Forum:Pronunciation guides in articles

Hope this works. . . haven't tried this before. I was wondering what you guys think of adding pronunciation guides in articles. Wikipedia has them on many pages, and I often find them extremely useful. I'm thinking especially of all the awkward moments at conventions where people mispronounce Nana Visitor's first name. I was thinking IPA (international phonetic alphabet) transcriptions and a more recognizable 'phonetic spelling' system if we can agree on one (I'd vote for the pseudo-IPA used by dictionaries like Merriam-Webster over the "nuh-NAW" type, though I still prefer IPA over either). I'm a linguistics major, so I'm willing to go through and add it to the words/names I figure are most likely to be mispronounced. For those with multiple pronunciations e.g. Bajor we can list the variations.

Discuss!

-- Lt. Lettuce 07:03, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't particularly see a problem with this in real world articles, but the in universe stuff might be another manner. At the very least, this could be addressed in the background section. - 09:07, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * I think that's a pretty good idea, if you're willing to implement it. As Archduk3 said, it would have to be in the background section of in-universe articles (like Bajor) so as to respect our point of view.


 * I did a quick search of the database (for the word "pronounced"), and quite a few articles already have informal guides. These would be a good place to start if the community approves this idea. For example: Robert Picard, Raktajino, MACO, Bendii Syndrome, George Takei, Kahless the Unforgettable, Pergium (see the article), William Ware Theiss (there was a forum question about his surname). –Cleanse ( talk 09:20, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * Remember that the TNG and DS9 scripts had limited pronunciation guides contained within. Of course, I'm not entirely sure if they were internally consistent with one another... -- sulfur 10:13, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * What would be the problem with adding such information to the in-universe part of articles? The in-universe characters did pronounce words one way or another, after all. If we start adding pronounciation guides (wherever), it should definitely be full IPA, though - and not some crazy scheme like the mentioned "nuh-NAW" (which would always depend on the dialect of the person transcribing the pronounciation). -- Cid Highwind 11:40, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh, I was just concerned that something like: Bajor (IPA TRANSCRIPTION) would suggest that IPA was established in canon as some kind of galactic standard. ;-) Sure, the characters said the name, but no one ever said that's the right way to transcribe it.


 * It doesn't really matter if we have a consistent standard. I could accept an IPA transcription as a (small) break from the in-universe POV analogous to the citations. A few words added to MA:POV and problem solved. –Cleanse ( talk 12:35, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * My only issue here is... if we use the script pronunciations, they're not in IPA format, but 'nuh-NAW' format. If we put the IPA in the main text, we should list the script version (if any) in BG text, especially if:
 * a) there are multiple pronunciations across different scripts
 * b) the script pronunciation is not the same as what ended up on screen
 * Make sense? -- sulfur 13:03, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * Makes sense. On the other hand, though, the problem with the non-IPA format is that it is subjective in regards to both the person trying to transcribe the sound as well as the person trying to recreate it from the transcription. For example, what is the final sound of "nuh-NAW" supposed to be? It could be IPA [...v] (similar to the start of "very"), or it could be IPA [...w] (similar to "weep") - perhaps even IPA [...&#653;] or [...f] if spoken with a dialect or by non-english speakers.
 * The non-IPA format might be a good enough clue for the actors (and could be added as background info, as you suggest), but should not be used as the "official" pronounciation hint. -- Cid Highwind 15:51, July 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * Addition: If we decide that we want to allow a pronunciation guide in the main text, it should be done using a template: Captain Bla ... . That way, we could more easily move the info if we later decide that a different location (perhaps in a right-floating box instead of in the main text) is better. -- Cid Highwind 16:45, July 27, 2011 (UTC)