The Lojban sounds must be clearly pronounced so that they are not
mistaken for each other. Voicing and placement of the tongue are the
key factors in correct pronunciation, but other subtle differences will
develop between consonants in a Lojban-speaking community. At this
point these are the only mandatory rules on the range of sounds.
Note in particular that Lojban vowels can be pronounced with either rounded
or unrounded lips; typically ``o'' and ``u'' are rounded and the others are not,
as in English, but this is not a requirement; some people round ``y'' as well.
Lojban consonants can be aspirated or unaspirated. Palatalizing of
consonants, as found in Russian and other languages, is not generally
acceptable in pronunciation, though a following ``i'' may cause it.
The sounds represented by the letters ``c'', ``g'', ``j'', ``s'', and ``x'' require
special attention for speakers of English, either because they are ambiguous
in the orthography of English (``c'', ``g'', ``s''), or because they are strikingly
different in Lojban (``c'', ``j'', ``x''). The English ``c'' represents three
different sounds, [k] in ``cat'' and [s] in ``cent'', as well as the [S] of
``ocean''. Similarly, English ``g'' can represent [g] as in ``go'', [dZ] as in
``gentle'', and [Z] as in ``garage'' (in some pronunciations). English ``s''
can be either [s] as in ``cats'', [z] as in ``cards'', [S] as in ``tension'',
or [Z] as in ``measure''. The sound of Lojban ``x'' doesn't appear in most
English dialects at all.
There are two common English sounds that are found in Lojban but are not
not Lojban consonants: the ``ch'' of ``church'' and the ``j'' of ``judge''. In
Lojban, these are considered two consonant sounds spoken together without an
intervening vowel sound, and so are represented in Lojban by the two separate
consonants: ``tc'' (IPA [tS]) and ``dj'' (IPA [dZ]). In general, whether a
complex sound is considered one sound or two depends on the language:
Russian views ``ts'' as a single sound, whereas English, French, and Lojban
consider it to be a consonant cluster.
The apostrophe, period, and comma need special attention. They are
all used as indicators of a division between syllables, but each has a
different pronunciation, and each is used for different reasons:
The apostrophe represents a phoneme similar to a short, breathy English ``h'',
(IPA [h]). The letter ``h'' is not used to represent this sound for two
reasons: primarily in order to simplify explanations of the morphology, but
also because the sound is very common, and the apostrophe is a visually
lightweight representation of it. The apostrophe sound is a consonant
in nature, but is not treated as either a consonant or a vowel for purposes
of Lojban morphology (word-formation), which is explained in Chapter 4.
In addition, the apostrophe visually parallels the comma and the period,
which are also used (in different ways) to separate syllables.
The apostrophe is included in Lojban only to enable a smooth separation
between vowels, while joining the vowels within a single word. In fact,
one way to think of the apostrophe is as representing a unvoiced vowel
glide.
As a permitted variant, any unvoiced fricative other than those already used
in Lojban may be used to render the apostrophe: IPA [T] is one possibility.
The convenience of the listener should be regarded as paramount in deciding
to use a substitute for [h].
The period represents a mandatory pause, with no specified length; a glottal
stop (IPA [/]) is considered a pause of shortest length. A pause (or
glottal stop) may appear between any two words, and in certain cases --
explained in detail in Chapter 4 --- must occur. In particular, a word
beginning with a vowel is always preceded by a pause, and a word ending in a
consonant is always followed by a pause.
Technically, the period is an optional reminder to the reader of a mandatory
pause that is dictated by the rules of the language; because these rules
are unambiguous, a missing period can be inferred from otherwise
correct text. Periods are included only as an aid to the reader.
A period also may be found apparently embedded in a word. When this occurs,
such a written string is not one word but two, written together to indicate
that the writer intends a unitary meaning for the compound. It is not really
necessary to use a space between words if a period appears.
The comma is used to indicate a syllable break within a word, generally
one that is not obvious to the reader. Such a comma is written to separate
syllables, but indicates that there must be no pause between them, in
contrast to the period. Between two vowels, a comma indicates that some
type of glide may be necessary to avoid a pause that would split the two
syllables into separate words. It is always legal to use the apostrophe
(IPA [h]) sound in pronouncing a comma. However, a comma cannot be
pronounced as a pause or glottal stop between the two letters separated by
the comma, because that pronunciation would split the word into two words.
Otherwise, a comma is usually only used to clarify the presence of syllabic
``l'', ``m'', ``n'', or ``r'' (discussed later). Commas are never required: no two
Lojban words differ solely because of the presence or placement of a comma.
