The Conlang X-SAMPA (CXS) transcription scheme is documented by Henrik
Theiling. It is used on the conlang mailing list for transcribing the
pronunciation of conlangs, but can be used outside that domain. CXS derives
from X-SAMPA, making various incompatible changes to X-SAMPA with the
intention of making it easier to read by choosing some representations
that are closer to the IPA symbols.
This document uses a set of phoneme features based on the features originally
developed by Evan Kirshenbaum. These features are described in the
phonemes document.
The _ character is used as a tie bar to join two phonemes, as well as the
first character in several diacritics. It can be used for affricates and double
articulations. The _^ non-syllabic marker can be used for the second vowel in
diphthongs.
The ) character is used by CXS as an alternative tie bar that is placed after
the second phoneme. This is preferred by CXS as it does not clash with any
diacritics. For example, ts) is an affricate and ts is a consonant cluster
of t followed by s.
The X-SAMPA - character to differentiate between affricates, double
articulations, and diphthongs such as ts and consonant clusters such as
t-s is not supported in CXS.
foncxs and fonkirsh are private use extensions defined in
the bcp47-extensions
file, so have the x- private use specifier before their subtag names.
Consonants
blb
lbd
dnt
alv
pla
rfx
alp
pal
vel
uvl
phr
glt
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
nas
m
F
n
n`
J
N
N\
stp
p
b
t
d
t`
d`
c
J\
k
g
q
G\
>\
?
sibafr
afr
latafr
sibfrc
s
z
S
Z
s`
z`
s\
z\
frc
p\
B
f
v
T
D
C
j\
x
G
X
R
h
h\
latfrc
K
K\
apr
P
r\
r\`
j
M\
latapr
l
l`
L
L\
flp
4
r`
latflp
l\
trl
B\
r
R\
H\
<\
clk
O\
`
`
!\
!\`
=\
latclk
`
|`
imp
b_<
d_<
J\_<
g_<
G\
ejc
p_>
t_>
t`_>
c_>
k_>
q_>
>\_>
ejcfrc
f_>
T_>
s_>
S_>
s`_>
x_>
X_>
latejcfrc
K_>
The X-SAMPA X\ and ?\ are not specified by CXS. Instead, the H\ and
<\ consonants are transcribed as fricatives and are included in their
places.
\v can also be used for the labio-dental approximant P like in X-SAMPA.
!\` is specific to CXS. It is not listed in the IPA chart either.
Other Symbols
bld
alv
pla
pal
lbv
vel
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
nas
stp
afr
vzdfrc
x\
ptrapr
H
W
w
fzdlatapr
5
5 is supported as an alternative to l_e due to its use in some language-
specific SAMPA phoneme sets.
Manner of Articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
ejc
_>
ejective
imp
_<
implosive
Vowels
fnt
cnt
bck
unr
rnd
unr
rnd
unr
rnd
hgh
i
y
i\
u\
M
u
smh
I
Y
I\
U\
U
umd
e
2
@\
8
7
o
mid
@
lmd
E
9
3
3\
V
O
sml
&
6
low
a
&\
A
Q
i\ is in common usage in the conlang mailing list, but the X-SAMPA 1
transcription is also supported.
In CXS, the following vowels are different to the X-SAMPA transcriptions:
} is replaced by u\, { by &, and & by &\. This makes CXS
incompatible with X-SAMPA.
I\ and U\ are not listed in the IPA chart.
Other Symbols
Symbol
Features
@`
unrmidcntrzdvwl
3`
unrlmdcntrzdvwl
@` and 3` are not explicitly listed in CXS. The rhoticized
diacritic is specified instead.
Diacritics
Articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
lgl
◌_N
linguolabial
idt
interdental
◌_d
dental
apc
◌_a
apical
lmn
◌_m
laminal
◌_+
advanced
◌_-
retracted
◌_"
centralized
mid-centralized
◌_r
raised
◌_l
lowered
The articulations that do not have a corresponding feature name are recorded
using the features of their new location in the consonant or vowel charts, not
using the features of the base phoneme.
Phonation
Feature
Symbol
Name
brv
◌_t
breathy voice
slv
◌_0
slack voice
stv
◌_v
stiff voice
crv
◌_k
creaky voice
glc
?_◌
glottal closure
The IPA _0 diacritic is also used to fill the vls spaces in the IPA consonant
charts. Thus, when _0 is used with a vcd consonant that does not have an
equivalent vls consonant, the resulting consonant is vls, not slv.
Rounding and Labialization
Feature
Symbol
Name
ptr
◌_w
protruded
cmp
compressed
The degree of rounding/labialization can be specified using the following
symbols:
Feature
Symbol
Name
mrd
◌_O
more rounded
lrd
◌_c
less rounded
Syllabicity
Feature
Symbol
Name
syl
◌=
syllabic
nsy
◌_^
non-syllabic
Consonant Release
Feature
Symbol
Name
asp
◌_h
aspirated
nrs
◌_n
nasal release
lrs
◌_l
lateral release
unx
◌_}
no audible release (unexploded)
Co-articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
pzd
◌_j, ◌;
palatalized
vzd
◌_G, ◌_e
velarized
fzd
◌_?\, ◌_e
pharyngealized
nzd
◌~, ◌_~
nasalized
rzd
◌`
rhoticized
CXS does not support using ' for palatalisation as it conflicts with the
primary stress symbol. The ; symbol is CXS specific.
Tongue Root
The tongue root position can be specified using the following features:
Feature
Symbol
Name
atr
◌_A
advanced tongue root
rtr
◌_q
retracted tongue root
Suprasegmentals
Stress
Symbol
Name
'◌, "◌
primary stress
"◌, ,◌, %◌
secondary stress
The " primary and % secondary stress markers are from X-SAMPA. The other
symbols are CXS specific.
Length
Feature
Symbol
Name
est
◌_X
extra short
hlg
◌:\
half-long
lng
◌:
long
elg
◌::
extra long
The :: symbol for elg is not listed in X-SAMPA, but is derived from the
transcription for lng.
Rhythm
Symbol
Name
◌-\◌
linking (no break)
Tones
Symbol
Name
◌_T
extra high tone
◌_H
high tone
◌_M
mid tone
◌_L
low tone
◌_B
extra low tone
!◌
downstep
^◌
upstep
X-SAMPA additionally defines various symbols for contour tones that can be
defined from the composite tone marks.
