# Slovene national phonetic transcription

Slovene national phonetic transcription (Slovene: Nacionalna fonetična transkripcija) is a group of four closely related and similar phonetic alphabets used to write pronunciations of Slovene and its dialects, as well as Alpine Slavic. The alphabet was first used by Fran Ramovš in 1937 to transcribe Freising manuscripts, and was later slightly changed to more closely resemble the International Phonetic Alphabet. The old transcription is called "Ramovš transcription" and the new one "the new Slovene national phonetic transcription" or "Logar transcription". From those transcriptions, "tonal transcription" (used for tonal orthography) and "non-tonal transcription" (used for non-tonal orthography), which also has a simplified form that can be implemented without changing the spelling of most of the words and only shows the accent ("Stress notation") were derived, although the ununified predecessors were already used before.
In dialectology, it is known as "national transcription" (Slovene: nacionalna transkripcija), since it is the only appropriate way to write dialects.

## Non-tonal and tonal transcription

It is still debated whether formal Slovene is a tonal language or not; however, non-tonal transcription is used more frequently than the tonal one. It can be used to fully transcribe a word, but its diacritical marks can be added to a normally-written word to only denote the stress and the length of the vowel, because the pronunciation of other letters can already be evident from the spelling of most words. However, this cannot be applied to loanwords or to words that already have diacritical marks. This transcription is commonly added to words in books that are pronounced differently, but written the same to differentiate between them, such as môra "a nightmare" and móra "(he) has to". Additionally, mid central vowel can also be written with ə and when l is pronounced as [u̯], it can be represented with ł, however such representation is mostly reserved for dictionaries and study books meant for non-native speakers.
Tonal transcription differs from non-tonal only in diacritical marks.
Long stressed vowels :
| In a word | Non-tonal | Tonal | IPA |
| í | í | í | ìː |
| í | í | ȋ | íː |
| é | é | ẹ́ | èː |
| é | é | ẹ̑ | éː |
| ê / é | ḙ̄ | ḙ́ | ɛ̝̀ː |
| ê / é | ḙ̄ | ḙ̑ | ɛ̝́ː |
| ê | ê | é | ɛ̀ː |
| ê | ê | ȇ | ɛ́ː |
| á | á | á | àː |
| á | á | ȃ | áː |
| ô | ô | ó | ɔ̀ː |
| ô | ô | ȏ | ɔ́ː |
| ô / ó | ō̭ | ó̭ | ɔ̝̀ː |
| ô / ó | ō̭ | ȏ̭ | ɔ̝́ː |
| ó | ó | ọ́ | òː |
| ó | ó | ọ̑ | óː |
| ú | ú | ú | ùː |
| ú | ú | ȗ | úː |
Short stressed vowels :
| In a word | Non-tonal | Tonal | IPA |
| ì | ì | ȉ | í |
| è | ḙ | ḙ̏ | ɛ̝́ |
| è | è | ȅ | ɛ́ |
| è / ə̀ | ə̀ | ə̀ | ə̀ |
| è / ə̀ | ə̀ | ə̏ | ə́ |
| à / ʌ̀ | à / ʌ̀ | ȁ / ʌ̏ | á |
| ò | ò | ȍ | ɔ́ |
| ò | o̭ | ȍ̭ | ɔ̝́ |
| ù | ù | ȕ | ú |
| ŕ / r̀ | ə̀r | ə̀r | ə̀ɾ |
| ŕ / r̀ | ə̀r | ə̏r | ə́ɾ |
| ĺ | ə̀l | ə̏l | ə́l |
Short unstressed vowels :
| In a word | Non-tonal | Tonal | IPA |
| i | i | i | i |
| e | ḙ | ḙ | ɛ̝ |
| e | e | e | ɛ |
| e / ə | ə | ə | ə |
| a | a | a | a |
| o | o | o | ɔ |
| o | o̭ | o̭ | ɔ̝ |
| u | u | u | u |
| r | ər | ər | əɾ |
| n | ən | ən | ən |
| m | əm | əm | əm |
Semivowels :
| In a word | Non-tonal | Tonal | IPA |
| j | j | j | j |
| v / u / l / ł | u̯ | u̯ | w / u̯ |
Consonants :
| SNPT | IPA | SNPT | IPA |
| m | m | t | t̪ |
| n | ɱ | T | t̪ⁿ |
| n | n̪ | ᵗ | t̪ˡ |
| n’ | n̪ʲ | d | d̪ |
| ŋ | ŋ | D | d̪ⁿ |
| l | l | ᵈ | d̪ˡ |
| l’ | lʲ | k | k |
| r | ɾ / r | g | g |
| j | j | č | t͡ʃ |
| v | ʋ | dž | d͡ʒ |
| v | v | s | s |
| w | w | z | z |
| ʍ | ʍ | š | ʃ |
| p | p | ž | ʒ |
| P | pⁿ | c | t͡s |
| ᴘ | p̪ | dz | d͡z |
| b | b | f | f |
| ʙ | b̪ | h | x |
| B | bⁿ | ɣ | ɣ |
Notes:
* ḙ̄ and ō̭ are in a word usually marked with ^, but few dictionaries mark them with acute accent.
* ʌ̀ is preferred to à if following the Jurgec vowel system.
* An acute accent is placed on r in a word if it is followed by a consonant that is in the same morpheme.
* ĺ is only present in Vltava.
* u̯ is in a word written with u only in some old Slavic words, such as nauk "moral" and is usually transcribed into IPA as [w], but the distinction between the semivowel and consonant is then lost, so u̯ʷ, or simply u̯ is favored.
* On computers, ɱ can be used to represent .
Diacritical marks (non-tonal) :
| Mark | Position | Use |
| ` | above | Denotes short vowel; it also denotes an open-mid or a mid vowel when combined with e and o. |
| ´ | above | Denotes long vowel; it also denotes a close-mid vowel when combined with e and o. Exception is when combined with r or l (see above) |
| ^ | above | Denotes long open-mid vowel. |
| ^ | below | Denotes mid vowel and can only be combined with e and o. |
| ¯ | above | Denotes long vowel and can only be combined with ḙ and o̭. Can also be present on consonants. |
Diacritical marks (tonal) :
| Mark | Position | Use |
| ` | above | Denotes short vowel and low pitch. It is only combined with ə. |
| ̏ | above | Denotes short vowel and high pitch. |
| ´ | above | Denotes long vowel and low pitch. |
| ̑ | above | Denotes long vowel and high pitch. |
| ¯ | above | Denotes that both pitches are allowed. It is usually reserved only for long vowels. Can also be present on consonants. |
| ̣ | below | It denotes a close-mid vowel. |
| ^ | below | It denotes a mid vowel. |
The different letters for nasal and lateral stops were only added later and are only rarely used (the usual p, b, t, and d are used).