Here is a somewhat artificial example of the difference in pronunciation
between periods, commas and apostrophes. In the English song
about Old MacDonald's Farm, the vowel string which is pronounced
``ee-i-ee-i-o'' in English could be Lojbanized with periods as:
3.1) .i.ai.i.ai.o
[/i /aj /i /aj /o]
Ee! Eye! Ee! Eye! Oh!
However, this would sound clipped, staccato, and unmusical compared to the
English. Furthermore, although Example 3.1 is a string of meaningful Lojban
words, as a sentence it makes very little sense. (Note the use of periods
embedded within the written word.)
If commas were used instead of periods, we could represent the
English string as a Lojbanized name, ending in a consonant:
3.2) .i,ai,i,ai,on.
[/i jaj ji jaj jon/]
The commas represent new syllable breaks, but prohibit the use of
pauses or glottal stop. The pronunciation shown is just one possibility,
but closely parallels the intended English pronunciation.
However, the use of commas in this way is risky to unambiguous
interpretation, since the glides might be heard by some listeners as
diphthongs, producing something like
3.3) .i,iai,ii,iai,ion.
which is technically a different Lojban name. Since the intent with
Lojbanized names is to allow them to be pronounced more like their native
counterparts, the comma is allowed to represent vowel glides or some
non-Lojbanic sound. Such an exception affects only spelling accuracy and the
ability of a reader to replicate the desired pronunciation exactly; it will
not affect the recognition of word boundaries.
Still, it is better if Lojbanized names are always distinct. Therefore, the
apostrophe is preferred in regular Lojbanized names that are not attempting
to simulate a non-Lojban pronunciation perfectly. (Perfection, in any
event, is not really achievable, because some sounds simply lack reasonable
Lojbanic counterparts.)
If apostrophes were used instead of commas in Example 3.2,
it would appear as:
3.4) .i'ai'i'ai'on.
[/i hai hi hai hon/]
which preserves the rhythm and length, if not the exact sounds, of the
original English.
There exist 16 diphthongs in the Lojban language. A diphthong is a vowel
sound that consists of two elements, a short vowel sound and a glide,
either a labial (IPA [w]) or palatal (IPA [j]) glide, that either
precedes (an on-glide) or follows (an off-glide) the main vowel. Diphthongs
always constitute a single syllable.
For Lojban purposes, a vowel sound is a relatively long speech-sound
that forms the nucleus of a syllable. Consonant sounds are relatively
brief and normally require an accompanying vowel sound in order to be
audible. Consonants may occur at the beginning or end of a syllable,
around the vowel, and there may be several consonants in a cluster in
either position. Each separate vowel sound constitutes a distinct
syllable; consonant sounds do not affect the determination of syllables.
The six Lojban vowels are ``a'', ``e'', ``i'', ``o'', ``u'', and ``y''. The first five
vowels appear freely in all kinds of Lojban words. The vowel ``y'' has a
limited distribution: it appears only in Lojbanized names, in the Lojban
names of the letters of the alphabet, as a glue vowel in compound words,
and standing alone as a space-filler word (like English ``uh'' or ``er'').
The Lojban diphthongs are shown in the table below. (Variant pronunciations
have been omitted, but are much as one would expect based on the
variant pronunciations of the separate vowel letters: ``ai'' may be pronounced
[Aj], for example.)
Letters IPA Description
ai [aj] an open vowel
with palatal off-glide
ei [Ej] a front mid vowel
with palatal off-glide
oi [oj] a back mid vowel
with palatal off-glide
au [aw] an open vowel
with labial off-glide
ia [ja] an open vowel
with palatal on-glide
ie [jE] a front mid vowel
with palatal on-glide
ii [ji] a front close vowel
with palatal on-glide
io [jo] a back mid vowel
with palatal on-glide
iu [ju] a back close vowel
with palatal on-glide
ua [wa] an open vowel
with labial on-glide
ue [wE] a front mid vowel
with labial on-glide
ui [wi] a front close vowel
with labial on-glide
uo [wo] a back mid vowel
with labial on-glide
uu [wu] a back close vowel
with labial on-glide
iy [j�] a central mid vowel
with palatal on-glide
uy [w�] a central mid vowel
with labial on-glide
(Approximate English equivalents of most of these diphthongs exist: see
Section 11 for examples.)
The first four diphthongs above (``ai'', ``ei'', ``oi'', and ``au'', the ones with
off-glides) are freely used in most types of Lojban words; the ten
following ones are used only as stand-alone words and in Lojbanized names
and borrowings; and the last two (``iy'' and ``uy'') are used only in
Lojbanized names.
The syllabic consonants of Lojban, [l`], [m`], [n`], and [r`], are
variants of the non-syllabic [l], [m], [n], and [r] respectively. They
normally have only a limited distribution, appearing in Lojban names and
borrowings, although in principle any ``l'', ``m'', ``n'', or ``r'' may be
pronounced syllabically. If a syllabic consonant appears next to a ``l'',
``m'', ``n'', or ``r'' that is not syllabic, it may not be clear which is which:
4.1) brlgan.
