Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0

[Birdlang]

Kikuyu
Spelled Lekoyo though in my orthography
/(p) t k/ p t k
/ᵐb ⁿd ᶮdʒ ᵑg/ b d c g
/m n ɲ ŋ/ m n ñ q
/ɾ~ɾ̥~r~ɹ~l/ r
/ɸ~β~f~v ð ʃ ɣ h/ f z s l h
/w j/ w j

Vowels:
/i e ɛ u o ɔ a/ + length i e é u o ó a + macron (é and ó become ê and ô)
There’s a bunch of diphthongs as well: most vowels can combine with most other vowels. There’s also one triphthong /eai/.
Alphabet order: Aa Āā Bb Cc Dd Ee Ēē Éé Êê Ff Gg Hh Ii Īī Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Ññ Oo Ōō Óó Ôô Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Ūū Ww Zz
Tone:
There are two tones, namely high and low, as well as downstep. But the official orthography doesn’t mark tone, so it’s hard to find any samples of Gĩkũyũ text with tones. So leave tones out if you want.

Sample text (“Frog story”, from http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~reng/kik/sketch.pdf):

/neᵑgomoɣaneɾa kaɾoɣanɔ || kaɾoɣanɔ ɣaka ne ɣa kaheː | na kaɣoi | na | maðiaɣa rooi/ Negomolanera karolanó. Karolanó Lake ne la kahē. Na kaloi. Na. Maziala rōi.
Knit Tie’s language
m n̪ n~ɾ~l ɳ ɲ ŋ m ń n ṇ ñ ŋ
b p pʰ pʼ d̪ t̪ t̪ʰ t̪ʼ d t tʰ tʼ ɖ ʈ ʈʰ ʈʼ g k kʰ kʼ b p ph ḃ đ ŧ ŧh ď d t th ṫ ḍ ṭ ṭh ḋ g k kh ġ
dʑ tɕ tɕʰ tɕʼ y č čh c
f v s z ʂ ʐ x ɣ f v s z š ž h ĝ
w j w j
When a voiceless stop and the h sound are next to each other, an apostrophe is written between them.
a e i o u + length a e i o u ā ē ī ō ū

Alphabetical order: Aa Āā Bb Ḃḃ Cc Čč Dd Đđ Ḍḍ Ḋḋ Ee Ēē Ff Gg Ĝĝ Ġġ Hh Ii Īī Jj Kk Mm Nn Ńń Ṇṇ Ññ Ŋŋ Oo Ōō Pp Ss Šš Tt Ṫṫ Uu Ūū Vv Ww Yy Zz Žž ʼ

[Nortaneous]

Are you entirely sure you posted this in the right thread?

yes

And what language is this anyway? I would say Latvian, but Latvian doesn’t use ⟨đ⟩ or ⟨ü⟩…

one that isn't latvian but also normally doesn't

[sangi39]

Kur europianyt aŗityn ny Ameriky, bima e domates ište pyrhapur deri ny Amerikyn Ćendrore z̧e Meksiky. Pyrdorimi i saj si ušćim fiłoi ny Meksiky, z̧e u pyrhap ny ty đişe botyn pas kolonizimit spańoł ty Amerikys. Varietete ty šumta ty saj tani kultivohen đerysišt tašmy, ngańyhery ny seŗa ny klimat e ftohta.

Domatja konsumohet ny mynüra ty ndrüšme, e freskyt, ose si ńy pyrbyrys ny šumy đeły, sałata, salca z̧e ngatyŗesy. Fruti yšty i pasur ny lycopene, će mund te kety efekte ty dobišme pyr šendetin.

