Wiktionary uses the following system to transcribe Egyptian Arabic, based on the Cairene standard. This is intended for input to a module that will produce IPA.
| Letter | Romanization | IPA | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ا | Used as a silent carrier for short vowels in initial position, and ā elsewhere. For the pronunciation of these vowels, see the bottom of the chart. | |||
| ب | b | b | Romanized as ḅ when used to write the marginal emphatic form that surfaces as [b] but triggers emphasis spreading. | |
| پ | p | p | A marginal phoneme only found in borrowings, often pronounced as [b] and written as ب. | |
| ت | t | t | ||
| ث | s | s | Respelled with ت when an inherited pronunciation of [t] is used. | |
| ج | g | ɡ, except in a few loanwords: ʒ | چ can be substituted for the pronunciation as ʒ. | |
| چ | ž | ʒ | A marginal phoneme only found in borrowings, often pronounced as [ʃ] and written as ش. An alternative input is j. | |
| ح | ḥ | ħ | ||
| خ | ḵ | x | ||
| د | d | d | ||
| ذ | z | z | Respelled with د when an inherited pronunciation of [d] is used. | |
| ر | r | ɾ | Romanized as ṛ when used to write the marginal emphatic form that surfaces as [ɾ] but triggers emphasis spreading. | |
| ز | z | z | ||
| س | s | s | ||
| ش | š | ʃ | ||
| ص | ṣ | sˁ | Emphatic consonant. | |
| ض | ḍ | dˁ | Emphatic consonant. | |
| ط | ṭ | tˁ | Emphatic consonant. | |
| ظ | ẓ | zˁ | Emphatic consonant. | |
| ع | ʕ | ʕ | ||
| غ | ḡ | ɣ | ||
| ف | f | f, unless in a few loanwords: v | Or v in borrowings which use this character as a substitute for ڤ. | |
| ڤ | v | v | A marginal phoneme only found in borrowings, often pronounced as [f] and written as ف. | |
| ق | ʔ or q | ʔ or q | Unpredictable; must be specified. When pronounced as [q], it is an emphatic consonant. | |
| ك | k | k | ||
| ل | l | l | Romanized as ḷ when used to write the marginal emphatic form that surfaces as [l] but triggers emphasis spreading. | |
| م | m | m | Romanized as ṃ when used to write the marginal emphatic form that surfaces as [m] but triggers emphasis spreading. | |
| ن | n | n | ||
| ه | h | h | ||
| و | w ū o ō | w u(ː) o(ː) | ||
| ي | y ī e ē | j i(ː) e(ː) | ||
| ى | ā ī | a i | Only used in final position. The use for [i] is the norm in the Nile Valley, but is spelled as ي in other regions. | |
| ء | ʔ | ʔ | Only pronounced as a glottal stop. | |
| ة | a at et | Normally, use -a, but use -at, -et in the construct state. | ||
| اه | āh | |||
| Diacritics | ||||
| ـَ | a | a | Realized as [æ] in normal environments, but as [ɑ] when subject to emphasis spreading. Diacritics are normally not used. | |
| ا | ā | aː | Realized as [æ(ː)] in normal environments, but as [ɑ(ː)] when subject to emphasis spreading. Shortened in unstressed syllables. | |
| ـُ | u o | u o | Diacritics are normally not used. | |
| ـِ | i e | i e | Often realised as [e]. Diacritics are normally not used. | |
| ـو | aw or ō | aw or oː | oː is shortened to [o] in unstressed syllables. | |
| ـُو | ū | uː | Diacritics are normally not used. | |
| ـی | ay or ē | aj or eː | eː is shortened to [e] in unstressed syllables. | |
| ـِی | ī | i | Diacritics are normally not used. | |
References
edit- Daniel Pipes (1983), An Arabist's Guide to Egyptian Colloquial.
- Hinds, Martin, Badawi, El-Said (1986) A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic[1], Beirut: Librairie du Liban
- Janet Watson (2002), The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic. Oxford University Press, →ISBN.
Other Resources
edit- Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar (1986), Colloquial Arabic of Egypt.
- Richard Jasch (1999), Arabic-English/English-Arabic Concise (Romanized) Dictionary for the Spoken Arabic of Egypt and Syria (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary).
- Living Language (2006), Ultimate Arabic - Beginner-Intermediate (5 lessons dedicated to Egyptian Arabic)
- Lonely Planet (various editions), Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook & Dictionary
- Barron's (various editions), Arabic at a Glance - Phrasebook & Dictionary for travellers (based on colloquial Egyptian).