Phonemic transcription with the DISC alphabet

The DISC phonemic alphabet represents speech sounds by creating a one-to-one mapping between sounds and symbols, much like the IPA. Unlike the IPA, the DISC phonemic alphabet only uses symbols that appear on a standard keyboard.

APLS uses a subset of DISC relevant to North American Englishes. In APLS, we use DISC symbols for phonemic representations of sounds, not phonetic representations. As a result, the APLS subset of DISC doesn’t have symbols for [ɾ] or [ʔ] (flap or glottal stop); in North American Englishes, these surface only as allophones of /t/.

In this document, fixed-width font is used for things you actually type into the transcription program (Elan or Praat).

On this page
  1. DISC consonants
    1. Non-syllabic consonants
    2. Syllabic consonants
  2. DISC vowels
    1. Monophthongs not before /ɹ/
    2. Monophthongs before /ɹ/
    3. Diphthongs
  3. Transcribing words using DISC
  4. Suggesting new dictionary entries
    1. Multiple phonemic representations
    2. Use the speech community’s pronunciation(s)
    3. Syllabification and stress

DISC consonants

Non-syllabic consonants

IPA DISC English DISC
p p pat p{t
b b bad b{d
t t tack t{k
d d dad d{d
k k cad k{d
ɡ g gap g{p
f f fad f{d
v v vat v{t
θ T thin TIn
ð D then DEn
s s sap s{p
z z zap z{p
ʃ S sheep Sip
ʒ Z measure mEZ@r
h h had h{d
tʃ J cheap Jip
dʒ _ jeep _ip
m m mad m{d
n n nat n{t
ŋ N bang b{N
l l lad l{d
ɹ r rad r{d
w w wet wEt
j j yet jEt

Syllabic consonants

IPA DISC English DISC
m̩ F idealism 2dilIzF
n̩ H burden b3rdH
l̩ P dangle d{NgP

DISC vowels

Monophthongs not before /ɹ/

IPA DISC English DISC
i i fleece flis
ɪ I kit kIt
ε E dress drEs
æ { trap tr{p
ɑ Q lot lQt
ɔ $ thought T$t
ʌ V strut strVt
ʊ U foot fUt
u u goose gus
ə @ comma kQm@

Monophthongs before /ɹ/

IPA DISC English DISC
ɪɹ 7r near n7r
εɹ 8r square skw8r
aɹ #r start st#rt
ɝ 3r nurse n3rs
ɔɹ $r force f$rs
ʊɹ 9r cure kj9r
ɚ @r letter lEt@r

Diphthongs

IPA DISC English DISC
eɪ 1 face f1s
aɪ 2 price pr2s
aʊ 6 mouth m6T
ɔɪ 4 choice J4s
oʊ 5 goat g5t

Transcribing words using DISC

As noted above, DISC transcription is phonemic rather than phonetic. Here are some other things to note:

  • Monophthongs before /ɹ/ should always be transcribed with the DISC r symbol (see examples above)
    • Exception: the speaker cuts off the word before an /ɹ/ (e.g., cutting off start as sta~[st#]
  • IPA makes a distinction between stressed central vowels /ʌ ɝ/ and unstressed central vowels /ə ɚ/. Similiarly, use DISC V/3r for stressed vowels and @/@r for unstressed vowels
    • Exception: Always use 3r for -burg(h), even if it’s unstressed (e.g., Pittsburghese is pItsb3rgiz not pItsb@rgiz)
  • Use the DISC symbols for syllabic consonants, F/H/P, rather than @m/@n/@l (see examples above)
    • Exception: Don’t use these symbols for onsets (e.g., Panera is p@n8r@, not pH8r@)
  • For word-final high front vowels, use i rather than I (i.e., we assume universal happy-tensing)
  • When /ŋ/ comes before a vowel or syllabic consonant, assume it’s followed by /g/ (e.g., dangle is d{NgP, not d{NP)
  • Don’t forget that nk in English spelling is usually /ŋk/ (DISC Nk) rather than /nk/ (DISC nk)
  • If you have the cot–caught merger in production and/or perception, ask a non-merged friend to help you decide whether to transcribe Q or $.
  • Unstressed vowels can be tricky!
    • For “schwi”, use @ rather than I (e.g., breathless is brETl@s not brETlIs)
    • Same for ‘s after a sibilant (e.g., Lutz’s is lVts@z not lVtsIz)
    • Again, use @ for unstressed mid-central vowels (“schwa”) and @r pre-/ɹ/
  • There’s no [ɾ] (flap) symbol; instead, use t or d as suggested by orthography, even if it doesn’t match the voicing of the surface segment (e.g., Bettis is bEtIs, not bEdIs)

