Help:IPA/Maltese

This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Maltese on Wikipedia.

It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Maltese in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first.

For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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H:IPA-MT

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Maltese language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Maltese phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Maltese.

Consonants
IPA	Example	English approximation
b	ballun	boy
d	dar	duck
d͡z	gazzetta	pads
d͡ʒ	ġelat	jail
ʒ	televixin	vision
f	fwieħa	four
ɡ	gallettina	game
ħ	ħadem	hat or Arabic ḥarām حَرَامْ^[1]
j	jum	yes
k	kelb	scar
l	libsa	look
m	mara	mole
n	nadif	no
p	paġna	spat
r	re	real or American atom^[2]
s	saqaf	sow
ʃ	xadina	shell
t	tieqa	stake
t͡s	zokk	sits
t͡ʃ	ċavetta	chew
v	vazun	vet
w	warda	wall
z	żaqq	zoo
ʔ	Luqa	Cockney button

Vowels
IPA	Example	English approximation
ɐ	fatt	RP cut
ɐː	rani	somewhat like RP father
ɛ	belt	met
ɛː	dehra	fairy
iː	id	beet
ɪ	wisa'	bit
ɪː	wied	bit but longer
ɔː	sod	lawn
ɔ	moħħ	off
uː	mur	pool
ʊ	kuntratt	look
Diphthongs
ɐɪ̯	għid	right
ɐːɪ̯	għajn	ride
ɛɪ̯	bejn	rain
ɐʊ̯	għawm	Scottish cow
ɐːʊ̯	Għawdex	Scottish cow but longer
ɛʊ̯	jew	somewhat like go (some dialects^[3]); Italian and Spanish Europa
ɔʊ̯	għum	hole
ɔɪ̯	supereroj	boy

Suprasegmentals
IPA	Explanation
◌ˤ	pharyngealised vowel
◌ː	long vowel or geminate consonant
.	syllable break
ˈ	stress

^ Varies between [ħ~χ~h] depending on the speaker.
^ The realization of the phoneme /r/ varies; some speakers pronounce it as an approximant [ɻ] virtually identical to that used for real in the western United States, while others pronounce it as a tap [ɾ], similar to the pronunciation of ⟨t⟩ and ⟨d⟩ between vowels in American and Australian English. When geminated, it may be pronounced as a lengthened approximant [ɻː], a tap [ɾ], or a trill [r].
^ These dialects include Southern England (including Received Pronunciation), English Midlands, Australian, New Zealand, the Southern American, Midland American, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Western Pennsylvania and younger Californian English. Other dialects of English, such as most other forms of American, Northern England, Welsh, Scottish and Irish English, have no close equivalent vowel.

[1] Varies between [ħ~χ~h] depending on the speaker.

[2] The realization of the phoneme /r/ varies; some speakers pronounce it as an approximant [ɻ] virtually identical to that used for real in the western United States, while others pronounce it as a tap [ɾ], similar to the pronunciation of ⟨t⟩ and ⟨d⟩ between vowels in American and Australian English. When geminated, it may be pronounced as a lengthened approximant [ɻː], a tap [ɾ], or a trill [r].

[3] These dialects include Southern England (including Received Pronunciation), English Midlands, Australian, New Zealand, the Southern American, Midland American, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Western Pennsylvania and younger Californian English. Other dialects of English, such as most other forms of American, Northern England, Welsh, Scottish and Irish English, have no close equivalent vowel.

[1]

[2]

[3]