This oddment collects a selection of English-language texts presented in various phonetic alphabets in Unicode so as to serve as a type specimen of sorts for Longley, a digital typeface designed to support these texts. This page will be updated as Longley continues to evolve.
A Technical Note
Longley supports a number of OpenType features, including ligatures, localized forms, tabular and lining figures (digits), many character variants, and a limited number of numerators, denominators, and small capitals to support a minimal set of vulgar fractions and small capitals known from the Longley Brothers’ publications. Of particular note for this page, however, are the stylistic sets designed to highlight different versions of phonotypy.
By default, Longley uses letterforms from the 1854 American Phonetic Alphabet. However, as several phonotypic letters (most notably the phonotypic t []) have a different appearance in one or more of the major revisions of the English and American Phonetic Alphabets, Longley features three additional stylistic sets, ss03, ss04, and ss05, designed to render the appropriate letterforms for the 1847, 1856, and 1868 versions of Pitman’s phonotypic alphabets respectively, and these stylistic sets have been used in this page where appropriate. (The 1860 and 1871 versions of Pitman’s alphabets use the same letterforms as the previous versions of 1856 and 1868, respectively, so no additional stylistic sets are needed for them.)
Also, as Longley lacks a proper italic at this time, text on this page (and others) currently employs the underline as a substitute for italics. In addition, text shadow is employed to highlight text that is known to be incorrect in the source material and nevertheless copied as is (i.e. text that would be marked with “[sic]” in a typical quotation).
Finally, one linguistic note: oblique lines (slashes) placed around text are employed here and in other pages to identify phonemes using the International Phonetic Alphabet, while square brackets are used to identify specific (phonotypic) letters and punctuation.
The North Wind and the Sun
This classic Aesop fable has become a standard parallel text to illustrate the phonology of different languages, particularly as presented in the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Below, I present my own transcriptions of the English language text based on the wording employed by Peter Ladogefed in the illustration of Usonian English in that volume, informed by the pronunciations of words given in B.H. Smart’s 1836 pronouncing dictionary Walker Remodelled (for the 1847 English Phonotypic Alphabet and subsequent versions of the English Phonetic Alphabet) and Dan Smalley’s 1855 American Phonetic Dictionary of the English Language (for the 1854 American Phonetic Alphabet).
1999 Standard Usonian English Orthography
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his coat off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.
1847 English Phonotypic Alphabet
The English Phonotypic Alphabet of 1847 was the first widely used phonotypic alphabet, seeing use in both England and the United States of America. This presentation uses spellings based on the pronunciations provided in the 1836 pronouncing dictionary Walker Remodelled.
Ƌɛ Nɵr Wind ɑnd đɛ Sun wer disptiŋ hwiꞔ woz đɛ stroŋger, hwen a trɑveler cam ɋloŋ rɑpt in a wɵrm clɷc. Ƌa ɋgrɛd đɑt đɛ wun hɯ ferst sucsɛded in maciŋ đɛ trɑveler tac hiz cɷt of ʃd bɛ considerd stroŋger đɑn đɛ uđer. Ƌen đɛ Nɵr Wind blɯ ɑz hɋrd ɑz hɛ cd, but đɛ mɷr hɛ blɯ đɛ mɷr clɷsli did đɛ trɑveler fɷld hiz clɷc ɋrɤnd him; ɑnd ɑt lɑst đɛ Nɵr Wind gav up đɛ ɑtemt. Ƌen đɛ Sun ʃnd ɤt wɵrmli, ɑnd imɛdɛatli đɛ trɑveler tc of hiz clɷc. And sɷ đɛ Nɵr Wind woz ɷbljd t confes đɑt đɛ Sun woz đɛ stroŋger ov đɛ tɯ.
