The Conlang X-SAMPA (CXS) transcription scheme is documented by
Henrik Theiling. It is used on the conlang mailing list for transcribing
the pronunciation of conlangs, but can be used outside that domain. CXS
derives from X-SAMPA, making various incompatible changes to X-SAMPA
with the intention of making it easier to read by choosing some
representations that are closer to the IPA symbols.
This document uses a set of phoneme features based on the features
originally developed by Evan Kirshenbaum. These features are described
in the phonemes document.
The _ character is used as a tie bar to join two
phonemes, as well as the first character in several diacritics. It can
be used for affricates and double articulations. The _^
non-syllabic marker can be used for the second vowel in diphthongs.
The ) character is used by CXS as an alternative tie bar
that is placed after the second phoneme. This is preferred by CXS as it
does not clash with any diacritics. For example, ts) is an
affricate and ts is a consonant cluster of t
followed by s.
The X-SAMPA - character to differentiate between
affricates, double articulations, and diphthongs such as ts
and consonant clusters such as t-s is not supported in
CXS.
foncxs and fonkirsh are private use
extensions defined in the bcp47-extensions
file, so have the x- private use specifier before their
subtag names.
Consonants
blb
lbd
dnt
alv
pla
rfx
alp
pal
vel
uvl
phr
glt
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
nas
m
F
n
n`
J
N
N\
stp
p
b
t
d
t`
d`
c
J\
k
g
q
G\
>\
?
sibafr
afr
latafr
sibfrc
s
z
S
Z
s`
z`
s\
z\
frc
p\
B
f
v
T
D
C
j\
x
G
X
R
h
h\
latfrc
K
K\
apr
P
r\
r\`
j
M\
latapr
l
l`
L
L\
flp
4
r`
latflp
l\
trl
B\
r
R\
H\
<\
clk
O\
|\
!\
!\`
=\
latclk
|\|\
imp
b_<
d_<
J\_<
g_<
G\
ejc
p_>
t_>
t`_>
c_>
k_>
q_>
>\_>
ejcfrc
f_>
T_>
s_>
S_>
s`_>
x_>
X_>
latejcfrc
K_>
The X-SAMPA X\ and ?\ are not specified
by CXS. Instead, the H\ and <\ consonants
are transcribed as fricatives and are included in their places.
\v can also be used for the labio-dental approximant
P like in X-SAMPA.
!\` is specific to CXS. It is not listed in the IPA
chart either.
Other Symbols
bld
alv
pla
pal
lbv
vel
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
vls
vcd
nas
stp
afr
vzdfrc
x\
ptrapr
H
W
w
fzdlatapr
5
5 is supported as an alternative to l_e
due to its use in some language- specific SAMPA phoneme sets.
Manner of Articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
ejc
_>
ejective
imp
_<
implosive
Vowels
fnt
cnt
bck
unr
rnd
unr
rnd
unr
rnd
hgh
i
y
i\
u\
M
u
smh
I
Y
I\
U\
U
umd
e
2
@\
8
7
o
mid
@
lmd
E
9
3
3\
V
O
sml
&
6
low
a
&\
A
Q
i\ is in common usage in the conlang mailing list,
but the X-SAMPA 1 transcription is also supported.
In CXS, the following vowels are different to the X-SAMPA
transcriptions: } is replaced by u\,
{ by &, and & by
&\. This makes CXS incompatible with X-SAMPA.
I\ and U\ are not listed in the IPA
chart.
Other Symbols
Symbol
Features
@`
unrmidcntrzdvwl
3`
unrlmdcntrzdvwl
@` and 3` are not explicitly listed in
CXS. The rhoticized diacritic is specified instead.
Diacritics
Articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
lgl
◌_N
linguolabial
idt
interdental
◌_d
dental
apc
◌_a
apical
lmn
◌_m
laminal
◌_+
advanced
◌_-
retracted
◌_"
centralized
mid-centralized
◌_r
raised
◌_l
lowered
The articulations that do not have a corresponding feature name are
recorded using the features of their new location in the consonant or
vowel charts, not using the features of the base phoneme.
Phonation
Feature
Symbol
Name
brv
◌_t
breathy voice
slv
◌_0
slack voice
stv
◌_v
stiff voice
crv
◌_k
creaky voice
glc
?_◌
glottal closure
The IPA _0 diacritic is also used to fill the
vls spaces in the IPA consonant charts. Thus, when
_0 is used with a vcd consonant that does not
have an equivalent vls consonant, the resulting consonant
is vls, not slv.
Rounding and Labialization
Feature
Symbol
Name
ptr
◌_w
protruded
cmp
compressed
The degree of rounding/labialization can be specified using the
following symbols:
Feature
Symbol
Name
mrd
◌_O
more rounded
lrd
◌_c
less rounded
Syllabicity
Feature
Symbol
Name
syl
◌=
syllabic
nsy
◌_^
non-syllabic
Consonant Release
Feature
Symbol
Name
asp
◌_h
aspirated
nrs
◌_n
nasal release
lrs
◌_l
lateral release
unx
◌_}
no audible release (unexploded)
Co-articulation
Feature
Symbol
Name
pzd
◌_j, ◌;
palatalized
vzd
◌_G, ◌_e
velarized
fzd
◌_?\, ◌_e
pharyngealized
nzd
◌~, ◌_~
nasalized
rzd
◌`
rhoticized
CXS does not support using ' for palatalisation as it
conflicts with the primary stress symbol. The ; symbol is
CXS specific.
Tongue Root
The tongue root position can be specified using the following
features:
Feature
Symbol
Name
atr
◌_A
advanced tongue root
rtr
◌_q
retracted tongue root
Suprasegmentals
Stress
Symbol
Name
'◌, "◌
primary stress
"◌, ,◌, %◌
secondary stress
The " primary and % secondary stress
markers are from X-SAMPA. The other symbols are CXS specific.
Length
Feature
Symbol
Name
est
◌_X
extra short
hlg
◌:\
half-long
lng
◌:
long
elg
◌::
extra long
The :: symbol for elg is not listed in
X-SAMPA, but is derived from the transcription for
lng.
Rhythm
Symbol
Name
◌-\◌
linking (no break)
Tones
Symbol
Name
◌_T
extra high tone
◌_H
high tone
◌_M
mid tone
◌_L
low tone
◌_B
extra low tone
!◌
downstep
^◌
upstep
X-SAMPA additionally defines various symbols for contour tones that
can be defined from the composite tone marks.