Suggesting new dictionary entries

APLS uses two sources to look up phonemic representations: (1) the Unisyn English dictionary (which is supposed to be a universal English dictionary), and (2) a custom dictionary. Occasionally you’ll run across a word that needs to be added to APLS’s custom dictionary. Most often this will be a Pittsburgh/western PA geographic name (e.g., neighborhoods like Shadyside, municipalities like Sewickley, streets like Baum, schools like Milliones), a brand name (e.g., Highmark, Panera), or a Pittsburgh lexical feature (e.g., redd, gumband). However, there are words that aren’t Pittsburgh-specific that are absent from Unisyn, sometimes unexpectedly; for example, we’ve had to manually add entries for artsy, bachelorette, homie, Kwanzaa, microbrew, stepdad, tarp, and y’all (among others).

If a word falls into one of the preceding categories, it should be added to the APLS dictionary. On the other hand, if a word is unlikely to be used by more than one speaker, it’s better to just use an inline pronounce code.

Everything from the previous sections applies to new words that you suggest for the custom dictionary, plus the following:

  1. If applicable, you can suggest 2+ phonemic representations per word (but this is optional)
  2. Use the speech community’s pronunciation(s)
  3. Add symbols to mark syllabification and stress

Multiple phonemic representations

APLS’s custom dictionary can contain multiple phonemic representations for any given word. For example, the first vowel in Lawrenceville can rhyme with either shore or far ($r or #r). In that case, just suggest the full DISC representation twice: 'l$r-Hs-"vIl or 'l#r-Hs-"vIl.

Keep in mind that these are phonemic representations. This means that we don’t add separate entries that reflect variable phonological processes like consonant cluster deletion. For example, even though Pittsburghers pronounce gumband as both [ˈgʌmbænd] and [ˈgʌmbæn], only 'gVm-b{nd should go in APLS’s custom dictionary.

Use the speech community’s pronunciation(s)

APLS’s dictionary entries should reflect Pittsburgh English speakers’ mental lexicons. That means that if Pittsburgh English speakers have a different mental representation for a word than we’d expect based on the word’s spelling or our experience, APLS’s dictionary needs to include the local phonemic representation. For example, Pittsburghers often pronounce Carnegie as [kɑɹ.ˈneɪ.gi], whereas non-Pittsburghers almost always use [ˈkɑɹ.nə.gi]. In the course of a single transcription, it’s impossible to know whether a particular pronunciation is widespread, so use your best judgment. As mentioned above, you can suggest multiple representations for a word, as long as they’re phonemic representations.

Syllabification and stress

DISC Function
- Syllable boundary
' Primary stress
" Secondary stress

For example, Pennsylvanian is "pEn-sP-'v1n-jH. Stress markers go before any other DISC symbols, but (if applicable) after the syllable boundary. Unstressed syllables get no stress markers.

A few finer points:

  • Every complete word has one primary-stressed syllable. Incomplete words with hesitations might not have a primary-stressed syllable, but the APLS custom dictionary won’t have incomplete words
    • Most words don’t have secondary stress. Compounds often do have secondary stress (e.g., Sandcastle is 's{nd-"k{-sP)
  • Use secondary stress for city-name morphemes -burg(h), -ville, -vale, -dale, -town, etc.
    • Exception: There are derivational affixes that change the stress pattern (e.g., Pittsburgh is 'pIts-"b3rg, but Pittsburghese is "pIts-b3r-'giz)
  • Intervocalic consonants should be syllabified as onsets rather than codas (e.g., Bettis is 'bE-tIs not 'bEt-Is)
    • Exception 1: Intervocalic /ɹ/ should be syllabified as a coda (e.g., Panera is p@-'n8r-@ not p@-'n8-r@)
    • Exception 2: In environments where prevocalic /t/ becomes [ʔ] (e.g., before /n̩/), the /t/ should be syllabified as a coda (e.g., outen is '6t-H not '6-tH)