[br`l gan]
or [brl` gan]
is a hypothetical Lojbanized name with more than one valid pronunciation;
however it is pronounced, it remains the same word.
Syllabic consonants are treated as consonants rather than vowels
from the standpoint of Lojban morphology. Thus Lojbanized names,
which are generally required to end in a consonant, are allowed to end
with a syllabic consonant. An example is ``rl.'', which is an approximation
of the English name ``Earl'', and has two syllabic consonants.
Syllables with syllabic consonants and no vowel are never stressed or counted
when determining which syllables to stress (see Section 9).
Lojban vowels also occur in pairs, where each vowel sound is in a separate
syllable. These two vowel sounds are connected (and separated) by
an apostrophe. Lojban vowel pairs should be pronounced continuously with
the [h] sound between (and not by a glottal stop or pause, which would split
the two vowels into separate words).
All vowel combinations are permitted in two-syllable pairs with the
apostrophe separating them; this includes those which constitute
diphthongs when the apostrophe is not included.
The Lojban vowel pairs are:
a'a a'e a'i a'o a'u a'y
e'a e'e e'i e'o e'u e'y
i'a i'e i'i i'o i'u i'y
o'a o'e o'i o'o o'u o'y
u'a u'e u'i u'o u'u u'y
y'a y'e y'i y'o y'u y'y
Vowel pairs involving ``y'' appear only in Lojbanized names. They could appear
in cmavo (structure words), but only ``.y'y.'' is so used --- it is the
Lojban name of the apostrophe letter (see Chapter 17).
When more than two vowels occur together in Lojban, the normal pronunciation
pairs vowels from the left into syllables, as in the Lojbanized name:
5.1) meiin.
mei,in.
Example 5.1 contains the diphthong ``ei'' followed by the vowel ``i''. In order
to indicate a different grouping, the comma must always be used, leading
to:
5.2) me,iin.
which contains the vowel ``e'' followed by the diphthong ``ii''. In rough
English representation, Example 5.1 is ``May Een'', whereas Example 5.2 is
``Meh Yeen''.
A consonant sound is a relatively brief speech-sound that precedes or
follows a vowel sound in a syllable; its presence either preceding or
following does not add to the count of syllables, nor is a consonant
required in either position for any syllable. Lojban has seventeen
consonants: for the purposes of this section, the apostrophe is not counted
as a consonant.
An important distinction dividing Lojban consonants is that of voicing.
The following table shows the unvoiced consonants and the corresponding
voiced ones:
UNVOICED VOICED
p b
t d
k g
f v
c j
s z
x -
The consonant ``x'' has no voiced counterpart in Lojban.
The remaining consonants, ``l'', ``m'', ``n'', and ``r'', are typically pronounced
with voice, but can be pronounced unvoiced.
Consonant sounds occur in languages as single consonants, or as doubled,
or as clustered combinations. Single consonant sounds are isolated by
word boundaries or by intervening vowel sounds from other consonant
sounds. Doubled consonant sounds are either lengthened like [s] in
English ``hiss'', or repeated like [k] in English ``backcourt''. Consonant
clusters consist of two or more single or doubled consonant sounds in a
group, each of which is different from its immediate neighbor. In Lojban,
doubled consonants are excluded altogether, and clusters are limited to two
or three members, except in Lojbanized names.
Consonants can occur in three positions in words: initial (at the beginning),
medial (in the middle), and final (at the end). In many languages, the sound
of a consonant varies depending upon its position in the word. In Lojban, as
much as possible, the sound of a consonant is unrelated to its position.
In particular, the common American English trait of changing a ``t'' between
vowels into a ``d'' or even a flap (IPA [�]) is unacceptable in Lojban.
Lojban imposes no restrictions on the appearance of single consonants in
any valid consonant position; however, no consonant (including syllabic
consonants) occurs final in a word except in Lojbanized names.
Pairs of consonants can also appear freely, with the following restrictions:
- 1)
- It is forbidden for both consonants to be the same,
as this would violate the rule against double
consonants.
- 2)
- It is forbidden for one consonant to be voiced and
the other unvoiced. The consonants ``l'', ``m'', ``n'',
and ``r'' are exempt from this restriction. As a result,
``bf'' is forbidden, and so is ``sd'', but both ``fl'' and
``vl'', and both ``ls'' and ``lz'', are permitted.
- 3)
- It is forbidden for both consonants to be drawn from
the set ``c'', ``j'', ``s'', ``z''.
- 4)
- The specific pairs ``cx'', ``kx'', ``xc'', ``xk'', and ``mz''
are forbidden.