Domatja yšty vendase ny zonyn e Amerikys Jugore ćendrore z̧e pjesyn jugore ty Amerikys sy Veriut, zony sot midis vendeve ty Meksikys z̧e Peruse. Azeket e ćuajten aty xitomatl, termi treguar tomat fruta ty ndrüšme ty nđašme me ńyra-tjetryn, zakoništ lyng. Salca e domateve u by ńy pjesy integrale e kužine Azteke. Disa şone se ište ńy domate pyrforcuese, kjo do ty jety arsüeja pse frynđišt ńy hery e pyrškroi aty si pomme d'amour, mołe e dašurisy. Yšty şyny se pas futjes se saj ny Evropy züra e Sir Walter Raleigh kište z̧ene pjeset e kytij plani pyr ty realizuar ny Hernán Cortés u kşüe ny štypi z̧e e čuan mostrave, por kultivimin z̧e špyrndarjen e saj ka pritur deri đüsmyn e düty ty šekułit ty štatymbyz̧jety.

Are you entirely sure you posted this in the right thread? And what language is this anyway? I would say Latvian, but Latvian doesn’t use ⟨đ⟩ or ⟨ü⟩…

Seems to be Albanian. Switch out <y ü š ń đ ž ŗ> for <ë y sh nj dh zh rr>, etc. and it turns out it's the second, third, and most(?) of the eight paragraph of the Albanian Wikipedia article on the tomato.

[bradrn]

Kur europianyt aŗityn ny Ameriky, bima e domates ište pyrhapur deri ny Amerikyn Ćendrore z̧e Meksiky. Pyrdorimi i saj si ušćim fiłoi ny Meksiky, z̧e u pyrhap ny ty đişe botyn pas kolonizimit spańoł ty Amerikys. Varietete ty šumta ty saj tani kultivohen đerysišt tašmy, ngańyhery ny seŗa ny klimat e ftohta.

Domatja konsumohet ny mynüra ty ndrüšme, e freskyt, ose si ńy pyrbyrys ny šumy đeły, sałata, salca z̧e ngatyŗesy. Fruti yšty i pasur ny lycopene, će mund te kety efekte ty dobišme pyr šendetin.

Domatja yšty vendase ny zonyn e Amerikys Jugore ćendrore z̧e pjesyn jugore ty Amerikys sy Veriut, zony sot midis vendeve ty Meksikys z̧e Peruse. Azeket e ćuajten aty xitomatl, termi treguar tomat fruta ty ndrüšme ty nđašme me ńyra-tjetryn, zakoništ lyng. Salca e domateve u by ńy pjesy integrale e kužine Azteke. Disa şone se ište ńy domate pyrforcuese, kjo do ty jety arsüeja pse frynđišt ńy hery e pyrškroi aty si pomme d'amour, mołe e dašurisy. Yšty şyny se pas futjes se saj ny Evropy züra e Sir Walter Raleigh kište z̧ene pjeset e kytij plani pyr ty realizuar ny Hernán Cortés u kşüe ny štypi z̧e e čuan mostrave, por kultivimin z̧e špyrndarjen e saj ka pritur deri đüsmyn e düty ty šekułit ty štatymbyz̧jety.

Are you entirely sure you posted this in the right thread? And what language is this anyway? I would say Latvian, but Latvian doesn’t use ⟨đ⟩ or ⟨ü⟩…

Seems to be Albanian. Switch out <y ü š ń đ ž ŗ> for <ë y sh nj dh zh rr>, etc. and it turns out it's the second, third, and most(?) of the eight paragraph of the Albanian Wikipedia article on the tomato.

Thank you! I was trying to figure out what language this was based on Nortaneous’s description, but I never thought of Albanian.

[dɮ the phoneme]

word-initial 'ndr' cluster in a European language gives it away

[Nortaneous]

word-initial 'ndr' cluster in a European language gives it away

word-initial ndr also exists in Central Romance, just not standard Italian - but does it co-occur with front rounded vowels and final consonants?

