User:AmazingJus/sandbox/faroese
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Spelling-to-sound correspondence[edit]
This section lists Faroese letters and letter combinations and their phonemic representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.[1]
Vowels[edit]
Faroese vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: the only unstressed vowels (at least in native words) are [a, ɪ, ʊ]. The vowel length is determined by the number of consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant (i.e., CVCV or CVC# syllable structure), the vowel is long; if there are more than one (CVCCV), counting geminates and pre-aspirated stops as CC, the vowel is short.[2] In addition to long monophthongs, Faroese also has diphthongs, which are always long. There are, however, some exceptions to the vowel length rule:
- A vowel is long if it precedes a consonant combination ⟨b, d, g, k, p, s, t⟩ + ⟨j, l, r⟩. Examples include akrar, epli, møblar. The situation is however more complex, as seen below:
- When the second consonant is ⟨j⟩, as in vekja, vitja, and tysja, the combination is treated as one sound (see below), and thus the vowel is long. However, the vowel before ⟨pj⟩ is short.
- ⟨tl⟩ is not considered to be a consonant cluster, so the vowel preceding it is short.
- In loanwords before ⟨kv⟩, the vowel is optionally long.
- The genitive suffix ⟨-s⟩ does not affect the vowel length; e.g., báts, skips.
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | Long | ||
| a | [a] | [ɛaː] | spakt [spakt] "calm (n)" spakur [ˈspɛaː(ʰ)kʊɹ] "calm (m)" |
| á | [ɔ] | [ɔaː] | vátt [vɔʰtː] "wet (n)" vátur [ˈvɔaːtʊɹ] "wet (m)" |
| e | [ɛ] | [eː] | frekt [fɹɛʰkt] "greedy (n)" frekur [ˈfɹeːkʊɹ] "greedy (m)" |
| i | [ɪ] | [iː] | lint [lɪn̥t] "soft (n)" linur [ˈliːnʊɹ] "soft (m)" |
| í | [ʊi] | [ʊiː] | kvítt [kfʊiʰtː] "white (n)" kvítur [ˈkfʊiːtʊɹ] "white (m)" |
| o | [ɔ] | [oː] | toldi [tʰɔltɪ] "endured" tola [ˈtʰoːla] "to endure" |
| ó | [œ] | [ɔuː] | tómt [tʰœm̥t] "empty (n)" tómur [ˈtʰɔuːmʊɹ] "empty (m)" |
| u | [ʊ] | [uː] | gult [kʊl̥t] "yellow (n)" gulur [ˈkuːlʊɹ] "yellow (m)" |
| ú | [ʏ] | [ʉuː] | fúlt [fʏl̥t] "foul (n)" fúlur [ˈfʉuːlʊɹ] "foul (m)" |
| y | [ɪ] | [iː] | mystisk [ˈmʏstɪsk] "mysterious" mytisk [ˈmyːtɪsk] "mythological" |
| ý | [ʊi] | [ʊiː] | týskt [tʰʊiskt] "German (n)" týskur [ˈtʰʊiːskʊɹ] "German (m)" |
| æ | [a] | [ɛaː] | mætt [maʰtː] "nice (n)" mætur [ˈmɛaːtʊɹ] "nice (m)" |
| ø | [œ] | [øː] | høgt [hœkt] "high (n)" høgur [ˈhøːʋʊɹ] "high (m)" |
| ei | [ai] | [aiː] | feitt [faiʰtː] "fat (n)" feitur [ˈfaiːtʊɹ] "fat (m)" |
| ey | [ɛ] | [ɛiː] | deytt [tɛʰtː] "dead (n)" deyður [ˈteiːjʊɹ] "dead (m)" |
| oy | [ɔi] | [ɔiː] | gloymdi [ˈklɔiːmtɪ] "forgot" gloyma [ˈklɔiːma] "to forget" |
Consonants[edit]