1854 American Phonetic Alphabet (The Cincinnati Alphabet)
This presentation of the 1854 American Phonetic Alphabet uses the spellings in Dan Smalley’s 1855 American Phonetic Dictionary of the English Language for words that otherwise use the mid central vowel (schwa) /ə/ in Ladogefed’s transcriptions. It also makes use of the diacritic conventions of Bografiz ov đɛ Prezidents ov đɛ Ynted Stꞛts [Biographies of the Presidents of the United States] for indicating syllabic stress, which were originally employed by Alexander John Ellis in his work Ƌɛ Esenʃɑls ov Fɷnetics [The Essentials of Phonetics].
Ƌɛ Nɵr Wind and đɛ Sun wẹr disṕtiŋ hwiꞔ woz đɛ stroŋger, hwen ɑ traveler kꞛm alóŋ rapt in ɑ wɵrm klɷk. Ƌꞛ agrɛ́d đat đɛ wun h fẹrst suksɛ́ded in mꞛkiŋ đɛ traveler tꞛk hiz kɷt of ʃd bɛ konsíderd stroŋger đan đɛ uđer. Ƌen đɛ Nɵr Wind bl az hɋrd az hɛ kd, but đɛ mɷr hɛ bl đɛ mɷr klɷsli did đɛ traveler fɷld hiz klɷk arɤ́nd him; and at lɑst đɛ Nɵr Wind gꞛv up đɛ atémt. Ƌen đɛ Sun ʃnd ɤt wɵrmli, and imɛ́diꞛtli đɛ traveler tk of hiz klɷk. And sɷ đɛ Nɵr Wind woz ɷbĺjd t konfés đat đɛ Sun woz đɛ stroŋger ov đɛ t.
1856 English Phonetic Alphabet
Following growing dissatisfaction with the 1847 alphabet, Isaac Pitman began to once again experiment with his phonotypic alphabet, which stabilized again for a time beginning in 1856. In the meanwhile, Pitman had returned to the “continental” vowel scale previously used in several prototype alphabets between 1845 and 1846, and now preferred to analyze diphthongs and affricates as digraphs, among several other changes.
Ƌ Nɷr Wind and đ Sn wer dispiutiŋ hwitc woz đ stroŋger, hwen ɛ traveler kɛm loŋ rapt in ɛ wɷrm klk. Ƌɛ grd đat đ wn hɯ ferst sksded in mɛkiŋ đ traveler tɛk hiz kt of cud b konsiderd stroŋger đan đ đer. Ƌen đ Nɷr Wind blɯ az hrd az h kud, bt đ mr h blɯ đ mr klsli did đ traveler fld hiz klk round him; and at last đ Nɷr Wind gɛv p đ atemt. Ƌen đ Sn caind out wɷrmli, and imdɛtli đ traveler tuk of hiz klk. And s đ Nɷr Wind woz blaidjd tu konfes đat đ Sn woz đ stroŋger ov đ tɯ.
1860 English Phonetic Alphabet
Pitman continued to occasionally make minor modifications to the vowels of his phonotypic alphabet into the 1860s, altering his analysis of several diphthongs and substituting the now-unused ram’s horn [ɤ] for the reversed u [] that had been used from 1856 to represent the open-mid back rounded vowel /ʌ/.
Ƌ Nɷr Wind and đ Sɤn wer dispiutiŋ hwitꞔ woz đ stroŋger, hwen ɛ traveler kɛm loŋ rapt in ɛ wɷrm klk. Ƌɛ grd đat đ wɤn hɯ ferst sɤksded in mɛkiŋ đ traveler tɛk hiz kt of ꞔud b konsiderd stroŋger đan đ ɤđer. Ƌen đ Nɷr Wind blɯ az hrd az h kud, bɤt đ mr h blɯ đ mr klsli did đ traveler fld hiz klk round him; and at last đ Nɷr Wind gɛv ɤp đ atemt. Ƌen đ Sɤn ꞔeind out wɷrmli, and imdɛtli đ traveler tuk of hiz klk. And s đ Nɷr Wind woz bleidjd tu konfes đat đ Sɤn woz đ stroŋger ov đ tɯ.