[Birdlang]

Ok here’s Pigeonese
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/p b t d k g q ʔ/
/ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ/
/ts dz tʃ dʒ tɕ dʑ/
/ɾ/
/r r̝/
/l ʎ/
/j ɥ w ɰ/
/ɬ/

/i iː ʉ ʉː u uː ʊ ʊː e eː ø øː o oː ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː a aː/
/ʊi̯ ʊːi̯/

[bradrn]

Pigeonese:

/m n ɲ ŋ/ ⟨m n ń ŋ⟩
/p b t d k g q ʔ/ ⟨p b t d k g q ʔ⟩
/ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ/ ⟨ƒ ʋ f v ṯ ḏ s z š ž ś ź x ɣ x̌ ǧ ħ ǥ h ẖ⟩
/ts dz tʃ dʒ tɕ dʑ/ ⟨c ʒ č ǯ ć ʒ́⟩
/ɾ/ ⟨ṛ⟩
/r r̝/ ⟨r ř⟩
/l ʎ/ ⟨l ľ⟩
/j ɥ w ɰ/ ⟨y ẏ w ẇ⟩
/ɬ/ ⟨ł⟩


/i ʉ u ʊ e ø o ɛ ɔ a/ ⟨i ü u ũ e ö o ɛ ɔ a⟩
Long vowels are represented by doubling: ⟨ii üü uu etc.⟩
/ʊi̯ ʊːi̯/ ⟨ui uui⟩

[Nortaneous]

A revised and newly endorsed romanization of Mandarin:

马铃薯一名最早见于康熙年间的松溪县县志。中国东北称土豆，华北称山药蛋，中國西北、云南等地称洋芋，天津称塞豆，江浙一带称洋番芋、洋山芋、洋芋艿或芋艿，广东及香港称之为薯仔，闽东地区则称之为番仔薯。在台灣、马来西亚、新加坡稱為馬鈴薯或荷蘭薯。

Ṃ̌lj́̃̃xv̌ j̄ mj́̃̃ zvj̀ẓ́v gj̣̀̃jv́ ḳ̄̃̃s̄ nj̣́̃gj̣̄̃ d̤ ſṿ̄̃̃ ſj̄ ſj̣̀̃ ſj̣̀̃ʒ̀. Ʒv̤̄̃̃gv̤́ dv̤̄̃̃b̤̌j ç̤̄̃̃ tv̌d̤̀v, hṿ́b̤̌j ç̤̄̃̃ x̣̄̃j̣̀v ḍ̀̃, ʒ̤̄̃̃gv̤́ ſj̄b̤̌j, jv́̃ṇ́̃ ḍ̌̃̃ dj̀ ç̤̄̃̃ j̣́̃̃jv̀, tj̣̄̃gj̄̃ ç̤̄̃̃ ſ̣̄j d̤̀v, gj̣̄ʒ̤̀ j̄ḍ̀j ç̄̃̃ j̣́̃̃ f̤̄̃ jv̀, j́̃̃ x̣̄̃jv̀, j̣́̃̃ jv̀ṇ̌j hv̤̀ jv̀ṇ̌j, gṿ̌̃̃dṿ̌̃̃dv̤̄̃̃ gj́ ſj̣̄̃̃ǧ̣̃̃ ç̤̄̃̃ ʒ̄ v̤̀j xv̌ž, mǰn dv̤̄̃̃ dj̀kjv̄ ź̤ ç̤̄̃̃ ʒ̄ v̀j f̣̄̃ ž xv̌. Ẓ̀j ṭ́jṿ̄̃, ṃ̌ḷ́jſj̄j̣̀, ſj̄̃gj̣̄p̤̄ ç̤̄̃̃ v́j ṃ̌lj́̃̃xv̌ hv̤̀ h̤́ḷ́̃ xv̌.