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization (IPA) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| b | [p] | bátur [ˈpɔaːʰtʊɹ] "boat" |
| d | [t] | dýr [tiːɹ] "animal" |
| dj | [tʃ] | djúpur [ˈt͡ʃʉuːpʊɹ] "deep" |
| ð | between vowels:
| |
other contexts:
|
borð [poːɹ] "table" | |
| f | [f] | fiskur [ˈfɪskʊɹ] "fish" |
| g | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey:
|
gildi [ˈt͡ʃɪltɪ] "celebration" |
between vowels:
| ||
other contexts:
|
góður [ˈkɔuːwʊɹ] "good" | |
| gj | [tʃ] | gjógv [ˈt͡ʃɛkf] "ravine" |
| h | [h] | hús [hʉuːs] "house" |
| hj | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey, word initially:
|
hjól [ˈt͡ʃʰɔuːl] "wheel" |
other contexts:
|
hjálp [jɔɬp] "help" | |
| hv | [kv] | hvalur [ˈkʰvɛaːlʊɹ] "whale" |
| j | [j] | jól [jɔuːɬ] "Christmas" |
| k | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey:
|
kensla [ˈt͡ʃʰɛnsla] "feeling" |
other contexts:
|
kongur [ˈkʰɔŋkʊɹ] "king" | |
| kj | [tʃʰ] | kjósa [ˈt͡ʃʰɔusa] "to choose" |
| kk | [kː], [ʰk] | |
| l | word finally, or next to a voiceless consonant:
|
milt [ˈmɪɬt] "spleen" |
other contexts:
|
linur [ˈliːnʊɹ] "soft" | |
| ll | in loan words and pet names:
|
mylla [ˈmɪlːa] "mill" |
other contexts:
|
fjall [ˈfjatɬ] "mountain" | |
| m | [m] | maður [ˈmɛaːvʊɹ] "man" |
| n | [n] | navn [naun] "name" |
| ng | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey:
|
ungi [ˈʊɲtʃɪ] "fledgling" |
other contexts:
|
langur [ˈlɛŋkʊɹ] "long" | |
| nk | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey:
|
|
other contexts:
|
||
| nj | [ɲ], [nj] | |
| nn | after accented vowels or diphthongs:
|
|
other contexts:
|
||
| p | [pʰ] | pípa [ˈpʰʊiːpa] "pipe" |
| pp | [ʰp] | |
| r | [ɹ ~ ɻ] | rógva [ˈɹɛɡva] "to row" |
| s | [s] | síða [ˈsʊiːja] "page" |
| sj | [ʃ] | sjálvur [ˈʃɔlvʊɹ] "self" |
| sk | before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey, word initially:
|
skip [ʃiːp] "ship" |
before e, i, í, y, ý, æ or ey, word internally:
|
elski [ˈɛɬstʃɪ] "I love" | |
other contexts:
|
skúli [ˈskʉulɪ] "school" | |
| skj | [ʃ] | skjótt [ʃœtː] "quickly" |
| stj | [ʃ] | stjørna [ˈʃœɳa] "star" |
| t | [tʰ] | tá [tʰɔa] "toe" |
| tj | [tʃʰ] | tjóð [t͡ʃʰɔuːw] "people" |
| tt | [tː ~ ʰt] | brott [ˈpɹɔtː] "away" |
| v | word finally, or next to a voiceless consonant:
|
|
other contexts:
|
vatn [vaʰtn̥] "water" | |
References[edit]
- ^ Þráinsson, Höskuldur (2002) [1994]. "Icelandic". In König, Ekkehard; van der Auwera, Johan (eds.). The Germanic Languages. Routledge Language Family Descriptions. pp. 142–152. ISBN 0-415-05768-X.
- ^ Árnason 2011, pp. 152–3.
- ^ Árnason (2011), p. 68.
Bibliography[edit]
- Árnason, Kristján (2011), The Phonology of Icelandic and Faroese, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199229317
- Þráinsson, Höskuldur (2004), Faroese: An Overview and Reference Grammar, Føroya Fróðskaparfelag, ISBN 978-9991841854