Help:IPA/Maltese

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 arām 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
id beet
ɪ wisa' bit
ɪː wied bit but longer
ɔː sod lawn
ɔ moħħ off
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
  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.