[bradrn]

A revised and newly endorsed romanization of Mandarin:

马铃薯一名最早见于康熙年间的松溪县县志。中国东北称土豆，华北称山药蛋，中國西北、云南等地称洋芋，天津称塞豆，江浙一带称洋番芋、洋山芋、洋芋艿或芋艿，广东及香港称之为薯仔，闽东地区则称之为番仔薯。在台灣、马来西亚、新加坡稱為馬鈴薯或荷蘭薯。

Ṃ̌lj́̃̃xv̌ j̄ mj́̃̃ zvj̀ẓ́v gj̣̀̃jv́ ḳ̄̃̃s̄ nj̣́̃gj̣̄̃ d̤ ſṿ̄̃̃ ſj̄ ſj̣̀̃ ſj̣̀̃ʒ̀. Ʒv̤̄̃̃gv̤́ dv̤̄̃̃b̤̌j ç̤̄̃̃ tv̌d̤̀v, hṿ́b̤̌j ç̤̄̃̃ x̣̄̃j̣̀v ḍ̀̃, ʒ̤̄̃̃gv̤́ ſj̄b̤̌j, jv́̃ṇ́̃ ḍ̌̃̃ dj̀ ç̤̄̃̃ j̣́̃̃jv̀, tj̣̄̃gj̄̃ ç̤̄̃̃ ſ̣̄j d̤̀v, gj̣̄ʒ̤̀ j̄ḍ̀j ç̄̃̃ j̣́̃̃ f̤̄̃ jv̀, j́̃̃ x̣̄̃jv̀, j̣́̃̃ jv̀ṇ̌j hv̤̀ jv̀ṇ̌j, gṿ̌̃̃dṿ̌̃̃dv̤̄̃̃ gj́ ſj̣̄̃̃ǧ̣̃̃ ç̤̄̃̃ ʒ̄ v̤̀j xv̌ž, mǰn dv̤̄̃̃ dj̀kjv̄ ź̤ ç̤̄̃̃ ʒ̄ v̀j f̣̄̃ ž xv̌. Ẓ̀j ṭ́jṿ̄̃, ṃ̌ḷ́jſj̄j̣̀, ſj̄̃gj̣̄p̤̄ ç̤̄̃̃ v́j ṃ̌lj́̃̃xv̌ hv̤̀ h̤́ḷ́̃ xv̌.

Ow! My eyes! My eyes! But on the other hand, I would be really interested in seeing a description of this romanization…

(Seriously, though. I didn’t even know that you could stack tildes! And I’m very, very impressed that you managed to romanize Standard Mandarin — a famously vowel-heavy language — using not a single vowel grapheme!)

[Nortaneous]

Ow! My eyes! My eyes! But on the other hand, I would be really interested in seeing a description of this romanization…

(Seriously, though. I didn’t even know that you could stack tildes! And I’m very, very impressed that you managed to romanize Standard Mandarin — a famously vowel-heavy language — using not a single vowel grapheme!)

Initials:
/pʰ p tʰ t kʰ k/ <p b t d k g>
/tsʰ ts tʂʰ tʂ tɕʰ tɕ/ <c z ç ʒ k g>
/f s ʂ ɕ x/ <f s x s h>
/m n/ <m n>
/l ʐ/ <l r>

Prevowels: /j w/ <j v>, or /jw/ <jv>

Vowels: /a ə/ <C̣ C̤>
For syllables written with multiple base letters, vowel diacritics go on the base immediately preceding the vowel:
sj̤v /sjəw/ xiu
sjv̤ /sjwə/ xue

Postvowels: /j w/ <j v>

Codas: /n ŋ r/ <Ṽ Ṽ̃ V˞>

Tones are as in Pinyin. For syllables written with multiple base letters, tones go as far to the right as possible.

ʒ̄ = ʒ + V̄ ̩ =/tʂ∅1/ = zhī
ç̤̄̃̃ = ç + C̤ + Ṽ̃ + V̄ = /tʂʰəŋ1/ = chēng
ſj̄̃gj̣̄p̤̄ = ſj̄̃ + gj̣̄ + p̤̄ = /sj∅n1-gja1-pe1/ = Xīnjiāpō
ṃ̌lj́̃̃xv̌ = ṃ̌+ lj́̃̃ + xv̌ = /ma3-lj∅ŋ2-ʂw∅3/ = mǎlíngshǔ

The syllable er is written r˞ as if it were /ʐ∅r/, e.g. r˞́hṿ̀ = érhuà

[bradrn]

Vowels: /a ə/ <C̣ C̤>

Codas: /n ŋ r/ <Ṽ Ṽ̃ V˞>

This is a pretty unusual approach — I believe this would make your romanization a sort of reverse abugida rather than an alphabet (like Pahawh Hmong).

