Comparative work of the Afroasiatic languages uses a semi-conventionalized set of symbols that are somewhat different than the International Phonetic Alphabet and other phonetic notations. The more salient differences include the letters for IPA , the circumflex diacritic for lateral obstruents, and the sub-dot for emphatic consonants, which depending on the language may be ejective, implosive or pharyngealized.
Conventions Letters Phonetic conventions are as follows:
+ConsonantsAAIPAAAIPAAAIPAAAIPAḇp̠ṗḅṯḏṯ̣ḏ̣cʒčǯṣc̣č̣y or i̭ŝĉĉ̣ʒ̂ḡḳ or qɣ (γ)ḫxx̣9w or ṷḥʕʔh
is used only for Egyptian. Its value is not certain.
Sometimes IPA letters are used for the above, e.g. for , for or for , or intermediate notation such as for or for .
Other consonants are familiar from the IPA or may be extended from the patterns in the table (e.g. for , for , or for ).
Palatal/palatalized consonants are indicated with an acute accent: ; retroflex often with a grave accent: etc.; and uvulars sometimes with an inverted breve: etc. may be distinguished as a labialized consonant vs a consonant followed by a rounded vowel.
There is some inconsistency between authors, often reflecting different phonetic interpretations, e.g. for and for , or for and for , or for and for .
Vowels are long vowels; etc. are short vowels. is a neutral vowel (schwa).
Symbols for reconstruction Wildcards include: V for an undetermined vowel: {a, i, u}; H for a laryngeal or pharyngeal consonant: {ḥ, ʕ, ʔ, h}; S for a sibilant: {s, z, c, ʒ, č, ǯ, ṣ, c̣, č̣}. Thus *bVr- is shorthand for "either *bar- or *bir- or *bur-".
/ means "or", e.g. *gaw/y- is *gaw- or *gay-. ( ) means "with or without", e.g. *ba(w)r- is *bawr- or *bar-. ~ means parallel proto-forms, e.g. *ʕad-at- ~ *ʕidd- means that the proto-form has two variant reconstructions.
See also Proto-Afroasiatic language
References