1868 English Phonetic Alphabet
1868 brought the final major revision to Pitman’s phonotypy, restoring letters for English affricates and some dipththongs. This required a new letter to once again be designed for the open-mid back rounded vowel /ʌ/, now a turned alpha [ɒ].
Ƌ Nɷr Wind and đ Sɒn wer disptiŋ hwiꞔ woz đ stroŋger, hwen ɛ traveler kɛm loŋ rapt in ɛ wɷrm klk. Ƌɛ grd đat đ wɒn hɯ ferst sɒksded in mɛkiŋ đ traveler tɛk hiz kt of ʃud b konsiderd stroŋger đan đ ɒđer. Ƌen đ Nɷr Wind blɯ az hrd az h kud, bɒt đ mr h blɯ đ mr klsli did đ traveler fld hiz klk rɤnd him; and at last đ Nɷr Wind gɛv ɒp đ atemt. Ƌen đ Sɒn ʃnd ɤt wɷrmli, and imdɛtli đ traveler tuk of hiz klk. And s đ Nɷr Wind woz bljd tu konfes đat đ Sɒn woz đ stroŋger ov đ tɯ.
1871 English Phonetic Alphabet
Still dissatisfied with the letterform of the open-mid back rounded vowel /ʌ/ that had plagued him ever since returning to the “continental” vowel scale, Pitman continued to tinker with his alphabet into the 1870s, when he again assigned the ram’s horn to that role and chose to analyze the diphthong /au/ as a digraph as a result.
Ƌ Nɷr Wind and đ Sɤn wer disptiŋ hwiꞔ woz đ stroŋger, hwen ɛ traveler kɛm loŋ rapt in ɛ wɷrm klk. Ƌɛ grd đat đ wɤn hɯ ferst sɤksded in mɛkiŋ đ traveler tɛk hiz kt of ʃud b konsiderd stroŋger đan đ ɤđer. Ƌen đ Nɷr Wind blɯ az hrd az h kud, bɤt đ mr h blɯ đ mr klsli did đ traveler fld hiz klk round him; and at last đ Nɷr Wind gɛv ɤp đ atemt. Ƌen đ Sɤn ʃnd out wɷrmli, and imdɛtli đ traveler tuk of hiz klk. And s đ Nɷr Wind woz bljd tu konfes đat đ Sɤn woz đ stroŋger ov đ tɯ.
Assorted Other Samples
A Poem by Howard Durham
The following poem, which is presented as it was printed in the 15 February 1850 issue of Ƌɛ Fɷnetic Advɷcat [The Phonetic Advocate] (vol. 2, p. 176, available ɑt HathiTrust), was written by Howard Durham, a New Jersey shoemaker by trade with literary ambitions. Durham had moved to Cincinnati in 1847 to engage in business as a shoemaker, but following the support of his friends, he soon moved into literary pursuits, looking to publish his own poetry and promote the prose and verse written by others. By the early 1850s, Durham had become publisher of a series of literary magazines specializing in literature written in the Cincinnati region and points west, most notably in his periodical The Genius of the West. A series of misfortunes following his departure from The Genius culminated in his untimely death from cholera in 1855 at the age of 27.
One notable byproduct of phonotypic printing as practiced by the Longley brothers can be seen in the inconsistency between the first word on line 1 and that of line 18. Much of the correspondence printed by the brothers had been written in (and transcribed to phonotypy from) Pitman’s shorthand, rather than phonetic longhand which used handwritten forms of phonotypic words. It is therefore probable that the word “ɛr” in line 1 should have been printed “ar” (for the romanic word “ere”) as it was in line 18, as the two vowel signs are distinguished only slightly by location in Pitman’s shorthand.
“Let mɛ d hwen đɛ Sumur dz”
b Hɤurd Durham
Let mɛ d hwen đɛ sumur dz—let mɛ dɛpɋrt
ɛr đɛ lɛf tɛrz ov natr ɋr mɷrnfli spred:
hwen des dɑmp ʃɑl cwenꞔ đɛ fant flam ov m hɋrt
bɛ đɛ waliŋ ov ɵtum đɛ durj ɷr m bed.