EDIT: Sorry, this is wrong — the romanization is actually a normal abugida, not a ‘reverse’ one

[Nortaneous]

Vowels: /a ə/ <C̣ C̤>

Codas: /n ŋ r/ <Ṽ Ṽ̃ V˞>

This is a pretty unusual approach — I believe this would make your romanization a sort of reverse abugida rather than an alphabet (like Pahawh Hmong).

things you can technically do when there are only two vowels, although for Ubykh it would be better to zero-mark /a/ and mark absence of a vowel

faaχʲa tʼqʷʼa-kʷabʒa kʲʼaʁə-n a-za-χʲa-ʃə-na-n a-mʁʲa-n ɡʲə-kʲa-qʼa-n || a-f-awtə-nə mʁʲawəf a-χʷada-awtə-n a-kʲʼa-na-n a-za-n fatɕʼ-aala ɕʷəbˤa-aala χʷada-qʼa

fḥx́ ṭʼq̊ʼk̊ḅž ḱʼʁ̤ṇ żx́š̤nṇ ṃ̇ʁ́ṇ ǵ̤ḱqʼṇ. ḟwt̤n̤ ṃʁ́w̤f̣ x̊̇d̊ẉt̤ṇ ḱ̇ʼnṇ żṇ fćʼhl s̤̊́b̴hḷ x̊dqʼ.

it would be better if it could be made more featural, but one runs out of places to put diacritics

[bradrn]

I’m wondering how everyone will romanize this phonology:

/m n ɲ ŋ/
/p t k q ʔ/
/pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ/
/b d g ɢ/
/ts tʂ tʃ tɕ kx qχ/
/tsʼ tʂʼ tʃʼ tɕʼ kxʼ qχʼ/
/dz dʐ dʒ dʑ gɣ ɢʁ/
/f s ʂ ʃ ɕ x χ ħ h/
/v z ʐ ʒ ʑ ɣ ʁ ʕ/
/r ɻ j w l ʎ/

/i ɨ u ɪ ʊ e ə o æ ɐ ɑ/

EDIT: A sample text, as suggested by Darren:
/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/

[Darren]

I’m wondering how everyone will romanize this phonology:

/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n jn qn>
/p t k q ʔ/ <p t k qk 7>
/pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ/ <p7 t7 k7 qk7>
/b d g ɢ/ <b d g qg>
/ts tʂ tʃ tɕ kx qχ/ <ts rts cts jts kx qkx>
/tsʼ tʂʼ tʃʼ tɕʼ kxʼ qχʼ/ <ts7 rts7 cts7 jts7 kx7 qkx7>
/dz dʐ dʒ dʑ gɣ ɢʁ/ <dz rdz cdz jdz g8 qg8>
/f s ʂ ʃ ɕ x χ ħ h/ <f s rs cs js x qx 5h h>
/v z ʐ ʒ ʑ ɣ ʁ ʕ/ <v z rz cz jz 8 q8 58>
/r ɻ j w l ʎ/ <r rr ii uu l jl>

/i ɨ u ɪ ʊ e ə o æ ɐ ɑ/ <i 1 u 3 0 e 6 o 4 a 9>

Explanation:
<r- c- j- q- 5-> represent retroflexion, postalveolarisation, alveolo-palatalisation, uvularness (velarness for /ŋ/) and pharyngealness respectively.
<-7> represents glottalisation
the numbers <1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0> are used because they are similar to <i e a ʕ ə ʔ ɣ ɑ o>
doubled <ii uu> are taken from some romanisations of Avestan (I think?)

