Template:Respell

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This template formats pronunciation respellings of English words, and links to the respelling key at Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key. It formats stressed syllables with bold, small-cap text. For example, the word perfume is respelled "pər-FEWM"; using this template, the formatting is:

{{respell|pər|FEWM|'}} → pər-FEWM

The formatting is: stressed syllables are in bold small caps, unstressed syllables are in lowercase. All text is in italics, and is wikilinked to the pronunciation key page.

Do not separate every syllable with a pipe: join unstressed syllables with a hyphen, and only use a pipe to separate them from stressed syllables.

How to use

Once you have available the spelling syllables, you can put them in the {{respell}} template. To start with, one syllable per parameter (without dashes) does it. But there are situations, regarding stressing, that require more attention.

1. The template accepts up to seven syllables (parameters), separated by a pipe ("|"). The pipes are automatically replaced by hyphens, and they alternate the stressing: {{Respell|1|2|3|4|5|6|7}} → 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. If more parameters (syllables) are needed, just use two templates.

2. When unstressed syllables follow one another (– . . .), they need to be hyphenated together in a single parameter:

{{Respell|AL|gə-ridh-əm}} → AL-gə-ridh-əm (algorithm)

3. Stressed syllables are counted from the last syllable backwards: the second-last, fourth-last, and sixth-last parameters are formatted as stressed. The other parameters are unstressed (. – .– . – .):

{{Respell|ə|RAK|nə|FOH|bee-ə}} → ə-RAK-nə-FOH-bee-ə (arachnophobia)

4. When the final syllable is stressed (. –), one needs to add an extra apostrophe parameter:

{{Respell|pər|FEWM|'}} → pər-FEWM (perfume)

5. Case in the input does not change the displayed result, but if the input case does not match the displayed case, the page will be added to Category:Articles with Respell issues in case this indicates an error:

{{Respell|ə|rak|nə|foh|bee-ə}} → ə-RAK-nə-FOH-bee-ə

{{Respell|Ə|RAK|NƏ|FOH|BEE-Ə}} → ə-RAK-nə-FOH-bee-ə

{{Respell|ə|RAK|nə|FOH|bee-ə}} → ə-RAK-nə-FOH-bee-ə (correct, no issue categorisation)

Where to use

On Wikipedia, respelling is most commonly used to clarify the pronunciation of a name or topic in the lead section or introductory paragraph. Per the Manual of Style, respelling should follow the International Phonetic Alphabet, and never be used in place of it. The template provides a link to the key so that readers may easily look up how to pronounce the word. For example:

Worcestershire (how to say: /ˈwʊstərʃər/ WUUS-tər-shər) is a county located in central England.

'''Worcestershire''' ({{IPA-en|ˈwʊstərʃər|pron}} {{Respell|WUUS|tər-shər}}) is a county located in central [[England]].

The respelling key covers only English pronunciation, and should not be used for foreign names or words which have not been assimilated into English. If you need help transcribing the pronunciation into the IPA, please ask at Wikipedia talk:IPA for English.

When not to use

The transcription may supplement the IPA in many cases, but it is not adequate for general use. For example, MOW and TOW are poor transcriptions, because people will tend to read them incorrectly as Moe, toe rather than as Mao, Tao, which is what they actually transcribe. The metal cobalt is likewise impractical to transcribe with this system, because people will invariably read KOH-bolt incorrectly, as rhyming with molt and dolt. (This cannot be easily fixed; *KOH-balt and *KOH-bahlt have the wrong vowel.) In such problematic cases, rhymes, sound-alikes, or {{USdict}} transcription may be better choices.

Examples

Here are examples of how to use the template for words with different numbers of syllables and different stress patterns:

Space issues
	Pattern	Example	Coding	Result
No stress	.	of	{{Respell\|uv}}	uv
Two syllables, first one stressed	– .	Ceres	{{Respell\|SEER\|eez}}	SEER-eez
Three syllables, middle one stressed	. – .	Haumea	{{Respell\|how\|MAY\|ə}}	how-MAY-ə
Stress followed by multiple unstressed syllables	– . . .	algorithm	{{Respell\|AL\|gə-ridh-əm}}	AL-gə-ridh-əm
Two stressed syllables	– . – .	Makemake	{{Respell\|MAH\|kee\|MAH\|kee}}	MAH-kee-MAH-kee
Two stressed syllables with strings of unstressed syllables	. . – . . – . . . .	disestablishmentarianism	{{Respell\|dis-ə\|STAB\|lish-mən\|TAIR\|ee-ən-iz-əm}}	dis-ə-STAB-lish-mən-TAIR-ee-ən-iz-əm
Monosyllable with stress	–	Pan	{{Respell\|PAN\|'}}	PAN
Two syllables, final stress	. –	perfume	{{Respell\|pər\|FEWM\|'}}	pər-FEWM
Two stressed syllables, first and final	– . . –	overconsume Azerbaijan	{{Respell\|OH\|vər-kən\|SEWM\|'}} {{Respell\|AZ\|ər-by\|JAHN\|'}}	OH-vər-kən-SEWM AZ-ər-by-JAHN
Too many syllables for one template		if you wish upon a star	{{Respell\|IF\|ew\|WISH\|ə-}}{{Respell\|PON\|ə\|STAR\|'}}	IF-ew-WISH-ə-PON-ə-STAR
Word break fits inside a parameter		betting odds	{{Respell\|BET\|ing odz}}	BET-ing odz
Word break does not fit inside a parameter		Jazze Pha	{{Respell\|JAZ\|ee}} {{Respell\|FAY\|'}}	JAZ-ee FAY

Template:Respell

Contents

How to use

Where to use

When not to use

Examples

See also