Symbolic Phonetic Representation (SPR)

A Symbolic Phonetic Representation (SPR) is the phonetic spelling of a single word which represents the sounds of the word, how these sounds are divided into syllables, and which syllables receive stress.  For example, in ETI-Eloquence's phonetic spelling,

"though" 	= 	`[.1Do]  

	"shocking"	= 	`[.1Sa.0kIG]

The periods signal the start of a new syllable (they are optional in the notation), and the numbers 1 and 0 signal primary stress and zero stress.  The letters, D, o, S, a, k, I, G are part of the phonetic alphabet used by ETI-Eloquence.  The [ ] brackets and ` backquote indicate that the string is a phonetic representation rather than normal English spelling.

You may want to use SPRs when the normal letter-to-sound rules would not produce the correct pronunciation.  You can enter SPRs for particular words in the user dictionaries to have the pronunciation apply whenever a certain string is encountered. Alternatively, you can enter the SPR in the input text itself by enclosing it in the \xSPR\ tag.

Form

Each word entered as an SPR must be a string of allowable SPR symbols enclosed in square [ ] brackets, and preceded by a ` backquote character.  Within the brackets there are restrictions on where to place syllable stress markers. An invalid SPR will be read out character by character.

  If you are entering an SPR directly into the input text, the SPR must be enclosed in the \xSPR\ tag.  For example:

What \xSPR=`[.1kYn.dx]\ tools?  

If you are entering an SPR into one of the user dictionaries, you should not enclose the SPR in the \xSPR\ tag.

To learn more about how to create SPRs see:

SPR Examples for an opportunity to practice interpreting SPRs.
SPR Symbols for a list of the actual phonetic alphabet.
Syllable Stress for how to mark syllable stress in an SPR.
Some Tips on SPR Symbols for how to deal with sounds with limited distribution, dialects, and sound-changing rules.