Hwen đɛ burdz sɛs đar sɯđiŋ ꞔmz, let m soŋ sɛs;
hwen đa pinyun đar flt for a brt bɤurz blɯm,
ɷ let m sɷl pɑs wiđ đɛ ɑnjels ov pɛs
tɯ its brt jeld mɑnʃun hɯz dɷr iz đɛ tɯm.
Hwen đɛ burdz raz đar soŋz ɑgen, tɯ wil siŋ
đɛ soŋz hwiꞔ urs mzic hɑ nevur yet tɷld,
unmiŋgʼld wiđ sɑdnes mid bɤurz ov spriŋ,
hwar đɛ strɛmlets ov glɷri flɷ ɷr đɛ brt gɷld.
Let mɛ jn in đɑt melɷdi đar tɯ dispel
đɛ dɋrc misti halɷz nɤ huvuriŋ nɛr,
hwar nevur ɑgen in m bzʼm wil swel
ɛmɷʃunz ov sorɷ tɯ stɋrtʼl a tɛr.
Let mɛ d hwen đɛ sumur dz—let mɛ dɛpɋrt
ar đɛ cɛn blɑsts ov ɵtum ɑloŋ đɛ valz mɷn,
hwen đɛ sumur ꞔmz sɛs ɑnd đɛ ɵtum walz stɋrt
let đar durj ɑt đɛ dɷr ov đɛ grav bɛ m ɷn.
—Mt. Heli, ., Feb. 1850.
A Letter to the Editor
This letter is presented with only minor typographical adjustments from the original included in the 10 November 1855 issue of Type of the Times and was written in response to a series of pieces that began with the publication of an article entitled “Spiritual Marriage and Free Love,” by L.A. Hine, a regular contributor to the paper. While the original article may have been printed on four missing pages from the digitized copy of the issue dated 29 September, likely it, and certainly the response printed in the 20 October issue (and not the 13th as noted in the letter; a correction to this effect is noted only in pencil on the first page of the digitized issue) were printed in romanic type, not the phonotypic type of this letter. Several instances of romanic type are preserved from the original and marked as such.
“MR. HNZ KONSISTENSI.”
Mr. Editor:— Yr korespondent, “Ɑ Wman,” in đɛ Tp ov Okt. 13, kɵld Mr. Hn t akɤnt fɵr sum ekspreʃonz in hiz ɋrtikl on Marij, hwiꞔ, wiđ meni uđer lꞛdiz, woz glad t sɛ. But đr ɋr stil wun ɵr t pnts, đɛ unsɤndnes ov hwiꞔ wiʃ t prɛzent.
Fɵr instans, hɛ givz đɛ “natyral intelektyal infɛriority ov wman” az ɑ rɛzon fɵr hẹr “konstansi.” Ƌis iz ɑ strꞛnj pɷziʃon fɵr ɑ lektyrer on đɛ hapi efekts ov intelektyal dɛvelopment—a left-handed compliment t intelijens. “Ƌɛ natyral intelektyal infɛriority ov wman iz, in jeneral, ɑ sufiʃent garantɛ ov konstansi.” Hwot an ekspreʃon from ɑ Rɛfɵrmer, and ɑ lektyrer on Jeneral Edykꞛʃon! And az hiz ɋrtikl woz ɑ dɛfens ov konstansi in marij hweđer hɋrmɷnius ɵr uđerwz, wɛ ɋr t infẹr đat hɛ iz in fꞛvor ov kɛpiŋ wman bɛlɷ man in intelektyal dɛvelopment. ⸮Duz Mr. Hn fnd đɛ mɷst hli intelektyal wimen—đɷz hz intelijens iz ɛkwal t manz—h kan komɑnd az lɋrj and kultivꞛted ɵdiensez—h kan and d, mꞛk az gd spɛꞔez at Wmanz Rts Konvenʃonz, and rt az gd bks az eni man kd—and, in ʃɵrt, h ɋr hiz ɛkwalz in intelektyal abilitiz—⸮duz hɛ, wd ɑsk, fnd suꞔ bɛloŋiŋ t đɛ klɑs ov inkonstant, imoral wimen. If hɛ wil pnt mɛ t wun ov đɛz, wil ʃɷ him wun hundred suꞔ amuŋ đɛ les intelijent klɑs.
