The Sound Changes section allows both Phonological Rule Notation and RegEx notation, which are quite different from each other.
Phonological Rule Notation was invented by linguists to describe sound changes. It is the notation that looks like m > n / _i, where
- > means “changes to”
- / means “in the environment of”
- _ denotes where the m would be
Thus, m > n / _i means m changes to n before any i. One big advantage of this system is the syntax for doing “in the environment of” is very simple compared to RegEx.
RegEx, on the other hand, was invented by computer programmers for general pattern finding in text, and has nothing specifically to do linguistics. It is, however, significantly better standardized and bug tested. One problem with Phonological rule notation is that, although it it perhaps intended to be machine-readable, it is mostly only used in linguistic literature, and rarely actually read by machines. This has lead to small but significant inconsistencies in the way linguists transcribe some rules. (In fact, the notation is so unstandardized that it doesn't even have an official name; "Phonological Rule Notation" is something we have coined here just to be able to write about the differences between it and Regex.)
For this reason, RegEx is the only option for Spelling rules and Illegal combination rules. See full guide to RegEx here.
Use whichever notation you are most comfortable with. If you phonological rule contains both the “/” and “_” symbols, it will treat it as the phonological rule notation. Otherwise it will treat it as RegEx. Also note that Spelling rules and Illegal combinations only allow RegEx.
| In plain English | Phonological notation | RegEx |
|---|---|---|
| m changes to n in all environments | m > n | m > n |
| m changes to n at the beginning of a word | m > n / #_ | ^m > n |
| m changes to n at the end of a word | m > n / _# | m$ > n |
| m changes to n before e | m > n / _e | m(?=e) > n |
| m changes to n after e | m > n / e_ | (?<=e)m > n |
| m or ŋ changes to n before e | {m,ŋ} > n / _e | [mŋ](?=e) > n |
| all consonants change to n before e | C > n / _e | [bdfghjklmnŋpɹstvwzʃʒʧʤθð](?=e) > n |
| all consonants change to stops before e | C > [+stop] / _e | Requires individual rules for each consonant |
| m changes to n before any vowel | m > n / _V | m(?=[aeiou]) > n |
| delete m before e | m > Ø / _e | m(?=e) > |
| m, optionally followed by s, changes to n before e | m(s) > n / _e | ms?(?=e) > n |
| m changes to n before another syllable | m > n / _σ | Requires a custom definition of what the syllable boundary is |
| m changes to n before syllable boundary* | m > n / _% | Requires a custom definition of what the syllable boundary is |
* % differs from σ in that % includes word boundaries, where as σ doesn't.
Other shorthand symbols
These shorthand symbols work in phonological rules, and anywhere RegEx can be used. However, be aware they are NOT a part of standard RegEx, and some bugs may arise using them in more complex rules.
| Shorthand code | Category |
|---|---|
| A or C[+affricate] | Affricates |
| B or V[+back] | Back vowels |
| C | Consonants |
| C[+voice] | Voiced consonants |
| C[-voice] | Voiceless consonant |
| C[+alveolar] | Alveolar consonants |
| C[+alveolo-palatal] | Alveolo-palatal consonants |
| C[+bilabial] | Bilabial consonants |
| C[+dental] | Dental consonants |
| C[+flap] | Flap/tap consonants |
| C[+glottal] | Glottal consonants |
| C[+labiodental] | Labiodental consonants |
| C[+post-alveolar] | Post-alveolar consonants |
| C[+retroflex] | Retroflex consonants |
| C[+palatal] | Palatal consonants |
| C[+pharyngeal] | Pharyngeal consonants |
| C[+trill] | Trill consonants |
| D | Any diacritic |
| ᴅ | Any combining diacritic |
| ᴰ | Any non-combining diacritic (eg, aspiration) |
| E or V[+front] | Front vowels | F or C[+fricative] | Fricatives |
| H or C[+laryngeal] | Laryngeals |
| K or C[+velar] | Velars |
| L or C[+liquid] | Liquids |
| M | Diphthongs | N or C[+nasal] | Nasal consonants | P or C[+labial] | Labials |
| Q or C[+uvular] | Uvulars |
| S or C[+stop] | Stops |
| V | Vowels, including diphthongs |
| V[+high] | High vowels |
| V[+low] | Low vowels |
| V[+round] | Rounded vowels | V[-round] | Unrounded vowels |
| W | Semivowels |
Note: In the “changes to” section (between > and / symbols), the uppercase letter is redundant, thus both C[+stop] > [+nasal] / _# and C[+stop] > C[+nasal] / _# are valid rules.