README.md

SpeechWriting (Mundbildschrift)

Invented by: Stefan Wöhrmann

Mundbildschrift is a phonetic notation system designed to assist in the articulation training of deaf children. It assigns specific symbols to different sounds of the German language. The system focuses less on spelling accuracy and more on the association of graphemes with sound patterns to facilitate the identification of specific mouth shapes. This also helps in developing specialized word lists for educational purposes.

Standards

• 2002: https://www.gebaerdenschrift.de/read/Mundbilder/uebersicht_mundbilder.htm
• 2010: https://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs7/sw0642_%DCbersicht_Symbole_der_Mundbildschrift_2010.pdf
• 2014: https://www.signwriting.org/symposium/archive/sws0002_05_Overview_of_Symbols_in_Mundbildschrift_Juli_2014.pdf

@inproceedings{2014SpellingRF,
  title={Spelling rules for Mundbilder in SignWriting documents},
  author={Stefan W{\o}hrmann},
  year={2014},
  url={https://www.signwriting.org/symposium/archive/sws0002_02_Mundbilder_in_SignWriting_and_Spelling_rules.pdf}
}

Help Wanted!

Find anything wrong or missing? Please help improve this resource by submitting a PR or opening an issue!

• The Grapheme, Example, and Description columns were populated from the PDFs above without validation.
• The Writing column was populated by Amit, as close as possible to the standard, but is not always accurate.
• The Instruction column was generated by ChatGPT (gpt-4o), and may be inaccurate or incomplete. (Do you know of a formal IPA )