This way, only 35 symbols, all occurring on most keyboards, are used to romanise 69 sounds in a completely logical and aesthetically pleasing way.

A random text:
/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k71jn2jdz qg8158eqkx7ol4 rdz0 5h6uuojzuqg rdz0 qk71589qkx7aiie

[bradrn]

This way, only 35 symbols, all occurring on most keyboards, are used to romanise 69 sounds in a completely logical and aesthetically pleasing way.

Logical, yes, but I’m not sure how aesthetic I think it is…

A random text:
/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k71jn2jdz qg8158eqkx7ol4 rdz0 5h6uuojzuqg rdz0 qk71589qkx7aiie

Thanks for coming up with this! Would you mind if I added it to my original post as a sample text?

[Darren]

This way, only 35 symbols, all occurring on most keyboards, are used to romanise 69 sounds in a completely logical and aesthetically pleasing way.

Logical, yes, but I’m not sure how aesthetic I think it is…

I was sort of joking, although I actually do like the result.

A random text:
/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k71jn2jdz qg8158eqkx7ol4 rdz0 5h6uuojzuqg rdz0 qk71589qkx7aiie

Thanks for coming up with this! Would you mind if I added it to my original post as a sample text?

Of course not, go ahead!

[bradrn]

A random text:
/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k71jn2jdz qg8158eqkx7ol4 rdz0 5h6uuojzuqg rdz0 qk71589qkx7aiie

Thanks for coming up with this! Would you mind if I added it to my original post as a sample text?

Of course not, go ahead!

Thanks! Done now.

[Nortaneous]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ny ng>
/p t k q ʔ/ <p t k q '>
/pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ/ <p' t' k' q'>
/b d g ɢ/ <b d g gg>
/ts tʂ tʃ tɕ kx qχ/ <c cr ch cy kh qh>
/tsʼ tʂʼ tʃʼ tɕʼ kxʼ qχʼ/ <c' cr' ch' cy' kh' qh'>
/dz dʐ dʒ dʑ gɣ ɢʁ/ <dz dr dzh dy gk qq>
/f s ʂ ʃ ɕ x χ ħ h/ <f s sr sh sy x xh hh h>
/v z ʐ ʒ ʑ ɣ ʁ ʕ/ <v z zr zh zy gh jh j>
/r ɻ j w l ʎ/ <rr r y w l ly>

/i ɨ u ɪ ʊ e ə o æ ɐ ɑ/ <ii û uu i u e ô o aa a â>

/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k'ûnyâdy qqûjeqh'olaa dru hhôwozyugg dru q'ûjâqh'aye

[Travis B.]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ny ng>
/p t k q ʔ/ <p t k q '>
/pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ/ <p' t' k' q'>
/b d g ɢ/ <b d g gg>
/ts tʂ tʃ tɕ kx qχ/ <c cr ch cy kh qh>
/tsʼ tʂʼ tʃʼ tɕʼ kxʼ qχʼ/ <c' cr' ch' cy' kh' qh'>
/dz dʐ dʒ dʑ gɣ ɢʁ/ <dz dr dzh dy gk qq>
/f s ʂ ʃ ɕ x χ ħ h/ <f s sr sh sy x xh hh h>
/v z ʐ ʒ ʑ ɣ ʁ ʕ/ <v z zr zh zy gh jh j>
/r ɻ j w l ʎ/ <rr r y w l ly>

/i ɨ u ɪ ʊ e ə o æ ɐ ɑ/ <ii û uu i u e ô o aa a â>

/kʼɨɲɑdʑ ɢʁɨʕeqχʼolæ dʐʊ ħəwoʑuɢ dʐʊ qʼɨʕɑqχʼɐje/
k'ûnyâdy qqûjeqh'olaa dru hhôwozyugg dru q'ûjâqh'aye

Somehow I prefer the aesthetic of this orthography over most of yours...