Usage

The simplest way to use the tool is to paste vowels and consonants in the text box and let it be automatically organized. A finer control of the sounds can be made using commands.

Each command must be in its own line, lines starting with ; are ignored.

A title can be included with a line starting with hashtag like # Title.

The add <position> "label" command has a position that can be a series of keywords voiced bilabial stop or an IPA segment written in square brackets [d]; and a display text, written in double quotes "ᵐb".

The merge <names> as <target> command joins two or more rows or columns in a single one. The don't merge <names> command on the other hand prevents rows or columns of being merged. See both commands in the Proto-Indo-European example below.

The rename <row-col> as <name> can change the name or a row or column.

# Simple example
add voiced bilabial stop "ᵐb"
add [d] "ⁿd"
add high "ɨ"
p t k s h m n w l
a i u

# Proto-Indo-European
config singleCell true
p t k kʷ b d g gʷ bʰ dʰ gʰ gʷʰ
h₁ h₂ h₃ s w l r m n
e o ē ō
; include other symbols
add [j] "y"
add [c] "ḱ"
add [ɟ] "ǵ"
add [ɟʰ] "ǵʰ"
rename glottal as laryngeal
merge stop, aspirated stop as stop
don't merge fricative

Keywords

The other keyword can be used to add to the "other sounds" list.

This is the list of consonant keywords:

bilabial        stop            voiced
labial          plosive         unvoiced
labiodental     affricate       voiceless
dental          lateral         prenasalized
postalveolar    nasal           aspirated
alveolar        trill           other
retroflex       tap
alveolopalatal  flap
velar           fricative
uvular          approximant
pharyngeal      ejective
glottal         implosive

This is the list of vowel keywords:

high            close           near front
near high       near close      near back
high mid        close mid       front
mid             mid             central
low mid         open mid        back
near low        near open
low             open

Vowel Position

Vowels can also be positioned by numerical coordinates, the coordinate (0, 0) corresponds with the [i] position, and (2, 3) with the [ɑ] position. Decimal numbers like (1.5, 1.25) can be used.

Custom Rows and Columns

New rows or columns can be made within the add command using the special syntax row(name) for manner of articulation or col(name) for place of articulation.

The position of the new row or column can be controlled by writing base>name, this will place the row/col name after the base row/col, if the base is empty it is placed in the first position, if nothing is specified its placed last.

A complete example using these features is given below for the Shona language:

# Shona
config sibilant true
config voicingRows true
m n ɲ ŋ m̤ n̤
p t k b̤ d̤ ɡ̤ ɓ ɗ
ᵐb ⁿd ⁿd͡ʒ̤ ᵑɡ ⁿz̤
p͡f t͡s t͡ʃ b͡v̤ d͡z̤ d͡ʒ̤
f s ʃ v̤ z̤ ʒ̤ ɦ
ʋ r j w
a e i o u
; Custom column whistled
add labiodental breathy nasal "mʋ̤"
add col(alveolar>whistled) fricative "sᶲ"
add col(alveolar>whistled) voiced fricative "z̤ᵝ"
add col(alveolar>whistled) affricate "t͡sᶲ"
add col(alveolar>whistled) voiced affricate "d͡z̤ᵝ"
add prenasalized col(alveolar>whistled) voiced fricative "ⁿz̤ᵝ"
ignore breathy
merge prenasalized stop, prenasalized fricative as stop>prenasalized

Using these complex features might cause bugs with the auto merger or weird behaviour.

Settings

Settings can be changed using the visual interface or with the config <config-name> value command. Settings within the text have higher priority.

The value can be true,false or a double quoted string "option".

; add a row for alveolar sibilants [s ts dz ...]
config sibilant true

; add a row for lateral sounds [l tɬ ɬ ɮ ...]
config lateral true

; move nasals to the top, taps and trills to the bottom
config nasalTop true

; arrange MOA the same order as the oficial IPA chart
config nasalTop false

; add automatic columns for coarticulated sounds like ʷʲˠˤ
config coarticulated true

; uses a single table cell instead of two for voiceless voiced pairs
config singleCell true

; places voiced consonants in their own rows instead of side by side
config voicingRows true

; abbreviates row/col names for compactness (unstable)
config shortNames true

; make [a] a central low vowel and [æ] front low
config centralLowVowel true

; make [e ø o] true mid when there isn't [ɛ œ ɔ]
config trueMid true