Where does this alphabet come from?
It comes from Ortofasil website. Of course, another alphabet could be used.
What are the qualities of this alphabet?
- It is close to the historical alphabet of French language.
- It is phonetic (one letter corresponds to one single sound, and vice-versa).
What are the defects of this alphabet?
- 6 letters contain an accent (añ, é, è, iñ, oñ, uñ).
- 8 letters are made of two signs (añ, ch, eu, iñ, jh, ou, oñ, uñ).
What would be the ideal phonetic alphabet for the French writing system?
An idea alphabet would require an alphabet having the above qualities without having the defects mentioned above.
What is the main defect of a phonetic writing system for French language?
The mais difficulty is with words having the same pronunciation but having a different orthography. For example, without more information on the context, it's impossible to differenciate so (seau) from so (sot). However, if French orthography can deals with a same written word for cruche (a container) and cruche (a person) , it wil require to do the same with words like so (a container) and so (a person).What is the pronuciation of reference?
The pronunciation of reference used in our phonetic system is based on the pronunciation suggested by Le Petit Robert.Local variants are allowed but not used by the tools of this website.
Do double consonnant still exist?
No. In the approach retained here, a word never contains a double consonnant. For example : kolon for colonne, kolin for colline, dezyèmañ for deuxièmement.What is sign h used for?
In the "phonetic" writing system, sign h prevents a liaison when reading the text.- It prevents a liaison with the preceeding word. For instance, there is no liaison in lé hobañ (les haubans) as h is not a vowel ; However, there is a liaison in léz abi (les habits) as a is a vowel.
- It is also used in order to separate letter o from letter u in three french words : kohu (cohue), tohu-bohu (tohu-bohu), skapulohuméral (scapulohuméral). Of course, this letter h would have not been needed if letter ou were written ö as proposed with Ortofasil v0.
What is letter jh used for?
Lettre jh is used for onle four French words : azulejo azouléjho, jota jhota, khamsin jhamsin and mudéjar moudéjhar.
Why not using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?
- The lettters used in this website are more easily readable by a French person.
- Moreover, The IPA does not differenciate lower case from upper case.
What is the mapping with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?
Most people don't need to read this section, which adds additional information for experts in phonetics
| Lettre Phonétique | Lettre API | Exemples de mots en orthographe | Lettre phonétique | Lettre API | Exemples de mots en orthographe | |
| a | a or ɑ | ami, pâté | m | m | moi, mère | |
| añ | ɑ̃ | élan, pantalon | n | n | né, natif | |
| b | b | bébé, baobab | o | ɔ or o | or, joli | |
| ch | ʃ | cheval, char | oñ | ɔ̃ | ton, bonbon | |
| d | d | dodo, dé | or | u | fou, soupe | |
| e | ø or ə | peu, premier | p | p | papou, okapi | |
| é | e | été, bébé | r | ʀ | roi, rire | |
| è | ɛ | forêt, béret | s | s | sur, sale | |
| eu | œ | peur, soeur | t | t | ton, tutu | |
| f | f | fée, fou | u | y or ɥ | lu, lui | |
| g | g | gai, gué | uñ | œ̃ | un, lundi | |
| i | i | il, île | v | v | vélo, wagon | |
| iñ | ɛ̃ | brin, tintin | w | w | wifi, wok | |
| j | ʒ | judo, jupe | y | y | yéti, yoga | |
| jh | x | jota, azulejo | z | z | zéro, zébu | |
| k | k | koala, okapi | ||||
| l | l | livre, lame | n+g | ŋ | ping pong | |
| h | ' | hauban | n+y | ɲ | gagné, nié |
- group some similar sounds in the same elementary sound.
- a and ɑ are each transcoded with letter a.
- ø and ə are each transcoded with letter e.
- ɔ and o are each transcoded with letter o.
- y and ɥ are each transcoded with letter u.
- transcode some precise sound with two similar sounds.
- ŋ is transcoded with letters n and g.
- ɲ is transcoded with letters n and y.
Are there some examples of phonetic writing system ?
Yes : Pinyin for Chinese, Kana for Japanese, Turkish, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Arabic... even if they contain very few exceptions.
Are there other references about a phonetic writing system for French?
Yes: one can look at the book Nouvelle Manière d'écrire, comme on parle en France, written by Gile Vaudelin, which already proposed a phonetic writing system in 1713.
