A pronunciation respelling is a regular phonetic respelling of a word that has a standard spelling but whose pronunciation according to that spelling may be ambiguous, which is used to indicate the pronunciation of that word. Pronunciation respellings are sometimes seen in word dictionaries. The term should not be confused with pronunciation spelling which is an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' spelling of a word that has no standard spelling. Most of these are

nonce word A nonce word (also called an occasionalism) is a lexeme created for a single occasion to solve an immediate problem of communication.''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English Language''. Ed. David Crystal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ...

s though some have achieved a certain amount of standardization, e.g., the informal use of the word '' gonna'' to represent the pronunciation of ''going to.''

Respelling

Pronunciation spellings may be used informally to indicate the pronunciation of foreign words or those whose spelling is irregular or insufficient for the reader to deduce the pronunciation. In such cases,

typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are list of type ...

punctuation Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...

letter case Letter case is the distinction between the Letter (alphabet), letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain lang ...

may also be used, e.g., to indicate

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

or syllabication of the word. For example: This offers a sometimes intuitive alternative to systems like the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...

, which offers precise descriptions but must be learned. For example: However, respelling relies on the writer's encoded mapping to the same

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...

s as the reader's; e.g. might be adequate for certain

non-rhotic Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic varieti ...

readers but not rhotic ones.
Unlike the IPA, respelling systems are often specific to the works in which they appear. The English language Wikipedia, for example, has its own respelling system (available at ) which may or may not match that used on other Wikipedias or in other contexts.

Literary dialect

Pronunciation spellings are sometimes used in narratives to represent

nonstandard dialect A nonstandard dialect or vernacular dialect is a dialect or language variety that has not historically benefited from the institutional support or sanction that a standard dialect has. Like any dialect, a nonstandard dialect has an internally co ...

s or

idiolect Idiolect is an individual's unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This differs from a dialect, a common set of linguistic characteristics shared among a group of people. Th ...

s to create an impression of backwardness or

illiteracy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

in the speaker. This is called literary dialect, often called eye dialect, though the latter term used to be applied only if the resulting pronunciation is the same as the standard one. For example: {{block indent, "Pleez, mistur," said the beggar.

Other uses

Pronunciation spellings as deliberate misspellings may be used for humorous effect. The origin of the word

okay ''OK'' (spelling variations include ''okay'', ''O.K.'', ''ok'' and ''Ok'') is an English word (originating in American English) denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference. ''OK'' is frequently ...

is disputed, but the most common view is that it derives from "

Oll Korrect ''OK'' (spelling variations include ''okay'', ''O.K.'', ''ok'' and ''Ok'') is an English word (originating in American English) denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference. ''OK'' is frequently ...

", an 1830s comical spelling of "All Correct". Such spellings may also be used for

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ing, e.g., "

Lite Lite may refer to: Food and drugs *Diet food, food or beverage that is part of a weight loss program or diet *Diet soda, a version of soda pop *Low-alcohol beer, beer with little or no alcohol content **Miller Lite, a brand of light beer *Lights ...

" foods,

Froot Loops Froot Loops is a brand of sweetened, fruit-flavored breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg's. The cereal is sold in many different countries. The cereal pieces are ring-shaped (hence "loops") and come in a variety of bright colors and fruit fl ...

. See also

sensational spelling Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect. Branding Sensational spellings are common in advertising and product placement. In particular, brand names such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (''cri ...

References

* Bowdre, Paul H., Jr. (1971). Eye dialect as a literary device. In J. V. Williamson & V. M. Burke (Eds.), ''A various language'' (pp. 178–179). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. * Fine, Elizabeth. (1983). In defense of literary dialect: A response to Dennis R. Preston. ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''96'' (381), 323-330. * Ives, Sumner. (1950). A theory of literary dialect. ''Tulane Studies in English'', ''2'', 137-182. * Ives, Sumner. (1971). A theory of literary dialect. In J. V. Williamson & V. M. Burke (Eds.), ''A various language'' (pp. 145–177). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. * Krapp, George P. (1926). The psychology of dialect writing. ''The Bookman'', ''6'', 522-527. * Preston, Dennis R. (1982). Ritin' fowklower daun 'rong: Folklorists' failures in phonology. ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''95'' (377), 304-326. * Preston, Dennis R. (1983). Mowr bayud spellin': A reply to Fine. ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''96'' (381), 330-339. * Preston, Dennis R. (1985). The Li'l Abner syndrome: Written representations of speech. ''American Speech'', ''60'' (4), 328-336.

External links

Vivian Cook's page of common eye dialect
Phonetics Nonstandard spelling Linguistic error