Mr. Hn iz ɑ grꞛt stikler fɵr konsistensi, and yet, ⸮hɤ kan hiz laŋgwꞛj and kondukt bɛ rekonsld. Hɛ konsiderz wmanz intelektyal infɛrioriti đɛ kɵz ov her vẹrty and konstansi, and stil wɛ sɛ him gɷiŋ from plꞛs t plꞛs, advokꞛtiŋ đɛ edykꞛʃon ov đɛ masez. ⸮Hwot ɋr wɛ t understand b đis. ⸮Duz hɛ wont intelijens t prɛvꞛl at đɛ ekspens ov vẹrty.
Anuđer pnt hwiꞔ ʃɷz Mr. Hnz ɷpinyon in rɛgɋrd t đɛ efekt ov intelijens, iz fɤnd in đɛ folɷiŋ dɛɑ. “Man, if not engrɷst in biznes, wd sɛk ɑ n mꞛt everi wɛk.” Fɵr đɛ purpus ov sɛkriŋ konstansi, hɛ ʃd advɷkꞛt ɑ mental trꞛniŋ fɵr man đat wd kɛp him on đɛ sꞛm plꞛn ov intelektyal infɛrioriti! ⸮Hwiꞔ ɋr wɛ t rɛgɋrd az the tr ɛɷri, đɛ “konstansi” ov “intelektyal infɛrioriti,” ɵr đɛ inkonstansi hwiꞔ L. A. H. atribyts t đɛ man.
ʃd lk đɛ jentlman t tel mɛ hɤ it iz, if wman iz natyrali infɛrior t man, đat ʃɛ haz bin enꞛbld t kɛp sɷ nɛr ɛkwal t him az ʃɛ haz, konsideriŋ đɛ disadvɑntꞛjez and opreʃon under hwiꞔ ʃɛ haz had t lꞛbor, az hɛ himself bɛlɛvz. wd ɵlsɷ ɑsk hw it iz đat đe wz Ɵor ov ɵl iŋz ʃd giv t đis infɛrior bɛiŋ đɛ mɷst impɵrtant ɵfis, nꞛmli, đat ov fɵrmiŋ đɛ karakter, bɷ morali and intelektyali, ov đɛ hman rꞛs, az everi fiziolɷjist wil tel y.
Sins đɛ abuv woz ritn, hav red Mr. Hnz ɑnser t “Ɑ Wman,” and am glad hɛ haz dɛfnd đɛ wurd intelektyal, az ɵl mꞛ not nɷ hwot hɛ mɛnz; but d not iŋk hɛ haz mꞛd hiz pɷziʃon eni mɷr konsistent. Hɛ konsiderz wman infɛrior in đɛ veri kwoliti hwiꞔ elevꞛts man abuv đɛ bɛst, and plꞛsez him nɛrer hiz Krɛꞛtor. T wman, in komon wiđ ɵl uđer animalz, hɛ givz afekʃon; and hɛ kd hav givn hẹr nuiŋ beter, ɵlđɷ hɛ mt hav alɤd hẹr sumiŋ in adiʃon; but man alɷn kan bɷst ov intelekt, “hwiꞔ iz đɛ rɛzniŋ dɛpɋrtment ov đɛ mnd.” Sɷ ɑ wman h kan rɛzn must bɛ masklin, az rɛzn iz đɛ masklin karakteristik, and ʃɛ wil bɛ inkonstant, fɵr wɛ ɋr tɷld đat it iz hẹr infɛrioriti in đis hwiꞔ sɛkrz hẹr konstansi.
