The Postmodern English Alphabet
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This video gives a summary of the entire Postmodern English Alphabet. All examples in the video and on this page are in the US Midland accent.
A / a
IPA: eɪ, e, æɪ, ɛɪ, ...
Description: The first vowel and letter of the Postmodern Alphabet. Depending on the accent of the speaker, the pronunciation can vary. A general rule of thumb is that the letter should be pronounced like the name of the letter itself is pronounced in a region.
Examples: Abōl (Able), Sta (Stay)
Á / á
IPA: Unstressed æ
Description: Officially called “A With Acute”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter A.
Examples: Ámpԅsánd (Ampersand), Stánd (Stand)
Ā / ā
IPA: Stressed æ
Description: Officially called “A With Macron”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter A.
Examples: Āpōl (Apple), Kāt (Cat)
Å / å
IPA: Unstressed ɔ
Description: Officially called “A With Overring”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter A.
Examples: Ålwaz (Always), Lå (Law)
Uncommon Vowel Shifts
ÁĀ
ĀÅ
ÁÅ
B / b
IPA: b
Description: Officially called “Be” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Bef (Beef), Růbórb (Rhubarb)
Ч / ч
IPA: tʃ
Description: Officially called “Чó” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously written as the digraph “ch” in most cases.
Examples: Чez (Cheese), Чԅч (Church)
Ҁ / ҁ
IPA: ʃ
Description: Officially called “Ҁó” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously written as the digraph “sh” in most cases.
Examples: Ҁórp (Sharp), Fréҁ (Fresh)
D / d
IPA: d, ɖ
Description: Officially called “De” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Dóg (Dog), Růd (Rude)
E / e
IPA: i
Description: The second vowel of the Postmodern Alphabet. Unlike all of the other vowels, this letter has a strict pronunciation that will not change between accents. If the sound produced differs too greatly from IPA i, a different vowel should be used.
Examples: Est (East), Eze (Easy)
É / é
IPA: ɛ
Description: Officially called “E With Acute”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter E. Compared to Á, it makes a more relaxed, open-mouth sound. Compare the sound of “Ámbԅ” (Amber) to the sound of “Émbԅ (Ember) in the US Midwest Accent.
Examples: Éfԅt (Effort), Mén (Men)
Ē / ē
IPA: ə, ɜ
Description: Officially called “E With Macron”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter E. It is used to indicate the mid-sound “schwa”, which is almost always used where there is a lack of emphasis in the word pronunciation. It's R-colored counterpart is Ԅ.
Examples: Ēsům (Assume), Ánēmōl (Animal)
Uncommon Vowel Shifts
ÉĒ
F / f
IPA: f
Description: Officially called “Éf” in Postmodern spelling. The digraph “ph” was also previously sometimes used to represent this sound.
Examples: Fár (Fair), Āftԅ (After)
G / g
IPA: g, ɢ
Description: Officially called “Gī” in Postmodern spelling, which differs from the previous name “Je”.
Examples: Gūd (Good), Bԅgԅ (Burger)
H / h
IPA: h, ɦ, x
Description: Officially called “Haч” in Postmodern spelling, which differs from the previous name “Aч”, which was used in some accents. It can also be used to indicate the old English IPA sound x, like in the Standard English word “loch”.
Examples: Hélo (Hello), Hopfōl (Hopeful)
I / i
IPA: aɪ, a, ɔɪ, əɪ, ...
Description: The third vowel of the Postmodern Alphabet. Depending on the accent of the speaker, the pronunciation can vary. A general rule of thumb is that the letter should be pronounced like the name of the letter itself is pronounced in a region.
Examples: Is (Ice), Twilit (Twilight)
Ī / ī
IPA: ɪ
Description: Officially called “I With Macron”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter I. This is used instead of I With Acute, since many people will dot their Is with marks that can be easily mistaken for acute accents. Thus, a Macron is used instead to avoid confusion.
Examples: Īnsid (Inside), Kēnsīdԅ (Consider)
J / j
IPA: dʒ
Description: Officially called “Ja” in Postmodern spelling. The letter G was sometimes used to make this sound.
Examples: Júmp (Jump), Ԅj (Urge)
Ԏ / ԏ
IPA: ʒ
Description: Officially called “Ԏāt” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously written as a number of different digraphs including “si” and “ge”.
Examples: Vīԏēn (Vision), Mԅóԏ (Mirage)
K / k
IPA: k, q
Description: Officially called “Ka” in Postmodern spelling. The previous letters C and Q were sometimes used to make this sound.
Examples: Kak (Cake), Rīsk (Risk)
L / l
IPA: l, ʟ, ɫ
Description: Officially called “Él” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Lāf (Laugh), Old (Old)
M / m
IPA: m, ɱ
Description: Officially called “Ém” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Māūs (Mouse), Kómēn (Common)
N / n
IPA: n
Description: Officially called “Én” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Nit (Night), Din (Dine)
Ŋ / ŋ
IPA: ŋ
Description: Officially called “Éŋ” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously written as the digraph “ng” in most cases. No words are known to begin with this letter.
Examples: Lóŋ (Long), Strīŋ (String)
O / o
IPA: oʊ, o, əʊ, ɜʊ, ...
