Appendix:Verbis Diabolo pronunciation

Verbis Diabolo Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Dialogue

The Verbis Diabolo language has 27 consonants, 6 short vowels, 6 long vowels and 2 glides.

Standard Romanization

Letter	IPA	Example	Notes
a	a	father.
aa	aː	father, but held slightly longer.
b	b	bother
ch	tʃ	each
d	d	dog
dh	ð	this
e	e	gate
ee	eː	gate, but held slightly longer.
f	f	fish
g	ɡ	good
gh	ɣ	Spanish fuego
h	h	hop
i	i	beet
ii	iː	beet, but held slightly longer.
j	dʒ	jam
k	k	skill
kh	x	Bach
l	l	left
m	m	man
n	n	no
ny	ɲ	Spanish señor
o	o	tote
oo	oː	tote, but held slightly longer.
p	p	span
q	q	No English equivalent	Like a k, but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula.
r	ɾ	Spanish pero
rr	r	Spanish perro
s	s	see
sh	ʃ	sheep
t	t	stop
th	θ	thin
u	u	futon
uu	uː	futon, but held slightly longer.
ü	y	German über	Like the i in machine, but with lips rounded.
üü	yː	German über	Like the i in machine, but held slightly longer with lips rounded.
v	v	voice
w	w	war
y	j	yes
z	z	zoo
zh	ʒ	azure
‘	ʕ/ʔ	No English equivalent	Between vowels, like the catch in one's throat in the middle of the word "uh-oh". Almost like gagging elsewhere.

Phonetics

Verbis Diabolo has a consonant inventory contrasting 7 different places of articulation, as well as a length distinction in both its vowels and its consonants. Additionally, the language features ingressive breathing, which is featured in some tenser scenes of Penny Dreadful.

Consonants

		Labial	Coronal	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ny [ɲ]
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	ch [tʃ]	k	q		(' [ʔ])
	voiced	b	d	j [dʒ]	g
Fricative	voiceless	f	th [θ], s	sh [ʃ]	kh [x]			h
	voiced	v	dh [ð], z	zh [ʒ]	gh [ɣ]		' [ʕ]
Sonorant		w	l, r [ɾ], rr [r]	y [j]

Vowels

Verbis Diabolo has 6 phonetically distinct vowels qualities, all of them can be short or long:

	Front		Central	Back
	unrounded	rounded
Close	i, ii [iː]	ü [y], üü [yː]		u, uu [uː]
Mid	e, ee [eː]			o, oo [oː]
Open			a, aa [aː]

Stress

Stress is unpredictable in Verbis Diabolo, fitting the language's chaotic nature.