Agen, hɛ sez, “If wmanz intelekt had bin ɛkwal t manz, ʃɛ never wd hav bin subjgꞛted b him.” ⸮Duz it folɷ đat bɛkɵz wun wman haz ɑ lɋrjer fruntal dɛvelopment, ɵr đat, bɛkɵz ʃɛ rɛznz beter đan anuđer h iz hẹr spɛrior fizikali, ʃɛ kd subd hẹr. It wd sɛm mɷr rɛznabl t sꞛ đat it ʃɷd veri ʃalɷ rɛzniŋ in man, hwen hɛ did not understand đat t subjgꞛt ɑ man bɛkɵz hɛ had mɷr brt fɷrs, woz t kɛp himself dɤn. Mr. H. sɛmz t iŋk đat intelektyaliti (rɛzniŋ) konflikts wiđ đɛ lf-pɋrtner doktrin, and lɛdz man t “sɛk ɑ n mꞛt everi wɛk.” If đis bɛ ɑ tr ɛɷri, đɛ wimen mꞛ aŋk him đat hɛ did not fnd đem gilti ov pozesiŋ đat dɛbꞛsiŋ kwoliti. L. A. H. mꞛ iŋk đat wman haz but litl nɛd fɵr rɛzn ɵr justis in hẹr kapasiti, az đɛ muđer and tɛꞔer ov đɛ rziŋ jenerꞛʃon. Hɛ iz mistꞛkn. If ʃɛ duz not nɛd ɵl đɛ rɛzn, rɛflekʃon and justis, az wel az ɵl đɛ mental fakultiz hwiꞔ ʃɛ kan posibli kɵl t her asistans bɛfɷr hẹr famili iz hɋf rꞛzd, it iz ɑ mirakl. Ɑ ꞔld rꞛzd b hiz model wman, guvernd b impuls, not rɛzn; afekʃon, not justis; wiđ wuns in ɑ hwl ɑ litl fɛbl rɛzniŋ rɷn in—it must be litl, as muꞔ wd mꞛk hẹr t masklin, and wurs, inkonstant—wd not pozes đɛ sɤndnes ov mnd, dɛsiʒon ov karakter, ɵr self-kontrɷl sɷ nesesꞛri t ɑ wman, at lɛst hwen ʃɛ gɷz fɷr int đɛ wd wurld, subjekt t đɛ insult and temtꞛʃon ov đɛ mɷst intelektyal ov ɵl iŋz, nꞛmli, man. But L. A. H. haz nɷ rɛzn t bɛ afrꞛd đat wman wil ɛkwal, and ʃrli not surpas him in intelektyal akwrments, hwl ʃɛ iz left at hɷm t tꞛk kr ov ɑ famili, ɷversɛiŋ ɑ fɋrm, milkiŋ kɤz, fɛdiŋ ꞔikenz, nursiŋ and atendiŋ t t, rɛ, ɵr hɋf ɑ duzn ꞔildren, woʃiŋ, roniŋ and sɷiŋ fɵr đem ɵl, and đɛ man traveliŋ from tɤn t tɤn, from siti t siti, and from stꞛt t stꞛt; gɷiŋ in đɛ best sɷsɛti, hɛriŋ đɛ mɷst eminent spɛkerz, and atendiŋ konvenʃonz ov ɵl kndz, đus fɛdiŋ đɛ intelekt kontinyali. nɷ, hɛ nɛd not fɛr fɵr manz spremasi in đis rɛspekt, at lɛst; but aŋk fɵrtyn ʃɛ iz hiz spɛrior in hmiliti. Ʃɛ stꞛz at hɷm, unnɷtist, kwetli perfɵrmiŋ hẹr dꞛli lꞛbor, wiđ nɷ wun t komend hẹr but hẹr ɷn dɛr ꞔildren, and hẹr ɷn ɛzi konʃens. Ƌus ʃɛ gɷz abrɵd t bɛ flaterd, and egzɵlted, in his ɷn ɷpinyon at lɛst, unles hɛ bɛ ɑ veri sensibl man, indɛd.
