This page describes how IPA is used to transcribe Yiddish words at Wikipedia. It follows the pronunciation of "Standard Yiddish" (or "YIVO Yiddish"), as described in such works as Uriel Weinreich's College Yiddish and Modern English-Yiddish Yiddish-English Dictionary.
See Yiddish phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Yiddish.
| Consonants |
| IPA |
Letter(s) |
English examples |
Romanization |
| b |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ב (beys) |
but |
b |
| d |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ד (daled) |
do |
d |
| dʒ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />דזש (daled zayen shin) |
joy |
dzh |
| f |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />פֿ ף (fey, i.e. pey with rafe on nonfinal form) |
fool, leaf |
f |
| ɡ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ג (giml) |
go |
g |
| h |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ה (hey) |
hen |
h |
| j |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />י (yud) |
yes |
y |
| k |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />כּ (kof with dagesh)[1]
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ק (kuf) |
skin, thick |
k |
| l |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ל (lamed) |
bell |
l |
| ʎ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ל |
Similar to million; Italian figlio |
l |
| m |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />מ ם (mem) |
man, tam |
m |
| n |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />נ ן (nun) |
no, tin |
n |
| ŋ[2] |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />נ when followed by <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ג or <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ק |
finger, drink |
n in the combinations ng, nk |
| p |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />פּ (pey with dagesh) |
spin, tip |
p |
| r[3] |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ר (reysh) |
None in most accents; compare Spanish perro and pero and French rouge |
r |
| s |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ס (samekh)
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />שׂ (sin, i.e. shin with a sin dot)[1]
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ת (sof, i.e. tof with no dagesh)[1] |
see, pass |
s |
| ʃ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ש (shin) |
she, leash |
sh |
| t |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ט (tes)
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />תּ (tof with dagesh)[1] |
sting, bet |
t |
| ts |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />צ ץ (tsadek) |
tsunami, sits |
ts |
| tʃ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />טש (tes shin) |
chair, teach |
tsh |
| v |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />בֿ (veys, i.e. beys with rafe)[1]
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />וו (tsvey vovn) |
voice |
v |
| χ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ח (khes)[1]
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />כ ך (khof, i.e. kof with no dagesh) |
Like Scottish loch but with the tongue further back; French proche |
kh |
| z |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ז (zayen) |
zoo |
z |
| ʒ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />זש (zayen shin) |
pleasure |
zh |
|
| Vowels |
| Full vowels (monophthongs) |
| IPA |
Letter(s) |
English examples |
Romanization |
| a |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />אַ (pasekh alef) |
father |
a |
| ɛ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ע (ayin) |
bed |
e |
| ɪ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />י (yud) |
bid |
i |
| ɔ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />אָ (komets alef) |
boss |
o |
| ʊ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ו (vov) |
foot |
u |
| Diphthongs |
| aɪ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ײַ (pasekh tsvey yudn) |
fine, why |
ay |
| ɛɪ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />יי (tsvey yudn) |
day, pain |
ey |
| ɔɪ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />וי (vov yud) |
loin, boy |
oy |
| Reduced vowels |
| ə |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ע or none |
sofa |
e |
| l̩ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ל |
bottle |
l |
| n̩ |
<templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />נ ן |
button |
n |
|
| Other symbols used in transcription of Yiddish |
| IPA |
Explanation |
| ˈ |
Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), e.g. אײזל [ˈɛɪzl̩] 'donkey' |
| ˌ |
Secondary stress, e.g. מאַמע־לשון [ˈmaməˌlɔʃn̩] 'Yiddish as mother tongue' |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Only in words of Semitic origin.
- ↑ Not a separate phoneme of Yiddish, but an allophone of /n/ before /ɡ, k/
- ↑ The rhotic /r/ is a phonetically variable consonant. It may be either alveolar or uvular, but it is more commonly a flap/tap [ɾ ~ ʀ̆] than a trill [r ~ ʀ] (Kleine (2003:263)).
Bibliography
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