Table

IPA	SpeechWriting	SignWriting	Grapheme	Example	Description	Instruction
ɑː			a, aa, ah	Aal, Abend, Bahn	long „a” as in „bar” – or „calm”	Open your mouth wide, keep your tongue low and flat, and voice.
ʌ / a / æ			a	Salz, Wand, Mann	short „u” as in Southern English „but”	Keep your tongue in the center of your mouth, slightly raised, with your mouth open and lips relaxed while voicing.
ɛː			ä, äh	Käse, spät, Nähmaschine, Fähre, Mähne	long as in „air“	Raise the front of your tongue high in the mouth, spread your lips slightly, and voice.
ɛ / e			e, ä	essen, Bett, Eltern, Äste	short „e” as in „bet” or „get“	Place your tongue mid-high in the mouth, open your mouth slightly, and voice.
b			b, bb	Boot, Ebbe, Banane, braun, aber	as in English „bed”	Press your lips together, build up pressure, then release while voicing.
ç			ch – nach e, i, ä, ö, ü, eu, äu, l,n,r, ei, „ig“ am Wortende	ich, Teich, euch, Elch, Männchen, echt, nächste, möchte, Storch	Imagine saying the English word „humor“ but breath with the tip of the tongue touching the back of the lower front teeth.	Raise the middle of your tongue close to the hard palate, and push air through without vibrating the vocal cords.
x			ch nach „a“, „o“, „u“ und „au“	acht, Tochter, Bauch, Buch, tauchen, Krach	Imagine the rasping guttural sound made in the back of your throat before you spit.	Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate, and push air through without vibrating the vocal cords.
d			d, dd	Dose, Paddel, das, dumm	same as its English equivalent „d”	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, build up pressure, then release while voicing.
d͡ʒ / ʤ			Dsch	Dschungel	judge	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, then release it while simultaneously voicing and passing air through a narrow gap.
eː			e, ee, eh	Esel, Schnee, Mehl	long „e” similar to „a” in Northern English „gate”	Raise the front of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, keep your lips unrounded, and voice.
ə			e	Silbe, Hilfe, eine, kostet, Nadel, Nagel	like the final syllable of the English word „brother”	Keep your tongue in the middle of your mouth, mouth slightly open, and lips relaxed while voicing.
f			f, ff, v	Fisch, Affe, fragen, Vater, voll, frisch	as „f“ in „fun“	Press your bottom lip against your upper teeth, and push air through without vibrating the vocal cords.
ɡ			g, gg	gut, Gras, Gurke, Bagger	like the „g“ in the English word „good“ or „go“	Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate, build up pressure, then release while voicing.
ʒ			g, j	Garage, Jalousie	like „sh“ but with voice	Raise the front of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, round your lips slightly, and voice.
h			H, h	Haus, Hund,hallo, heute	house, he, hat	Push air from your lungs through your open vocal tract without vibrating the vocal cords.
iː			i, ie, ih, ieh	Igel, Tier, ihm, Vieh	long „ee” as in „bee” or „teeth”	Raise the front of your tongue high and close to the roof of your mouth, keep your lips unrounded, and voice.
ɪ / i			i	ich, Milch, wichtig	short „i“ as in „fit”; never as in „bite”	Raise the front of your tongue high in the mouth, but not as high as for /iː/, keep your lips unrounded, and voice.
j			j, y	Junge, ja, Jo – Jo, Yacht	like the „y“ in the English word „yes”	Raise the middle of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, keep your lips unrounded, and voice.
k			k, ck, kk, c, ch, g	Kind, Zucker, Mokka, Clown, Chaos, Flug, krank, dick, trinken	like the „k“ in English	Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate, build up pressure, then release without voicing.
l			l, ll	Lampe, Ball, lesen, leise, alt	like „l” in „little”	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, and voice.
m			m, mm	Mutter, Maus, Hammer, Nummer, machen	like „m“ as in English „mother“	Press your lips together, let the air pass through your nose, and voice.
n			n, nn	Name, Nase, Hand, Tante, rennen, Kanne, Susanne, nie	like „n“ in „no“ or „name“	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, let the air pass through your nose, and voice.
ŋ			n, ng, nk	Ring, Zange, Junge, Bon, krank, trinken	like the „ng“ sound in the English word „song“ or „long”	Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate, let the air pass through your nose, and voice.
oː / o / ɑ			o, oo, oh	Ofen, Oma, Kohle, Zoo, Krone, groß, Obst	long „o” similar to „go” but with the lips more rounded and more open	Raise the back of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, round your lips, and voice.
ɔ			o	Onkel, offen, Kopf	short „o” as in „stop” or „not”	Lower the back of your tongue, open your mouth, and round your lips slightly while voicing.
øː			ö, öh	König, Löwe, blöd, Öl	similar to „eu” in French „peu”; long, say a long e and purse your lips	Raise the front of your tongue high in the mouth, round your lips tightly, and voice.
œ			ö	Öffnung, östlich	short, cross between „i” in „dirt” and „eu” in French „peu”	Raise the front of your tongue mid-high in the mouth, round your lips moderately, and voice.
ɔː					call, four, saw	Lower the back of your tongue, open your mouth wide, and round your lips while voicing.
p			p (b - am Silbenende, oder vor s oder vor t )	Papa, Puppe, pusten, ab, Obst, Bobtail	like „p“ in „Paula“	Press your lips together, build up pressure, then release without voicing.
p͡f			pf	Pfanne, Pfeffer, Pfau	like „pf“ in „upfront“	Press your lips together, build up pressure, then release while simultaneously bringing your bottom lip close to your upper teeth, and push air through.
r			r, rr, rh	Raupe, Karre, Rhabarber, rudern, rot	„rrr” as if the speaker were gargling (there is another „r” produced with the tip of the tongue)	Raise the back of your tongue close to the soft palate and make it vibrate while voicing.
ɹ			r	run, red, car	like the „r” in „run” or „red”	Raise the tip of your tongue close to the ridge behind your upper front teeth without touching, keep your lips slightly rounded, and voice.
z			s	Saft, Rasen, Riese, Rose	like an English „z”	Place the tip of your tongue close to the ridge behind your upper front teeth, and push air through while voicing.
s			s, ss, ß, c	Glas, Klasse, groß, City, Bus, muss, Wasser	like an English „s”	Place the tip of your tongue close to the ridge behind your upper front teeth, and push air through without voicing.
ʃ			sch s(t), s(p), sh, ch	Schule, Stein, Spinne, Shampoo, Chance	like the „sh” at the beginning of „show” or „short”	Raise the front of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, round your lips, and push air through without voicing.
ð			th	the, mother, father, with	like the „th” in „this” or „mother”	Place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth, and push air through while voicing.
θ			th	three, youth, club, month	like the „th” in „think” or „both”	Place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth, and push air through without voicing.
t			t, tt, th, dt, d	Tasse, Ratte, Theater, Stadt, Wand, Hund, turnen, tot, traurig	same as in English „Tom“	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, build up pressure, then release without voicing.
tʃ / ʧ			tsch, ch	klatschen, Tschüs,knutschen	like „ch” in „church”	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, then release it while simultaneously pushing air through a narrow gap.
uː / w			u, uh	Buch, Tube, Huhn, Stuhl	long „oo” as in „boot” with the lips much more rounded	Raise the back of your tongue high in the mouth, round your lips tightly, and voice.
ʊ / u			u	Hund, Stunde, Unfall	short „o“ like in „foot” or „push”	Raise the back of your tongue high in the mouth, round your lips moderately, and voice.
yː			ü, üh, y	Gefühl, Kühltruhe, üben, Mühe, Mühle	try to say a long German „ie“ sound and then purse your lips	Raise the front of your tongue high in the mouth, round your lips tightly, and voice.
y			ü	Glück, zurück, Küste, dünn, Mücke	short, like „u“ in French „une“ or English „dune“, but with lips pressed much closer together	Raise the front of your tongue high in the mouth, round your lips tightly, and voice.
v			w, v	Wand, Wüste, wohnen, abwaschen, weit, Vase	like „v“ in „very“, not English „w“	Press your bottom lip against your upper teeth, and push air through while voicing.
ks			x, ks, gs, chs, cks	Wachs, Taxi, Ochse, werktags, Luchs, Text, Knacks	like the „x“ in the English word „oxen“ as a „ks” sound	Make a /k/ sound followed immediately by an /s/ sound.
t͡s			z, tz, zz, ts, ds	Zahn, Katze, Pizza, Rätsel, Schiedsrichter	like the „ts“ sound in the English words „lots” and „cats” (tsetse)	Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth, then release it while simultaneously pushing air through a narrow gap.
a͡ʊ			au, ao	Auto, Stau, laut, Haus, Kakao	„ow” as in English „cow” but in a more brief and clipped manner	Start with your tongue low and your mouth open, then move your tongue upward and close your lips into a rounded shape while voicing.
ɔ͡ø			äu, eu, oi	Feuer, Eule, Gebäude, aufräumen, Konvoi	„oy“ as in English „toy“	Start with your tongue low and your lips rounded, then move your tongue upward and forward while rounding your lips tighter.
a͡ɪ			ei, ai, ay, ey, eih	Hai, Eimer, leise, Meyer, Reihe, Karl May	English „i“ as in „high“ or „mine”	Start with your tongue low and your mouth open, then move your tongue upward and close your lips into a slight smile while voicing.