Mr. Hn sez “Ɑ Wman” semz t bɛ indignant at đɛ fakt đat ʃɛ iz infɛrior in intelekt. It iz ɵlwꞛz wel t bɛ indignant at an untr ov hwotever knd; and hɛ must tr t gag wman b teliŋ hẹr ʃɛ haz prvd ʃɛ kan not rɛzon. If wimen iŋk đꞛ hav az muꞔ intelekt az men, đꞛ hav ɑ rt t sꞛ sɷ, ɛvn đɷ đꞛ hav nɷ vꞛn ambiʃon t hav đr nꞛmz apɛr in print. hɷp “Ɑ Wman” wil giv Mr. Hn ɑ gd ɑnsẹr.
—AN ENKWRER.
Isaac Pitman on the Duodecimal System
In addition to spelling reform, Isaac Pitman was an advocate for the use of duodecimal numbers (i.e. base twelve) and proposed novel types based on an inverted 2 and an inverted 3 to represent the additional two digits required for such a system. The following paragraph describing his reasoning was originally included to explain the use of the numbering in the second edition of A Tripel (Twelv Grs) Djemz ov Wizdom, on Moral and Spiritiual Sɤbdjekts [A Triple (Twelve Gross) Gems of Wisdom, on Moral and Spiritual Subjects] (p. 8, available ɑt the Internet Archive), an 1860 book edited by Pitman which contained a selection of proverbs and other quotations printed using his English Phonetic Alphabet.
Ƌe nɤmberiŋ ov đe paragrafs bei dɤzenz and grsez iz a kontribiɯꞔon tardz a yɯniversal sistem ov kountiŋ, mɤni, wɛts, and mejurz, bɛst on đe nɤmber twelv and its mɤltipelz. Ƌe seinz “↊, ↋” reprezent đe nɤmberz ten and eleven, and “10” reprezents wɤn dɤzen; “16,” wɤn dɤzen and siks; 453, fr grs, feiv dɤzen, and r; 7,819, seven tripelz, ɛt grs, wɤn dɤzen and nein; and s on. It ꞔud b konsiderd a stroŋ argiument for a twelv sistem ov ntɛꞔon đat đ w prfes tu rekon bei tenz, yet w kount artikelz in trɛd, djenerali, bei đe dɤzen and đe grs; mɛk đe ꞔiliŋ konsist ov twelv pens; mejur bei đe fut kontɛniŋ twelv inꞔez; and diveid đe dɛ intu tɯ dɤzen ourz. It haz bn ntist ɷls đat đe nɤmber twelv okɤrz in đe Skriptiurz mr frkwentli đan đe nɤmber ten. Ƌe propertiz ov đe nɤmber twelv—its divizibiliti bei 2, 3, 4 and 6—ar đe ground ov đe preferens ꞔn tu it az kompɛrd wiđ đe nɤmber ten. A sistem ov ntɛꞔon on đis bɛsis, wud b simplisiti itself, and a nledj ov arimetik wud “kɤm bei nɛtiur,” az dɯ rdiŋ and reitiŋ bei a fnetik alfabet.
The Heart Sūtra: The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
The following is a phonotypic transcription of an English translation of the Heart Sūtra, a popular sūtra in Mahāyāna Buddhism. This transcription is based on the 2014 English translation by Thích Nhất Hạnh, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The transcription itself uses Alexander John Ellis’s Ethnical Alphabet as presented in Ƌɛ Esenʃɑls ov Fɷnetics [The Essentials of Phonetics], itself an extension of the 1847 English Phonotypic Alphabet to better render sounds foreign to English through the use of additional letters and diacritic marks. To this end, both the final dharani, as well as several other names and words in Nhất Hạnh’s translation have been substituted with Sanskrit transliterations in accordance with Ellis’s presentation of the language in the Ethnical Alphabet on page 133 of Esenʃɑls. Several quotation marks and one paragraph break have also been added to improve readability. The phonotypic spellings of English language words have been cross-referenced with the pronunciations given in B.H. Smart’s 1836 pronouncing dictionary Walker Remodelled and are rendered in accordance with Ellis’s method of showing syllabic stress.