These rules apply to all kinds of words, even Lojbanized names. If a name
would normally contain a forbidden consonant pair, a ``y'' can be inserted
to break up the pair:
6.1) djeimyz.
[dZEj m�z/]
James
The regular English pronunciation of ``James'', which is [dZEjmz], would
Lojbanize as ``djeimz.'', which contains a forbidden consonant pair.
The set of consonant pairs that may appear at the beginning of a word
(excluding Lojbanized names) is far more restricted than the fairly large
group of permissible consonant pairs described in Section 6. Even so, it
is more than English allows, although hopefully not more than English-speakers
(and others) can learn to pronounce.
There are just 48 such permissible initial consonant pairs, as follows:
-
- bl br
cf ck cl cm cn cp cr ct
dj dr dz
fl fr
gl gr
jb jd jg jm jv
kl kr
ml mr
pl pr
sf sk sl sm sn sp sr st
tc tr ts
vl vr
xl xr
zb zd zg zm zv
Lest this list seem almost random, a pairing of voiced and unvoiced equivalent
vowels will show significant patterns which may help in learning:
pl pr fl fr
bl br vl vr
cp cf ct ck cm cn cl cr
jb jv jd jg jm
sp sf st sk sm sn sl sr
zb zv zd zg zm
tc tr ts kl kr
dj dr dz gl gr
ml mr xl xr
Note that if both consonants of an initial pair are voiced, the unvoiced
equivalent is also permissible, and the voiced pair can be pronounced simply by
voicing the unvoiced pair. (The converse is not true: ``cn'' is a permissible
initial pair, but ``jn'' is not.)
Consonant triples can occur medially in Lojban words. They are subject
to the following rules:
- 1)
- The first two consonants must constitute a permissible
consonant pair;
- 2)
- The last two consonants must constitute a permissible
initial consonant pair;
- 3)
- The triples ``ndj'', ``ndz'', ``ntc'', and ``nts'' are
forbidden.
Lojbanized names can begin or end with any permissible consonant pair, not
just the 48 initial consonant pairs listed above, and can have consonant
triples in any location, as long as the pairs making up those triples
are permissible. In addition, names can contain consonant clusters with
more than three consonants, again requiring that each pair within the cluster
is valid.
Many languages do not have consonant clusters at all, and even those
languages that do have them often allow only a subset of the full Lojban
set. As a result, the Lojban design allows the use of a buffer sound between
consonant combinations which a speaker finds unpronounceable. This sound
may be any non-Lojbanic vowel which is clearly separable by the listener
from the Lojban vowels. Some possibilities are IPA [I], [�], [U], or even [Y],
but there probably is no universally acceptable buffer sound. When using a
consonant buffer, the sound should be made as short as possible. Two
examples showing such buffering (we will use [I] in this chapter) are:
8.1) vrusi
[�vru si]
or [vI �ru si]
8.2) .AMsterdam.
[/am ster dam/]
or [�/a mI sI tE rI da mI/]
When a buffer vowel is used, it splits each buffered consonant into
its own syllable. However, the buffering syllables are never stressed,
and are not counted in determining stress. They are, in effect, not
really syllables to a Lojban listener, and thus their impact is ignored.
Here are more examples of unbuffered and buffered pronunciations:
8.3) klama
[�kla ma]
[kI �la ma]
8.4) xapcke
[�xap ckE]
[�xa pI ckE]
[�xa pI cI kE]
In Example 8.4, we see that buffering vowels can be used in just some,
rather than all, of the possible places: the second pronunciation
buffers the ``pc'' consonant pair but not the ``ck''. The third pronunciation
buffers both.
8.5) ponyni'u
[po n� �ni hu]
Example 8.5 cannot contain any buffering vowel. It is important not to
confuse the vowel ``y'', which is pronounced [�], with the buffer, which has
a variety of possible pronunciations and is never written. Consider
the contrast between
8.6) bongynanba
[boN g� �nan ba]
an unlikely Lojban compound word meaning ``bone bread'' (note the use of
[N] as a representative of ``n'' before ``g'') and
8.7) bongnanba
[boN �gnan ba]
a possible borrowing from another language (Lojban borrowings can only take
a limited form). If Example 8.7 were pronounced with buffering, as
8.8) [boN gI �nan ba]
it would be very similar to Example 8.6. Only a clear distinction between
``y'' and any buffering vowel would keep the two words distinct.
Since buffering is done for the benefit of the speaker in order to aid
pronounceability, there is no guarantee that the listener will not mistake
a buffer vowel for one of the six regular Lojban vowels. The buffer
vowel should be as laxly pronounced as possible, as central as possible,
and as short as possible. Furthermore, it is worthwhile for speakers who
use buffers to pronounce their regular vowels a bit longer than usual, to
avoid confusion with buffer vowels. The speakers of many languages will have
trouble correctly hearing any of the suggested buffer vowels otherwise.
