#phonetics — Public Fediverse posts

What used to feel ‘eased’, now just felt ‘east’. What used to be ‘alive’, was now just ‘a life’. That was just how it was, ever since they finally devoiced.

#linguistics #LinguisticsHumor #LinguisticsHumour #phonetics #phonology

Why do some English vowels stay hard even after years of study? A Taiwan-led study finds the perception-production link isn’t one connection, it’s several, each tied to a different sound cue and shaped by native-language habits. #Linguistics #SecondLanguageAcquisition #Phonetics https://www.anthropology.net/p/when-your-ear-betrays-your-mouth

Great job opening at my old lab (well, now a renewed lab):

Fixed term (3 year) position for Laboratory Manager of the Phonetics Laboratory, University of Oxford. Full time, requires a doctorate in Experimental Phonetics

Applications due by midday, 3rd August, so quite tight!

All details at
https://my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecruit/erq_jobspec_details_form.jobspec?p_id=187307

#phonetics #linguistics

Why, in the year of our Paul Passy 2026, are there still people who've put in hundreds of coding hours and still manage to believe there's a single IPA representation for any given orthographic text?

I know they just WANT there to be a one-to-one mapping, but wishing it don't make it so.

I'm pretty sure someone's come up with a corrolary of the #BenderRule for accents!

https://github.com/open-dict-data/ipa-dict/

#linguistics #sociolinguistics #phonetics #IPA

#epitran : A tool for transcribing orthographic text as #IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

Let's start : https://github.com/dmort27/epitran/pull/252

#Kabyle #Taqbaylit #Phonetics #G2P

A short post on ear training – from music to IPA 👂 Have you tried?

https://philosophics.blog/2026/06/01/ear-training/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#language #music #training #blog #perception #phonetics #listening

@skinnylatte Are you sure you are talking about #French? Try to pronounce the #German word 'umgetopft' (meaning re-potted). I bet it is more difficult than any French word.
#language #phonetics #ConsonantCluster

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "cow" comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃-u-s [gwous], perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/cow-from-PIE-gwous.wav

which also developed into Dari گاو [gau] and Persian گاو [gov]:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Persian-gov.wav

and very many other Indo-European languages, such as Ancient Greek βοῦς [bous]:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Ancient-Greek-bous.wav

Image source: https://faradeed.ir/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%88-35/186305-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A6%D9%88-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%86%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%88-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%BE%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84-%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Dari #AncientGreek

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "choose" comes from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéus-, perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/choose-from-PIE-geus.wav

You can't choose your relatives, but you can choose your friends. The same root *ǵéus- developed into Persian دوست duust "friend", i.e. (originally) one who is chosen:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-geus-to-Persian-duust.wav

Image source: https://www.faramedia.co/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%81%D8%B5%D9%84-%DA%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%85-my-brilliant-friend-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%BA/

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

Here's a classic of Proto-Indo-European reconstruction. The English word "brother" descends from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr, perhaps something like this (listen):
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/brother-from-PIE-bhrater.wav

*bʰréh₂tēr also developed into Old Persian 𐎲𐎼𐎠𐎫𐎠 (b-r-a-t-a) and then Modern Persian برادر barodar:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bhrater-to-Persian-barodar.wav
and related forms in most other Indo-European languages.

Image source: Persian Wikipedia, https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/برادر

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "bough" comes from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰu- (pronounced [bʱa:g̟ʲʱu]), something like this (listen):

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/bough-from-PIE-bheh2gh.wav

The same stem developed into Persian بازو bazu, maybe like this:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bheh2gh-to-Persian-bazu.wav

A bough is an "arm" of a tree, and the Persian word بازو bazu means "arm".

(Image from the website of an Iranian fitness centre, https://morabihamrah.com/)

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

"I think it's another humbling moment that we're not the only species with rich, communicative, communal and cultural lives," said David Gruber, founder and president of Project CETI. "These whales could be passing information along generation to generation to generation for over 20 million years. Humans now are just having the right tools and desire to be able to look at whale voices in this way to see the complexity that has been there all along."

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/04/study-ceti-sperm-whales-communicate-like-humans-language/

#Ocean #Nature #Whales #Cetaceans #Science #Biology #Mammals #Language #Communication #Phonetics

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

English "bellows" and "belly" come via Anglo-Saxon beliġ and Proto-Germanic *balgi- from Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ- "bag", perhaps something like this (listen):

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/bellows-from-PIE-bholgh.wav

This simulation of *bʰólǵʰ- has initial [b], not [bʱ], as it's computed from recordings of Irish bolg, "bag", also a cognate.

The same PIE root developed into Persian بالش bālish "pillow", like this:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bholgh-to-Persian-balesh.wav

Related words are found in other Iranian languages, e.g. Pashto بالښت balacht, Ossetian baʒ/baz, as well as in Slavic, e.g. Slovenian blazina.

When I originally posted about this in November 2021, the linguist Magnus Pharao @magnuspharao.bsky.social pointed out that Danish bælg (seed pod of legumes and bellows) is also a cognate!

