[Lexicog] Phonetic or phonemic representation in the pronunciation field

[Ronald Moe]

Naomi Keith wrote:

"should pronunciation field be a phonemic or a phonetic representation?"

 

This depends on whether your orthography is phonemic or not. It also depends
on how well the orthography represents phonemic contrasts and
suprasegmentals such as tone and stress. It also depends on your target
audience. A speaker of the language will probably not benefit from a
phonetic representation and would probably be confused by it. But he might
find it interesting. A language learner would probably benefit from a
phonetic representation. However a user will only benefit if he knows the
script. For instance IPA is becoming better known, but may still not be
known by many of your users.

 

Naomi Keith wrote:

"is there a case for including both a phonemic and a phonetic representation
in a database?"

 

Yes. Each would be used for different purposes. You might want one for
analysis and the other for inclusion in your published dictionary.

 

It is possible to generate either a phonemic or phonetic representation
using a CC table or other kind of converter. You can do this outside of
Toolbox using another program like CC. I have a CC table that I use for this
purpose. You can do it inside of FLEx using the Bulk Edit-Process tab. So it
isn't hard to do. You might have to make some changes by hand. For instance
you might have to add stress if it isn't predictable and isn't marked in the
orthography.

 

You should also be aware that pronunciation variants are usually handled in
the pronunciation field. For instance the English word 'either' has one
spelling but two pronunciations [idhr] and [ajdhr].

 

Ron Moe

 

  _____  

From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of naomikei2003
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:06 AM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Lexicog] Phonetic or phonemic representation in the pronunciation
field

 






I am fairly new in the world of lexicography, and I have a couple of
questions about the pronunciation field. We are working with a language in
the southern Philippines, and there is a large existing database for the
language. We are presently using the lexicography program Toolbox in our
dictionary project, although we may change to FLEx. My questions are:

1. should pronunciation field be a phonemic or a phonetic representation?
2. is there a case for including both a phonemic and a phonetic
representation in a database?

Thank you.
Naomi Keith
SIL Philippines



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