By this guideline, Example 8.8 would be pronounced
8.9) [bo�N gI �na�n ba�]
with lengthened vowels.
A Lojban word has one syllable for each of its vowels, diphthongs, and
syllabic consonants (referred to simply as ``vowels'' for the purposes of
this section.) Syllabication rules determine which of the consonants
separating two vowels belong to the preceding vowel and which to the
following vowel. These rules are conventional only; the phonetic facts
of the matter about how utterances are syllabified in any language are
always very complex.
A single consonant always belongs to the following vowel. A consonant
pair is normally divided between the two vowels; however, if the pair
constitute a valid initial consonant pair, they are normally both assigned to
the following vowel. A consonant triple is divided between the first
and second consonants. Apostrophes and commas, of course, also represent
syllable breaks. Syllabic consonants usually appear alone in their syllables.
It is permissible to vary from these rules in Lojbanized names. For
example, there are no definitive rules for the syllabication of names
with consonant clusters longer than three consonants. The comma is
used to indicate variant syllabication or to explicitly mark normal
syllabication.
Here are some examples of Lojban syllabication:
9.1) pujenaicajeba
pu,je,nai,ca,je,ba
This word has no consonant pairs and is therefore syllabified
before each medial consonant.
9.2) ninmu
nin,mu
This word is split at a consonant pair.
9.3) fitpri
fit,pri
This word is split at a consonant triple, between the first two
consonants of the triple.
9.4) sairgoi
sair,goi
sai,r,goi
This word contains the consonant pair ``rg''; the ``r'' may be pronounced
syllabically or not.
9.5) klezba
klez,ba
kle,zba
This word contains the permissible initial pair ``zb'', and so may
be syllabicated either between ``z'' and ``b'' or before ``zb''.
Stress is a relatively louder pronunciation of one syllable in a
word or group of words. Since every syllable has a vowel sound (or diphthong
or syllabic consonant) as its nucleus, and the stress is on the vowel sound
itself, the terms ``stressed syllable'' and ``stressed vowel'' are largely
interchangeable concepts.
Most Lojban words are stressed on the next-to-the-last, or penultimate,
syllable. In counting syllables, however, syllables whose vowel is ``y''
or which contain a syllabic consonant (``l'', ``m'', ``n'', or ``r'') are never
counted. (The Lojban term for penultimate stress is ``da'amoi terbasna''.)
Similarly, syllables created solely by adding a buffer vowel, such as
[I], are not counted.
There are actually three levels of stress --- primary, secondary, and
weak. Weak stress is the lowest level, so it really means no stress at all.
Weak stress is required for syllables containing ``y'', a syllabic consonant,
or a buffer vowel.
Primary stress is required on the penultimate syllable of Lojban content
words (called ``brivla''). Lojbanized names may be stressed on any syllable,
but if a syllable other than the penultimate is stressed, the syllable
(or at least its vowel) must be capitalized in writing. Lojban structural
words (called ``cmavo'') may be stressed on any syllable or none at all.
However, primary stress may not be used in a syllable just preceding a brivla,
unless a pause divides them; otherwise, the two words may run together.
Secondary stress is the optional and non-distinctive emphasis used for
other syllables besides those required to have either weak or primary
stress. There are few rules governing secondary stress, which typically
will follow a speaker's native language habits or preferences.
Secondary stress can be used for contrast, or for emphasis of a point.
Secondary stress can be emphasized at any level up to primary stress,
although the speaker must not allow a false primary stress in brivla,
since errors in word resolution could result.
The following are Lojban words with stress explicitly shown:
9.6) dikyjvo
DI,ky,jvo
(In a fully-buffered dialect, the pronunciation would be: [�di k� jI vo].)
Note that the syllable ``ky'' is not counted in determining stress. The vowel
``y'' is never stressed in a normal Lojban context.
9.7) .armstrong.
.ARM,strong.
This is a Lojbanized version of the name ``Armstrong''. The final ``g'' must be
explicitly pronounced. With full buffering, the name would be pronounced:
9.8) [�/a rI mI sI tI ro nI gI/]
However, there is no need to insert a buffer in every possible place just
because it is inserted in one place: partial buffering is also acceptable.
In every case, however, the stress remains in the same place: on the
first syllable.
