Afrasianist phonetic notation
{{Short description|Phonetic notation}}
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 {{angbr|c, ʒ}} for IPA {{IPA|[ts, dz]}}, the circumflex diacritic {{angbr|◌̂}} for lateral obstruents, and the sub-dot {{angbr|◌̣}} for emphatic consonants, which depending on the language may be ejective, implosive or pharyngealized.
Conventions
=Letters=
Phonetic conventions are as follows:{{cite web |title= Etymological Database of Afrasian languages (AADB) |url= https://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=%5Cdata%5Csemham%5Cafaset&first=1 |author= Alexander Militarev & Olga Stolbova |website= The Tower of Babel |institution= Center of Comparative Linguistics, Russian State University for the Humanities |accessdate= 2021-06-05 |archive-date= 2021-01-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210111103329/https://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=%5Cdata%5Csemham%5Cafaset&first=1 |url-status= live }}Igor Diakonoff (1988) Afrasian Languages. Nauka, Moscow.Aharon Dolgopolsky (1999) From Proto-Semitic to Hebrew. Centro Studi Camito-Semitici di Milano.
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|+Consonants !AA!!IPA !AA!!IPA !AA!!IPA !AA!!IPA | ||||
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|ḇ | {{IPAblink|β}}
|p̠ | {{IPAblink|ɸ}}
|ṗ | {{IPA|[{{IPA link|p}}{{IPA link|ˤ}}]~[p{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|ḅ | {{IPA|[{{IPA link|b}}{{IPA link|ˤ}}]~{{IPAblink|ɓ}}}} |
| align=center
|ṯ | {{IPAblink|θ}}
|ḏ | {{IPAblink|ð}}
|ṯ̣ | {{IPA|[θ{{IPA link|ˤ}}]}}
|ḏ̣ | {{IPA|[ð{{IPA link|ˤ}}]}} |
| align=center
|c | {{IPAblink|ts}}
|ʒ | {{IPAblink|dz}}
|č | {{IPAblink|tʃ}}
|ǯ | {{IPAblink|dʒ}} |
| align=center
|ṣ |{{IPA|[{{IPA link|s}}{{IPA link|ˤ}}]~[s{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}} |c̣ | {{IPA|[{{IPA link|ts}}{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|č̣ | {{IPA|[{{IPA link|tʃ}}{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|y or i̭ | {{IPAblink|j}} | |
| align=center
|ŝ | {{IPAblink|ɬ}}
|ĉ | {{IPAblink|tɬ}}
|ĉ̣ | {{IPA|[tɬ{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|ʒ̂ | {{IPAblink|dɮ}} |
| align=center
|ḡ | {{IPAblink|ɣ}}
|ḳ or q | {{IPA|[k{{IPA link|ˀ}}]~[k{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|ɣ (γ) | {{IPAblink|ʁ}}
|ḫ | {{IPAblink|χ}} |
| align=center
|x | {{IPAblink|kx}}
|x̣ | {{IPA|[kx{{IPA link|ˀ}}]~[kx{{IPA link|ʼ}}]}}
|9 | {{IPAblink|ɡɣ}}
|w or ṷ | {{IPAblink|w}} |
| align=center
|ḥ | {{IPAblink|ħ}}
|ʕ | {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
|ʔ | {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
|h | {{IPAblink|h}} |
{{angbr|h̠}} is used only for Egyptian. Its value is not certain.
Sometimes IPA letters are used for the above, e.g. {{angbr|ħ}} for {{angbr|ḥ}}, {{angbr|χ}} for {{angbr|ḫ}} or {{angbr|j}} for {{angbr|y}}, or intermediate notation such as {{angbr|ṭṣ}} for {{angbr|c̣}} or {{angbr|ṭɬ̣}} for {{angbr|ĉ̣}}.
Other consonants are familiar from the IPA or may be extended from the patterns in the table (e.g. {{angbr|ẓ}} for {{IPA|[zˁ]}}, {{angbr|š}} for {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, or {{angle bracket|q̣}} for {{IPA|[qʼ]}}).
Palatal/palatalized consonants are indicated with an acute accent: {{angbr|ś ṣ́ ź ć ć̣ ʒ́ ń ĺ ŕ}}; retroflex often with a grave accent: {{angle bracket|l̀ ǹ}} etc.; and uvulars sometimes with an inverted breve: {{angle bracket|k̑ h̑}} etc. {{angle bracket|kʷ kᵒ}} may be distinguished as a labialized consonant vs a consonant followed by a rounded vowel.Aharon Dolgopolsky (2008) Nostratic Dictionary.
There is some inconsistency between authors, often reflecting different phonetic interpretations, e.g. {{angle bracket|x}} for {{IPAblink|x}} and {{angle bracket|ḫ}} for {{IPAblink|χ}}, or {{angle bracket|ḫ}} for {{IPAblink|x}} and {{angle bracket|x}} for {{IPAblink|kx}}, or {{angle bracket|g}} for {{IPAblink|ɡ}} and {{angle bracket|ɡ}} for {{IPAblink|ɢ}}.
;Vowels
{{angbr|ā, ī, ū, ē, ō}} are long vowels; {{angbr|ǎ}} etc. are short vowels. {{angbr|ə}} is a neutral vowel (schwa).
=Symbols for reconstruction=
: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.