The traditional form of Bridgian Phonetics is the base for all other forms and systems, being the first developed by the Foundation, originally to denote the pronunciations of place-names (see Development page). It is distinguished by being strictly anaphonic – where every written letter corresponds exactly to a spoken sound.

Symbols

• Ǝ/ǝ – like ‘oo’ in ‘wood’; Ǝ́/ǝ́ like ‘ear’ in ‘learn’
• X/x – like ‘t’ in ‘firstly’
• A/a – like ‘a’ in ‘rap’; Á/á like ‘a’ in ‘bad’
• Ɐ/ɐ – like ‘ar’ in ‘part’; Ɐ́/ɐ́ like ‘ar’ in ‘tar’
• B/b – like ‘b’ in ‘bane’
• C/c – like ‘sh’ in ‘shy’; Ć/ć like ‘g’ in ‘regime’
• D/d – like ‘d’ in ‘down’
• E/e – like ‘e’ in ‘den’; É/é like ‘are’ in ‘share’
• F/f – not used in English; F́/f́ also unused
• G/g – like ‘g’ in ‘gold’
• H/h – like ‘h’ in ‘hen’
• I/ı – like ‘i’ in ‘fill’; Í/í like ‘ear’ in ‘hear’
• J/ȷ – not used in English; J́/ȷ́ also unused
• L/l – like ‘l’ in ‘line’
• M/m – like ‘m’ in ‘mine’
• N/n – like ‘n’ in ‘nine’
• Ɔ/ɔ – like ‘ng’ in ‘singer’
• O/o – like ‘o’ in ‘song’; Ó/ó like ‘aw’ in ‘saw’
• P/p – like ‘r’ in ‘rain’ [normal]; Ṕ/ṕ not used in English
• R/r – like ‘r’ in ‘rain’ [rolled, found in certain dialects]; Ŕ/ŕ rare in English
• S/s – like ‘s’ in ‘said’; Ś/ś like ‘z’ in ‘zen’
• Þ/þ – like ‘th’ in ‘three’; Þ́/þ́ like ‘th’ in ‘then’
• U/u – like ‘o’ in ‘tonne’; Ú/ú not used in English
• V/v – like ‘f’ in ‘fen’; V́/v́ like ‘v’ in ‘vine’
• W/w – like ‘w’ in ‘wing’; Ẃ/ẃ like ‘oo’ in ‘food’
• Y/y – like ‘ea’ in ‘wheat’; Ý/ý like ‘ee’ in ‘weed’

The following subcategories are defined:

• Vowels: ǝ, a, ɐ, e, ı, o, p, u, w, y (accented = long vowel)
• Fricatives: c, f, ȷ, s, þ, v (accented = voiced)
• Normal clicks: b, d, g (no accentation)
• Nasal clicks: m, n, ɔ (no accentation)
• Other: h, x, l, r (accented = trill form for ‘r’)

There is additionally the glottal stop, or simply the “pause”, represented by '.

Rules

The validity of a Phonetical text is determined in terms of pairs of letters in the traditional-form version. If any pair of phonic characters (ignoring punctuation) come out as “illegal”, it is impossible to pronounce the string accurately as written.

Notes:

1. Allowed if letter 1 is after a vowel, or ‘l’.
2. Allowed if the text would be valid if letter 1 was removed.
3. Allowed if letter 1 is after a vowel.

Double letters, with the same accentation for consonants, are not strictly permitted in traditional form, but may count as valid for conversions to syllabic form. (The Devious One, in his usual way, calls this isophony, from Greek isō and phonē, meaning ‘same sound’.)

When converting from or displaying traditional form, the Phonetical Translator changes all isophonic sequences to their respective resolutions. These are accented forms for vowels and single letters for consonants; double clicks, ‘x’s, or ‘r’s are illegal, as given by the grid.