The English pronunciation of ``Armstrong'', as spelled in English, is not
correct by Lojban standards; the letters ``ng'' in English represent a velar
nasal (IPA [N]) which is a single consonant. In Lojban, ``ng'' represents two
separate consonants that must both be pronounced; you may not use [N] to
pronounce Lojban ``ng'', although [Ng] is acceptable. English speakers
are likely to have to pronounce the ending with a buffer, as one of the
following:
9.9) [�/arm stron gI/]
or [�/arm stroN gI/]
or even [�/arm stro nIg/]
The normal English pronunciation of the name ``Armstrong'' could be Lojbanized
as:
9.10) .ARMstron.
since Lojban ``n'' is allowed to be pronounced as the velar nasal [N].
Here is another example showing the use of ``y'':
9.11) bisydja
BI,sy,dja
BI,syd,ja
This word is a compound word, or lujvo, built from the two affixes ``bis'' and
``dja''. When they are joined, an impermissible consonant pair results: ``sd''.
In accordance with the algorithm for making lujvo, explained in Chapter 4, a
``y'' is inserted to separate the impermissible consonant pair; the ``y'' is not
counted as a syllable for purposes of stress determination.
9.12) da'udja
da'UD,ja
da'U,dja
These two syllabications sound the same to a Lojban listener --- the
association of unbuffered consonants in syllables is of no import in
recognizing the word.
9.13) e'u bridi
e'u BRI,di
E'u BRI,di
e'U.BRI,di
In Example 9.13, ``e'u'' is a cmavo and ``bridi'' is a brivla. Either of the
first two pronunciations is permitted: no primary stress on either syllable
of ``e'u'', or primary stress on the first syllable. The third pronunciation,
which places primary stress on the second syllable of the cmavo, requires
that --- since the following word is a brivla --- the two words
must be separated by a pause. Consider the following two cases:
9.14) le re nobli prenu
le re NObli PREnu
9.15) le re no bliprenu
le re no bliPREnu
If the cmavo ``no'' in Example 9.15 were to be stressed, the phrase would
sound exactly like the given pronunciation of Example 9.14, which is
unacceptable in Lojban: a single pronunciation cannot represent both.
There are many dialects of English, thus making it difficult to define
the standardized symbols of the IPA in terms useful to every reader.
All the symbols used in this chapter are repeated here, in more or less
alphabetical order, with examples drawn from General American. In addition,
some attention is given to the Received Pronunciation of (British) English.
These two dialects are referred to as GA and RP respectively. Speakers
of other dialects should consult a book on phonetics or their local
television sets.
- [�]
- An IPA indicator of primary stress; the syllable which
follows [�] receives primary stress.
- [/]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``.''. This sound is not
usually considered part of English. It is the catch
in your throat that sometimes occurs prior to the
beginning of a word (and sometimes a syllable) which
starts with a vowel. In some dialects, like
Cockney and some kinds of American English, it is
used between vowels instead of ``t'': ``bottle'' [bo/l`].
The English interjection ``uh-oh!'' almost always has
it between the syllables.
- [�]
- A symbol indicating that the previous vowel is to be
spoken for a longer time than usual. Lojban vowels
can be pronounced long in order to make a greater
contrast with buffer vowels.
- [a]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``a''. This
sound doesn't occur in GA, but sounds somewhat like
the ``ar'' of ``park'', as spoken in RP or New England
American. It is pronounced further forward in
the mouth than [A].
- [A]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``a''. The ``a'' of GA
``father''. The sound [a] is preferred because GA
speakers often relax an unstressed [A] into a schwa
[�], as in the usual pronunciations of ``about'' and
``sofa''. Because schwa is a distinct vowel in Lojban,
English speakers must either learn to avoid this shift
or to use [a] instead: the Lojban word for ``sofa'' is
``sfofa'', pronounced [sfofa] or [sfofA] but never
[sfof�] which would be the non-word ``sfofy''.
- [Q]
- Not a Lojban sound. The ``a'' of English ``cat''.
- [b]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``b''. As in
English ``boy'', ``sober'', or ``job''.
- [B]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``v''. Not an English
sound; the Spanish ``b'' or ``v'' between vowels. This
sound should not be used for Lojban ``b''.
- [d]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``d''. As in
English ``dog'', ``soda'', or ``mad''.
- [E]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``e''. The ``e''
of English ``met''.
- [e]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``e''. This sound is not
found in English, but is the Spanish ``e'', or the
tense ``e'' of Italian. The vowel of English ``say'' is
similar except for the off-glide: you can learn to
make this sound by holding your tongue steady
while saying the first part of the English vowel.
- [�]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``y''. As in the
``a'' of English ``sofa'' or ``about''. Schwa is generally
unstressed in Lojban, as it is in English. It is a
totally relaxed sound made with the tongue
in the middle of the mouth.
- [f]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``f''. As in
``fee'', ``loafer'', or ``chef''.
- [�]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``f''. Not an English
sound; the Japanese ``f'' sound.
- [g]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``g''. As in
English ``go'', ``eagle'', or ``dog''.
