Help:Pronunciation respelling key

This pronunciation spelling key is based on classical mythology glossaries such as those found in Robert Fagles' translations of the Iliad and Odyssey. Pronunciation respelling systems may cover the variation among English dialects more efficiently than the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is generally used to indicate the pronunciation of a specific variety of speech. However, the IPA is more generally useful, as pronunciation respelling systems are obscure to most non-native English speakers.

Note: this transcription merges a few distinctions in some dialects, such as four vs. for in Scottish English and bad vs. lad in Australian English.

English Pronunciation Spelling Key

Stress

Stress is indicated by an apostrophe after the stressed syllable (af'-tər). "Primary" and "secondary" stress are not distinguished, as the difference is due to intonation (in'-tə-nay'-shən) and is predictable.

Consonant symbols

Consonants are straightforward, with the following exceptions:

dh as in then (IPA )
th as in thin ()
s as in hiss ()
zh as in fusion ()
ng as in singer (), not finger

Vowel symbols

Vowel symbol	Received Pronunciation	General American	General Australian!Scottish English
a as in cat
a as in sofa (unstressed open syllable) (being replaced by ə)
aa as in father
air as in air
ar as in car
arr as in marry
aw as in raw		or
ay as in day
ə as in sofa (unstressed neutral vowel)
ər as in her				(ur, er, ir)
e as in pet
ee as in feet
eer as in peer
er as in fern (generally replaced by ər)
err as in merry
ew as in ewe, dew
eye = -ye
i as in bit
ir as in fir (generally replaced by ər)
irr as in mirror
o as in pot
oe as in toe
oo as in foot
oo as in food
or as in wore or war
orr as in orange
ow as in cow
u as in bus
ur as in fur (generally replaced by ər)
urr as in hurry
-ye as in bye (after a consonant, otherwise eye)

Notes

1. See bad-lad split for details of this distinction.
2. This assumes the absence of the cot-caught merger. In accents with this merger, aw represents the same sound as o.
3, 6 and 8. See Fern-fir-fur merger for details of this distinction.
5. Dependent on accent, the is pronounced after some consonants, coalescesses with other consonants or is dropped entirely.
7. See horse-hoarse merger for details of this distinction.
9. Value depends on voicing of following consonant; phonemic for very few words.

Classical pronunciations

The literary pronunciations of classical names are assimilated into English phontactics. For example, the X of Xanthes is pronounced [z], not [ks] as in Greek. However, some people prefer to approximate the Latin or Greek pronunciations of classical words, and for this purpose the Latin or Greek spellings may be used as a pronunciation guide. Except for long versus short α, ι, and υ, the Greek alphabet is phonemic. For Latin, macrons must be used if the pronunciation is to be unambiguous.

How to pronounce classical Greek and Latin names in English

Placement of Greco-Latin stress

Names from Greek mythology are relatively straightforward to pronounce once you know where the English stress is. Greek words in English were generally filtered through Latin, and in Latinate words, stress is on the penultimate syllable when that is "heavy", and on the antepenultimate syllable when the penult is "light". "Light" means a CV (consonant-short vowel) or V (short vowel) syllable.

A syllable is "heavy" when:
*it is closed by a consonant (CVC)
*the vowel is long, or a diphthong (CVV)

When more than a single consonant follows a vowel, the syllable is closed. (A consonant is not the same thing as a letter. The letters x [ks] and z [dz] each count as two consonants, but th [θ], ch [k], and ph [f] only count as one, as the transcriptions in brackets show.)

Exception: a cluster of p, t, or c/k plus l or r is ambiguous. The preceding syllable may be considered either open or closed. E.g., for Chariklo, both kə-rik'-loe and kair'-ə-kloe are accepted.

Latin long vowels are indicated with a macron (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). Greek η and ω are long, and become ē and ō in Latin. However, Greek α, ι, and υ each represent two vowels, long and short, so you need the Latin form to be sure. E.g., Ixion (Greek Ιξιων) turns out to have a long i, Ixīōn, and so is ik-sye'-ən.

The Latin letters æ [aj] and �" [oj] represent diphthongs, and therefore take the stress when in the penultimate syllable. E.g., Actæon ak-tee'-ən. The letter j was originally i, forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel, so it forces the stress just as æ, �", z, and x do. A dieresis indicates that the vowels do not form a diphthong: Ausinoë aw-sin'-oe-ee (not aw'-sə-nee).

If there are more than two syllables preceding a stressed syllable, follow the same rules to see which of them is stressed. E.g., Cassiopeia (also Cassiopēa) is kas'-ee-ə-pee'-ə: the Ca is followed by a double consonant, while the pei has a diphthong (or a long vowel in the case of pē), so these are the two stressed syllables.

Long & short vowels in English

English vowels will be pronounced "long" (ay, ee, eye, oe, ew) or "short" (a, e, i, o, u) independently of the length of the Latin or Greek vowels. Generally, vowels followed by more than one consonant will be short, as in Hermippe her-mip'-ee (except final -es, which is always eez as in Pales pay'-leez); and vowels with no following consonant will be long.

However, when a vowel is followed by a single consonant (or by p, t, c/k plus l, r) and then another vowel, it gets more complicated. If unstressed, the syllable will be open, and the vowel will often be reduced to schwa. If the penultimate syllable is stressed, it will be open and the vowel long, as in Europa ew-roe'-pə. If any other syllable is stressed, it will be closed and the vowel will be short, as in Ganymede gan'-ə-meed, Anaxagoras an'-ək-sag'-or-əs. (Note that r tends to close the preceding syllable regardless, and has its own effect on the vowel, as in Elara ee-lair'-ə.)

However, even when not penultimate, stressed u stays long before a single consonant (or p, t, c/k plus l, r), as in Jupiter jew'-pə-tər.

Also, a stressed non-high vowel (a, e, or o) stays long before a single consonant (or p, t, c/k plus l, r) followed by an ee sound (e, i, or y) before another vowel: Proteus proe'-tee-əs, Demetrius də-mee'-tree-əs, Orthosie or-thoe'-see-ə. This may be because such words generally have alternate pronunciations where the e, i, or y is pronounced y, and the preceding syllable would therefore be open because it's penultimate: proe'-tews, or-thoe'-syə.

Note that these are generalizations, and that many names are idiosyncratic.

External dictionaries

*Perseus Greek and Latin dictionaries. The most complete Greek and Latin dictionaries available online, they include the entire 9th edition of Liddell & Scott's Greek Lexicon. The Greek online tranliteration scheme uses the following conventions: ê for Greek η (Latin �"), ô for Greek ω (Latin ō), a_ for Greek long α (Latin ā), a^ for Greek short α (Latin ă), etc.

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