Help:IPA/Maltese

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Maltese language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-mt}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

Consonants
IPA Example English approximation
b ballun boy
d dar duck
dz gazzetta pads
dʒ ġelat jail
f fwieħa four
ɡ gallettina game
h,ħ ħadem hat or Arabic ḥāʾ (ح)
j jum yes
k kelb scar
l,ɫ libsa look
m mara mole
n nadif no
p paġna spat
ɹ,r re real, better (American English)[1]
s saqaf sow
ʃ xadina shell
t tieqa stake
ts zokk sits
tʃ ċavetta chew
v vazun vet
w warda wall
z żaqq zoo
ʔ Luqa Cockney button; Hebrew aleph (א)
Vowels
IPA Example Examples in other Languages
a fatt cat
ɐː rani rate(in some speakers of English)sats(Danish)
ɛ belt met
eː,ɨː dehra like ende(Danish) ,similar to ''we'' in English
iː dik like bight in some speakers of English(common in some Scottish English accents)
ɪ wisa bit
ɨː wied need
ɔ moħħ off
oː sod no in some speakers of English(common in some Scottish English accents)
uː mur pool
ʊ kuntratt look
ɜ˞ merħba * nurse
  • Speakers that realise r as /ɹ/ realise short e followed by r as /ɜ˞/ or /ə˞/
Diphthongs
IPA Example English approximation
æɪ̯ għajn similar to late in some speakers of English
iː għid similar to hight in some speakers of English
oʊ̯/oː għum code
eʊ̯/øʊ̯/øː ewwel similar to code(RP English),similar to ceux in french
aʊ̯/ɑʊ̯ għawn how
oɪ̯ bojod boy
Unstresseds (some speakers)
IPA Example English approximation
ə intom (any unstressed vowel) minimum


Suprasegmentals
IPA Explanation
◌ˤ pharyngealised vowel
◌ː long vowel or geminate consonant;
consonants occur both long and short word-medially and word-finally
. syllable break
ˈ stress


Notes

  1. ^ The realization of the phoneme /r/ varies; some speakers pronounce it as an approximant [ɻ] virtually identical to that used for real in the western United States, while others pronounce it as a tap [ɾ], similar to the pronunciation of ⟨t⟩ and ⟨d⟩ between vowels in American and Australian English. When geminated, it may be pronounced as a lengthened approximant [ɻː], a tap [ɾ], or a trill [r].

References

  • Hume, Elizabeth (1996). "Coronal consonant, front vowel parallels in Maltese". Natural Language & Linguistic Theory. 14 (1): 163–203.