- [h]
- The preferred pronunciation of the Lojban apostrophe
sound. As in English ``aha'' or ``oh, hello''.
- [i]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``i''. Essentially
like the English vowel of ``pizza'' or ``machine'',
although the English vowel is sometimes pronounced
with an off-glide, which should not be present
in Lojban.
- [I]
- A possible Lojban buffer vowel. The ``i'' of English
``bit''.
- [�]
- A possible Lojban buffer vowel. The ``u'' of ``just'' in
some varieties of GA, those which make the word sound
more or less like ``jist''. Also Russian ``y'' as in
``byt''' (to be); like a schwa [�], but higher
in the mouth.
- [j]
- Used in Lojban diphthongs beginning or ending with ``i''.
Like the ``y'' in English ``yard'' or ``say''.
- [k]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``k''. As in
English ``kill'', ``token'', or ``flak''.
- [l]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``l''. As in
English ``low'', ``nylon'', or ``excel''.
- [l`]
- The syllabic version of Lojban ``l'', as in English
``bottle'' or ``middle''.
- [m]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``m''. As in
English ``me'', ``humor'', or ``ham''.
- [m`]
- The syllabic version of Lojban ``m''. As in English
``catch 'em'' or ``bottom''.
- [n]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``n''. As in
English ``no'', ``honor'', or ``son''.
- [n`]
- The syllabic version of Lojban ``n''. As in English
``button''.
- [N]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``n'', especially in
Lojbanized names and before ``g'' or ``k''. As in English
``sing'' or ``singer'' (but not ``finger'' or ``danger'').
- [N`]
- An allowed variant of Lojban syllabic ``n'', especially
in Lojbanized names.
- [o]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``o''. As in the
French ``haute (cuisine)'' or Spanish ``como''. There is
no exact English equivalent of this sound. The nearest
GA equivalent is the ``o'' of ``dough'' or ``joke'', but it
is essential that the off-glide (a [w]-like sound)
at the end of the vowel is not pronounced when speaking
Lojban. The RP sound in these words is [�w] in IPA
terms, and has no [o] in it at all; unless you can
speak with a Scots, Irish, or American accent, you
may have trouble with this sound.
- [�]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``o'', especially before
``r''. This sound is a shortened form of the ``aw'' in
GA ``dawn'' (for those people who don't pronounce ``dawn''
and ``Don'' alike; if you do, you may have trouble with
this sound). In RP, but not GA, it is the ``o'' of ``hot''.
- [p]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``p''. As in
English ``pay'', ``super'', or ``up''.
- [r]
- One version of Lojban ``r''. Not an English sound.
The Spanish ``rr'' and the Scots ``r'', a tongue-tip trill.
- [�]
- One version of Lojban ``r''. As in GA ``right'', ``baron'',
or ``car''. Not found in RP.
- [R]
- One version of Lojban ``r''. In GA, appears as a
variant of ``t'' or ``d'' in the words ``metal'' and ``medal''
respectively. A tongue-tip flap.
[{] One version of Lojban ``r''. Not an English sound.
The French or German ``r'' in ``reine'' or ``rot''
respectively. A uvular trill.
-
- [r`], [�`], [R`], [{`] are syllabic versions of the
above. [�`] appears in the GA (but not RP)
pronunciation of ``bird''.
- [s]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``s''. As in
English ``so'', ``basin'', or ``yes''.
- [S]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``c''. The ``sh''
of English ``ship'', ``ashen'', or ``dish''.
- [�]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``s''. Not an English
sound. The Hindi retroflex ``s'' with underdot, or
Klingon ``S''.
- [t]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``t''. As in
English ``tea'', ``later'', or ``not''. It is important to
avoid the GA habit of pronouncing the ``t'' between
vowels as [d] or [R].
- [T]
- Not normally a Lojban sound, but a possible variant
of Lojban ``'''. The ``th'' of English ``thin'' (but not
``then'').
- [v]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``v''. As in
English ``voice'', ``savor'', or ``live''.
- [w]
- Used in Lojban diphthongs beginning or ending with
``u''. Like the ``w'' in English ``wet'' [wEt] or ``cow''
[kAw].
- [x]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``x''. Not
normally an English sound, but used in some
pronunciations of ``loch'' and ``Bach''; ``gh'' in Scots
``might'' and ``night''. The German ``Ach-Laut''. To
pronounce [x], force air through your throat without
vibrating your vocal chords; there should be lots of
scrape.
- [Y]
- A possible Lojban buffer vowel. Not an English sound:
the ``�'' of German ``h�bsch''.
- [z]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``z''. As in
English ``zoo'', ``hazard'', or ``fizz''.
- [Z]
- The preferred pronunciation of Lojban ``j''. The ``si''
of English ``vision'', or the consonant at the end of
GA ``garage''.
