Re: IPA transcription

[Nicola <nvitacolonna@gmail.com>]

On 23/03/2017 14:49, Angel M Alganza wrote:
> Hello:
>
> Is there a (easy) way to write phonetic
> transcriptions using the IPA (International
> Phonetic Alphabet) in ConTeXt?  I can't find any
> reference to it in the documentation.

 > Hello:
 >
 > Is there a (easy) way to write phonetic
 > transcriptions using the IPA (International
 > Phonetic Alphabet) in ConTeXt?  I can't find any
 > reference to it in the documentation.

I did that some time ago, but I can speak only for macOS. You want to
have:

- fonts supporting phonetic symbols (both in the text editor and for the
   output);
- an IPA keyboard layout;
- a good text editor;
- good international support from the OS.

I used Charis SIL (for the fonts) and SF Mono (macOS fixed-width font)
in the text editor. Keyboard layouts can be found here:

http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=ipa-sil_keyboard

The text editor I use is (Mac)Vim, which has very good Unicode support.
Finally, you configure the OS to easily switch between keyboards
layouts. In macOS, you go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Input
Sources and select the desired keyboard layout, including the IPA
layout, then check “Show input in menu bar”. Then you go to Shortcuts >
Input Sources and configure your preferred key combo to switch between
keyboard layouts.

In my workflow, I was keeping the keyboard viewer opened and typing the
phonetic symbols directly, switching back and forth between English and
IPA keyboards. After a while, it becomes quite natural and you don't
even need to look at the keyboard viewer any longer.

On the ConTeXt side, nothing special is required. This is a simple
example (your newsreader may not render the phonetic symbols):

\definefontfamily [mainface] [rm] [Charis SIL]
\setupbodyfont[mainface]
\starttext
naujas, -a & [ˈnɑʊjɑs], [nɑʊˈjɑ] & new & \\
draugas (m) & [ˈdrɑʊɡɑs] & friend & \\
susitikimas (m) & [sʊsʲɪtʲɪˈkʲɪmɑs] & meetinɡ & \\
irgi & [ˈɪrɡʲɪ] & also  & aš irgi esu studentas (I'm a student, too) \\
gyventi & [ɡʲiːˈʋʲɛːntʲɪ] & to live & aš gyvenu Italijoje  (I live in 
Italy) \\
butas (m) & [ˈbʊtɑs] & flat, apartment & \\
motina (f) & [ˈmoːtʲɪnaː] & mother & \\
mergaitė (f) & [mʲɛrˈɡɑɪtʲeː] & girl & \\
ruošti & [ˈrʊoːʃʲtʲɪ] & to prepare & \\
dirbti & [ˈdʲɪrbʊ] & to work & \\
norėti & [noˈrʲeːtʲɪ] & to want & \\
rašyti & [rɑˈʃʲiːtʲɪ] & to write &  \\
skaityti & [skɑɪˈtʲiːtʲɪ] & to read & \\
sportuoti & [sporˈtu:otʲɪ] & to go in for sport & \\
keliauti & [kʲɛˈlʲɑʊtʲɪ] & to travel & \\
pasivaikščioti & [pɑsʲɪˈʋɑɪkʃʲtʃʲotʲɪ] & to go for a walk &\\
universitetas (m) & [unʲɪʋʲɛrʲsʲɪˈtʲɛtɑs] &  university & \\
mėgti & [ˈmʲeːɡtʲɪ] & to like & \\
manyti  & [mɑˈnʲiːtʲɪ] & to think & \\
žinoti & [ʒʲɪˈnoːtʲɪ] & to know & \\
\stoptext


Happy TeXing!
Nicola



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