Phoneme

Validate against: http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#

Schema ID: http://schemas.digitallinguistics.io/Phoneme-4.3.0.json

Type: object

Description

An object representing a single phoneme in a language, and its allophones.

Required Properties

  • ipa

Properties

The following properties are defined for this object:

  • Type: type

    Type: string

    Read-only: true

    Description

    The type of object. Must be set to Phoneme.

    This item must have the following value:

    "Phoneme"
  • Airstream Mechanism: airstream

    Type: string

    Description

    The airstream mechanism used to pronounce this Phoneme. Pulmonic (egressive) sounds are created by pushing air out of the lungs. Ejective sounds are glottalic egressive sounds where the air column is compressed by upward movement of the glottis. Implosive sounds are glottalic ingressives where air is pulled in by a downward movement of the glottis. Click sounds, i.e. lingual / velaric ingressive sounds, pull air in with a downward movement of the tongue.

    Allowed Values

    • "click"
    • "ejective"
    • "implosive"
    • "ingressive"
    • "pulmonic"

    Default Value

    The default value for this item is:

    "pulmonic"
  • Allophones: allophones

    Type: array

    Description

    A list of allophones of this phoneme, following the same format as for Phoneme objects.

    Items must be unique: true

    Items

    Each item in this array must adhere to the following schema:

    Allophone: allophones

    Type: object

    Description

    An allophone of this phoneme. Allophones are formatted exactly the same way as Phoneme objects.

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    #

  • Backness: backness

    Type: string

    Description

    Describes the backness of a vowel.

    Allowed Values

    • "front"
    • "near-front"
    • "central"
    • "near-back"
    • "back"
  • Features: features

    Type: array

    Description

    A list of the phonemically distinctive features of this Phoneme. These are what are listed under diacritics in the IPA chart. For example, if a language distinguishes between a palatalized /t/ and a plain /t/, the first should include the feature palatalized and the second plain (or no features). Note that most features are also a manner of articulation as well, so it up to the linguist to decide when a given phonetic detail is a manner, or when it is a feature (i.e. a diacritic). For example, a language might distinguish phonemically between a palatal plosive /c/ and a palatalized plosive /tʲ/. The first would list palatal as its place of articulation, while the second would list palatalized as a distinctive feature. Do not include features here if they are already used for manner, unless your analysis is that this feature is both a manner and a feature of this phoneme, e.g. a palatalized palatal stop. This field is used primarily for consonants, but may also apply to vowels as well (e.g. the close and open features).

    Items must be unique: true

    Items

    Each item in this array must adhere to the following schema:

    Feature: features

    Type: string

    Description

    A phonemically distinctive feature, taken from the set of features (diacritics) in the IPA chart.

    Allowed Values

    • "advanced"
    • "advanced tongue root"
    • "affricativized"
    • "alveolar"
    • "apical"
    • "aspirated"
    • "breathy"
    • "centralized"
    • "close"
    • "creaky"
    • "dental"
    • "fortis"
    • "fricativized"
    • "labialized"
    • "laminal"
    • "lateral release"
    • "lax"
    • "lenis"
    • "lightly aspirated"
    • "linguolabial"
    • "lowered"
    • "mid-centralized"
    • "nasal release"
    • "nasalized"
    • "no release"
    • "non-syllabic"
    • "open"
    • "palatalized"
    • "pharyngealized"
    • "plain"
    • "raised"
    • "retracted"
    • "retracted tongue root"
    • "retroflexed"
    • "rhotic"
    • "rounded"
    • "sibilant"
    • "syllabic"
    • "tense"
    • "unrounded"
    • "velarized"
    • "voiced"
    • "voiceless"
    • "weakly aspirated"
  • Height: height

    Type: string

    Description

    The height of a vowel

    Allowed Values

    • "close"
    • "near-close"
    • "close-mid"
    • "mid"
    • "open-mid"
    • "near-open"
    • "open"
  • IPA Transcription: ipa

    Type: string

    Description

    The IPA representation of this phoneme / allophone. Transcriptions of phonemes should contain only the phonemically contrastive sounds. Transcriptions of allophones should contain only the regularly-conditioned alternations.

