonic airflow through the larynx and glottis.
Voiceless. Articulated in a manner not involving free vibrations of the vocal cords under the influence of pulmonic airflow through the larynx and glottis.  

[ Preface | The Alphabet | Consonants | Vowels | Stress | Numerals | References | Vocabulary ] 

Future Additions?

I have not been working on this article for a long time, but now that I do I find that there is room for some improvement. These are some of the ideas I have, and would like to add in the future, should I get the time for it:

          ©1998-2000, Copyright Zrajm C Akfohg, Klingonska Akademien, Uppsala.