Uvulɷcitäʃvuru hwl prɑctisiŋ dɛpli wi đɛ Inst đɑt Bringz Us tɯ đɛ Uđer Ʃɷr, sudenli discúverd đɑt ɵl ov đɛ fv Scundhuz ɋr ɛcwoli emtɛ, ɑnd wi đis rɛɑlzaʃun hɛ ɷvercám ɵl Il-bɛiŋ. “Lisʼn Ʃɋripɯtru, đis Bodɛ itself iz Emtines ɑnd Emtines itself iz đis Bodɛ. Ƌis Bodɛ iz not uđer đɑn Emtines ɑnd Emtines iz not uđer đɑn đis Bodɛ. Ƌɛ sam iz trɯ ov Fɛliŋz, Persepʃunz, Mentɑl Fɵrmaʃunz, ɑnd Conʃusnes. “Lisʼn Ʃɋripɯtru, ɵl fɛnomenɋ bar đɛ mɋrc ov Emtines; đar trɯ natr iz đɛ natr ov nɷ Ber nɷ De, nɷ Bɛiŋ nɷ Non-bɛiŋ, nɷ Dɛflment nɷ Priti, nɷ Incrɛsiŋ nɷ Dɛcrɛsiŋ. “Ƌɑt iz hw in Emtines, Bodɛ, Fɛliŋz, Persepʃunz, Mentɑl Fɵrmaʃunz ɑnd Conʃusnes ɋr not sépɋrat self entitiz. “Ƌɛ tɛn Relmz ov Fɛnomenɋ hwiꞔ ɋr đɛ sics Sens Ɵrgɑns, đɛ sics Sens Objects, ɑnd đɛ sics Cónʃusnesez ɋr ɵlsɷ not sépɋrat self entitiz. “Ƌɛ Twelv Liŋcs ov Interdɛpéndent rziŋ ɑnd đar Ecstiŋcʃun ɋr ɵlsɷ not sépɋrat self entitiz. “Il-bɛiŋ, đɛ Cɵzez ov Il-bɛiŋ, đɛ End ov Il-bɛiŋ, đɛ Path, inst ɑnd ɑtanment, ɋr ɵlsɷ not sépɋrat self entitiz. “Hɯéver cɑn sɛ đis nɷ loŋger nɛdz énɛiŋ tɯ ɑtan. “Bɷdhisuttvus hɯ prɑctis đɛ Inst đɑt Bringz Us tɯ đɛ Uđer Ʃɷr sɛ nɷ mɷr obstɑclz in đar mnd, ɑnd bɛcɵ́z đar ɋr nɷ mɷr obstɑclz in đar mnd, đa cɑn ɷvercúm ɵl fɛr, dɛstŕ ɵl roŋ persepʃunz ɑnd rɛɑlz Perfect Nirvɋnu. “Ɵl Bɯddhus in đɛ pɑst, prezent ɑnd ftr b prɑctisiŋ đɛ Inst đɑt Bringz Us tɯ đɛ Uđer Ʃɷr ɋr ɵl cápɋbʼl ov ɑtaniŋ Ɵéntic ɑnd Perfect Enltenment. “Ƌerfɷr Ʃɋripɯtru, it ʃd bɛ nɷn đɑt đɛ Inst đɑt Bringz Us tɯ đɛ Uđer Ʃɷr iz a Grat Muntru, đɛ mɷst ilɯ́minatiŋ muntru, đɛ hest muntru, a muntru bɛyónd compár, đɛ Trɯ Wizdom đɑt hɑz đɛ pɤer tɯ pt ɑn end tɯ ɵl cndz ov suferiŋ. “Ƌerfɷr let us prɷclám a muntru tɯ praz đɛ Inst đɑt Bringz Us tɯ đɛ Uđer Ʃɷr. Gutä, gutä, pɋrugutä, pɋrusuŋgutä, bɷdhi svɋhɋ!”