    Minimum length: 1

  • Length: length

    Type: string

    Description

    The length of this phoneme, whether for consonants (e.g. short vs. geminate) or vowels

    Allowed Values

    • "extra short"
    • "short"
    • "half long"
    • "long"
    • "extra long"
    • "geminate"
  • Manner of Articulation: manner

    Type: string

    Description

    The manner of articulation, for consonants. Only one manner of articulation may be listed. Additional manners must be listed under the features attribute. For example, the lateral fricative ɬ might have a manner set to fricative and a feature lateral, or vice versa, depending on the linguist’s analysis.

    Allowed Values

    • "affricate"
    • "approximate"
    • "flap"
    • "fricative"
    • "lateral"
    • "nasal"
    • "plosive"
    • "tap"
    • "trill"
  • Notes: notes

    Type: array

    Description

    Notes about this Phoneme

    Items must be unique: true

    Items

    Each item in this array must adhere to the following schema:

    Note: notes

    Type: object

    Description

    A Note about this Phoneme

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    http://schemas.digitallinguistics.io/Note.json

  • Place of Articulation: place

    Type: string

    Description

    The place of articulation for consonants. Only one place of articulation may be listed. Additional places must be listed as features under the features attribute. For example, a palatalized alveolar /tʲ/ would list alveolar under manner, and palatalized under features.

    Allowed Values

    • "bilabial"
    • "labiodental"
    • "labiovelar"
    • "dental"
    • "alveolar"
    • "lateral"
    • "post-alveolar"
    • "alveo-palatal"
    • "palato-alveolar"
    • "retroflex"
    • "palatal"
    • "velar"
    • "uvular"
    • "pharyngeal"
    • "glottal"
    • "epiglottal"
  • Bibliographic References: references

    Type: array

    Description

    A collection of bibliographic sources about this phoneme

    Items must be unique: true

    Items

    Each item in this array must adhere to the following schema:

    Bibliographic Source: references

    Type: object

    Description

    A bibliographic source

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    http://schemas.digitallinguistics.io/BibliographicSource.json

  • Rounding: rounding

    Type: string

    Description

    A description of the roundedness of a vowel. Only one type of roundedness may be listed. Rounded vowels may be listed as simply rounded, or more specifically as protruded or compressed.

    Allowed Values

    • "compressed"
    • "protruded"
    • "rounded"
    • "unrounded"
  • Tags: tags

    Type: object

    Description

    A set of tags for this phoneme

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    http://schemas.digitallinguistics.io/Tags.json

  • Dipthong / Triphthong Target 1: target1

    Type: object

    Description

    For diphthongs or triphthongs, this should be a Phoneme object representing the features of the first target in the pronunciation of the diphthong/triphthong.

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    #

  • Dipthong / Triphthong Target 2: target2

    Type: object

    Description

    For diphthongs or thriphthongs, this should be a Phoneme object representing the features of the second target in the pronunciation of the diphthong/triphthong.

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    #

  • Triphthong Target 3: target3

    Type: object

    Description

    For triphthongs, this should be a Phoneme object representing the features of the third target in the pronunciation of the triphthong.

    Referenced Schema

    This item must validate against the following schema:

    #

  • Tone: tone

    Type: string

    Description

    An abstract representation of the tone of this phoneme, e.g. H, 13, falling, etc.

  • Voicing: voicing

    Type: string

    Description

    Whether the phoneme is voiced, voiceless, or partially voiced

    Allowed Values

    • "semivoiced"
    • "voiced"
    • "voiceless"

Additional Properties

Any additional properties must adhere to the following schema:

This schema imposes no restrictions. All values are valid.

Examples

The following are example values for this schema:

  • {
      "airstream": "pulmonic",
      "ipa": "t",
      "manner": "plosive",
      "place": "alveolar",
      "voicing": "voiceless"
    }
  • {
      "airstream": "pulmonic",
      "ipa": "t͡ʃ",
      "manner": "affricate",
      "place": "post-alveolar",
      "voicing": "voiceless"
    }
  • {
      "airstream": "ejective",
      "ipa": "t͡ʃˀ",
      "manner": "affricate",
      "place": "post-alveolar",
      "voicing": "voiceless"
    }