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

By the way, and for the avoidance of doubt/suspicion: none of the "audio etymology" sequences that I've created and am posting here involve any use of AI, LLM's, neural nets, none of that. All are made from original audio recordings of real people speaking words in their various languages, which are then subjected to good old-fashioned signal processing (speech coding and synthesis). The continua of change are made using straightforward linear interpolation over the space of cepstrograms, which are 2 dimensional matrices encoding the acoustics of the original recordings. Using scripts that I wrote, by hand.

#acoustics #phonetics #speech #synthesis #audio #maths #linear_algebra

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

The English word “barrow”, i.e. a burial mound, comes via Proto-Germanic *berga from a Proto-Indo-European ancestor *bʰerǵʰ-os, meaning “height” and by extension “hill, mountain”.

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/barrow-from-PIE-bherghos.wav

The same Proto-Indo-European root *bʰerǵʰ- also developed into Persian برج borj “tower”:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-bhergh-to-Persian-borj.wav

The Arabic word برج burj “tower”, as in the name of the Burj Khalifa tower, is not a Semitic word but is a loan-word from Persian.

Kurdish برج berdz (Kurmani birc), Balochi برز ئه borza “height”, and English “borough” (originally referring to a town with raised fortifications), are also descended from *bʰerǵʰ-.

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Arabic #Kurdish #Balochi

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

The word "khaki" is a loan from Urdu خاکی‎ xākī, a loan from Persian, from خاک xâk "earth", from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂s [ħaχs], something like this (listen):

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/khaki-from-PIE-h2eh2s.wav

English "ash" (the grey-coloured burnt substance) also descends from *h₂eh₂s:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/ash-from-PIE-h2eh2s.wav

In most Indo-European languages, *h₂ usually developed into [a], but in Iranian it's sometimes [x]. If you want a more detailed but much more technical explanation of the Proto-Indo-European "laryngeals" and how they were possibly or probably pronounced, try this: https://www.ancientsounds.net/laryngeals.html

(The image used below is from an Iranian wood industry supplier's site, venonwood.biz, which currently seems to be still working in spite of the general internet blackout in Iran right now.)

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #englishlanguage #acousticphonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Urdu

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

The English word "ankle" comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng-ul- [aŋgʊl], the stem *h₂eng- meaning perhaps "joint". Listen:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/ankle-from-PIE-h2eng.wav

In Persian *h₂eng- developed into انگشت angusht, "digit" i.e. finger or toe:

🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-h2eng-to-Persian-angusht.wav

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #englishlanguage #acousticphonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

Audio Etymologies of the Day, illustrating how Persian and English are related languages

The Persian word for border, marz ( مرز ), comes from Proto-Indo-European *morǵ-eh₂, something like this:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-morgeh2-to-Persian-marz.wav

The somewhat archaic English word march, meaning "frontier region", comes from same root *morǵ-eh₂:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/march-from-PIE-morgeh2.wav

This sense of "march" survives in the phrase "the Welsh Marches", the name of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, George Eliot's title "Middlemarch", and Tolkien's imagined "Red Book of Westmarch".

@linguistics #linguistics #etymology #englishlanguage #acousticphonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

„Hab ich oder habe ich? Warum wir nicht sprechen, wie wir schreiben“

Podcastfolge aus dem SFB 1412 „Register“ @sfb1412

https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/registergeknister/id1702141620?i=1000750654301

@linguistics
#linguistics #register #phonetics

"When the IPA fails you, one solution is to start sprinkling diacritics around"

-Rasmus Puggaard-Rode

#phonetics

Persian and English etymologies of the day

Nowruz is the Persian New Year festival at the Spring Equinox (20th March). Nowruz means "new light"; Persian now (pronounced like English "no") comes from Proto-Indo-European *neu-io, something like this:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-neuio-to-Persian-noo.wav

Tajik рӯз and Persian روز ruz descends from Proto-Indo-European *leuk- [lɘʊk]:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-leuk-to-Tajik-ruz.wav
(Tajik is also an Iranian language, very similar to Iranian Persian.)

*leuk- also developed into words for "day" in other Iranian languages, e.g. Balochi روچ [roʧ], something like this:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-leuk-to-Balochi-roch.wav

Kurdish roj [roʒ]:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-leuk-to-Kurdish-roj.wav

English “new” and “light” are from the same roots, *neu-io and *leuk-
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/new-from-PIE-neuio.wav

“Light” comes from Proto-Indo-European *leuk-, something like this:
🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/light-from-PIE-leuk.wav

Image source:
https://blog.izapya.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/noroz1.jpeg

#Persian #Iranian #English #phonetics #linguistics

From 2021 to 2024 I had a Leverhulme research fellowship to work on a project in which I use audio simulations to show how English is related to various "Eastern" languages, including Persian. Many of the audio recordings and the graphics used to illustrate them were from Iranian websites, now silenced by the authorities. So I've decided to re-post here (correcting where necessary) a number of them to show how those Iranian voices were essential to my research. By way of thanks and memory. (One a day, but not every day. The original blog is at https://www.ancientsounds.net/blog.html)

#Persian #Iranian #linguistics #phonetics