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