Description: The fourth vowel of the Postmodern Alphabet. Depending on the accent of the speaker, the pronunciation can vary. A general rule of thumb is that the letter should be pronounced like the name of the letter itself is pronounced in a region.
Examples: Ovԅ (Over), Todōl (Total)
Ó / ó
IPA: ɑ, ä, ɐ, ɒ
Description: Officially called “O With Acute”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter O.
Examples: Óbjékt (Object), Módēfi (Modify)
Ō / ō
IPA: Stressed ɔ
Description: Officially called “O With Macron”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter O. It is similar to Å, but deeper, with the mouth more tightly closed. Compare the words Ålwaz (Always) and “Ōrdԅ” (Order) in the US Midwest Accent.
Examples: Wōl (Wool), Nāчԅōl (Natural)
Uncommon Vowel Shifts
ÓŌ
P / p
IPA: p
Description: Officially called “Pe” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Pi (Pie), Krīsp (Crisp)
R / r
IPA: ɻ, ɹ
Description: Officially called “Ór” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Rit (Right), Frúnt (Front)
Ԅ / ԅ
IPA: ɚ, ɝ
Description: Officially called “Ԅn” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously written as many different digraphs, including “er”, “ir”, “or”, “ur”, “ear”, etc. Somewhat similar to the sound of R, compare the words Þro (Throw) and Þԅo (Thorough) in a US Midland Accent to hear the difference. This is the so called R-colored vowel in English. Its non R-colored counterpart is Ē.
Examples: Ԅþ (Earth), Tԅn (Turn)
S / s
IPA: s
Description: Officially called “És” in Postmodern spelling. The previous letter C sometimes used to make this sound.
Examples: Sereēs (Serious), Twis (Twice)
T / t
IPA: t, ʈ
Description: Officially called “Te” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Tél (Tell), Wålīt (Wallet)
Է / է
IPA: ʔ, ʔt
Description: Officially called “Éէ” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet that was not previously distinguished from T in any way. It is used to indicate a glottal stop- usually where a T would normally be written, but where the voice very briefly stops instead. This can be seen in the word Māūէn (Mountain) in the US Midland Accent. An S must never follow this letter. If it does, T should be used instead. No words are known to begin with this letter.
Examples: Liէhāūs (Lighthouse), Búէn (Button)
Þ / þ
IPA: θ
Description: Officially called “Þōrn” in Postmodern spelling. Returning to the alphabet from Old English, it was previously represented by the digraph “th” in most cases. It makes the soft “th” sound.
Examples: Þīŋk (Think), Wīþ (With)
Ћ / ћ
IPA: ð
Description: Officially called “Ћāū” in Postmodern spelling. A newcomer to the English alphabet previously represented by the digraph “th” in most cases. It makes the hard “th” sound. Written alone (Ћ), it can also stand for the word “The”, much like & stands for the word “And”.
Examples: Ћez (These), Úћԅ (Other)
U / u
IPA: ju, jɯ, jy, jɨ, ...
Description: The fifth and final vowel of the Postmodern Alphabet. Depending on the accent of the speaker, the pronunciation can vary. A general rule of thumb is that the letter should be pronounced like the name of the letter itself is pronounced in a region.
Examples: Uz (Use), Réfuj (Refuge)
Ú / ú
IPA: ʌ
Description: Officially called “U With Acute”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter U.
Examples: Úndԅ (Under), Súm (Some)
Ū / ū
IPA: ʊ, ɤ, ɵ, ø, ʏ
Description: Officially called “U With Macron”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter U.
Examples: Būk (Book), Pūҁ (Push)
Ů / ů
IPA: u, ɯ, ɨ, ʉ, y
Description: Officially called “U With Overring”, it is not a letter on its own, but rather a modified version of the letter U.
Examples: Fůd (Food), Nůdōl (Noodle)
Uncommon Vowel Shifts
ÚŪ
ŪŮ
ÚŮ
V / v
IPA: v, β
Description: Officially called “Ve” in Postmodern spelling.
Examples: Vԅbos (Verbose), Fiv (Five)
W / w
IPA: w, ʍ
Description: Officially called “Wīn” in Postmodern spelling, which differs from the original name “Dúbōl U”.
Examples: Wút (What), Kwésчēn (Question)
X / x
IPA: ks
Description: Officially called “Éx” in Postmodern spelling. Even though this sound can also be represented by the letters “ks”, X has been kept as a means of distinguishing plural words from singular words when a “ks” sound is used at the end of both. X is used at the end of a word when the word is singular, such as in “Fóx” (Fox), versus the use of “ks” at the end of words ending in this sound that are plural, such as “Kaks” (Cakes). It also used in any other place where the plural distinction is not needed. Aside from this, X was just far too iconic to get rid of.
Examples: Īxplōr (Explore), Sīx (Six)
Y / y
IPA: j
Description: Officially called “Yétē” in Postmodern spelling, which differs from the original name “Wi”.
Examples: Yéstԅda (Yesterday), Yórd (Yard)
Z / z
IPA: z
Description: Officially called “Ze”, or “Zéd” in Postmodern spelling, this is the last letter in the Postmodern Alphabet.
Examples: Zů (Zoo), Bīznīs (Business)