- [�]
- An allowed variant of Lojban ``z''. Not an English
sound. The voiced version of [�].
11. English Analogues For Lojban Diphthongs
Here is a list of English words that contain diphthongs that are similar
to the Lojban diphthongs. This list does not constitute an official
pronunciation guide; it is intended as a help to English-speakers.
Lojban English
ai ``pie''
ei ``pay''
oi ``boy''
au ``cow''
ia ``yard''
ie ``yes''
ii ``ye''
io ``yodel'' (in GA only)
iu ``unicorn'' or ``few''
ua ``suave''
ue ``wet''
ui ``we''
uo ``woe'' (in GA only)
uu ``woo''
iy ``million'' (the ``io'' part, that is)
uy ``was'' (when unstressed)
12. Oddball Orthographies
The following notes describe ways in which Lojban has been written
or could be written that differ from the standard orthography explained
in the rest of this chapter. Nobody needs to read this section except
people with an interest in the obscure. Technicalities are used without
explanation or further apology.
There exists an alternative orthography for Lojban, which is designed to be
as compatible as possible (but no more so) with the authority used in
pre-Lojban versions of Loglan. The consonants undergo no change, except
that ``x'' is replaced by ``h''. The individual vowels likewise remain
unchanged. However, the vowel pairs and diphthongs are changed as
follows:
-
- ``ai'', ``ei'', ``oi'', ``au'' become ``ai'', ``ei'', ``oi'', ``ao''.
-
- ``ia'' through ``iu'' and ``ua'' through ``uu'' remain
unchanged.
-
- ``a'i'', ``e'i'', ``o'i'' and ``a'o'' become ``a,i'', ``e,i'',
``o,i'' and ``a,o''.
-
- ``i'a'' through ``i'u'' and ``u'a'' through ``u'u'' are
changed to ``ia'' through ``iu'' and ``ua'' through ``uu''
in lujvo and cmavo other than attitudinals, but
become ``i,a'' through ``i,u'' and ``u,a'' through ``u,u''
in names, fu'ivla, and attitudinal cmavo.
-
- All other vowel pairs simply drop the apostrophe.
The result of these rules is to eliminate the apostrophe altogether,
replacing it with comma where necessary, and otherwise with nothing.
In addition, names and the cmavo ``.i'' are capitalized, and irregular stress
is marked with an apostrophe (now no longer used for a sound) following
the stressed syllable.
Three points must be emphasized about this alternative orthography:
-
- It is not standard, and has not been used.
-
- It does not represent any changes to the standard Lojban
phonology; it is simply a representation of the same
phonology using a different written form.
-
- It was designed to aid in a planned rapprochement
between the Logical Language Group and The Loglan
Institute, a group headed by James Cooke Brown.
The rapprochement never took place.
There also exists a Cyrillic orthography for Lojban which was designed when
the introductory Lojban brochure was translated into Russian. It uses
the letters ``a'', ``be'', ``ve'', ``ge'', ``de'', ``e'', ``zhe'', ``ze'', ``i'', ``ka'', ``el'',
``em'', ``en'', ``o'', ``pe'', ``er'', ``es'', ``te'', ``u'', ``ef'', ``kha'', and ``sha''
in the obvious ways. The Latin letter ``y'' is mapped onto the hard
sign, as in Bulgarian. The apostrophe, comma, and period are unchanged.
Diphthongs are written as vowel pairs, as in the Roman representation.
Finally, an orthography using the Tengwar of Féanor, a fictional orthography
invented by J. R. R. Tolkien and described in the Appendixes to The
Lord Of The Rings, has been devised for Lojban. The following
mapping, which closely resembles that used for Westron, will be meaningful
only to those who have read those appendixes. In brief, the tincotéma
and parmatéma are used in the conventional ways; the calmatéma represents
palatal consonants, and the quessetéma represents velar consonants.
t tinco p parma
- calma k quesse
d ando b umbar
- anga g ungwe
- thule f formen
c harma x hwesta
- anto v ampa
j anca - unque
n numen m malta
- noldo - nwalme
r ore u vala
i anna - vilya
The letters ``vala'' and ``anna'' are used for ``u'' and ``i'' only when those
letters are used to represent glides. Of the additional letters, ``r'', ``l'',
``s'', and ``z'' are written with ``rómen'', ``lambe'', ``silme'', and ``áre/``esse''
respectively; the inverted forms are used as free variants.
Lojban, like Quenya, is a vowel-last language, so tehtar are read
as following the tengwar on which they are placed. The conventional
tehtar are used for the five regular vowels, and the under-dot for
``y''. The Lojban apostrophe is represented by ``halla''. There is no
equivalent of the Lojban comma or period.
-
-