## Logar and Ramovš transcription

The Logar transcription is the full new national phonetic transcription and the Ramovš transcription is the "old" one, both of which can also be used for all Slovene dialects and Alpine Slavic. Logar transcription was designed by Valentin Logar and used in his works. It was implemented mainly because Ramovš transcription was not standardized and to make national transcription more similar to the International Phonetic Alphabet. However, it failed to do that and both transcriptions are in use today.
The transcriptions used for written Slovene are a simplification of these two transcriptions; the letters stayed the same, apart from those added later, and the diacritical marks mimicked the ones from Ramovš transcription, but some were also changed and added.
The transcriptions really detail some sounds, and is therefore more appropriate to use for Slovene dialects than IPA and does not have a perfect IPA substitute for every letter.
Vowels :
| RT | LT | IPA | Description | Example (Logar transcription) |
| i | i | i | Close front unrounded vowel | zíːma (Upper Carniolan) |
| ü | ü* | y | Close front labialized (rounded) vowel | klǜːč (South White Carniolan) |
| ü | ü* | ʏ͉ | Hollow, velar, rounded, non-tense vowel between ü and y | sǜːn (Upper Carniolan – Kropa) |
| y | y | i̠ | Close near-front unrounded vowel | ˈbyːri̯e (Inner Carniolan) |
| u | u | u | Close back rounded vowel | klúːč (Upper Carniolan) |
| u̇ | u̇* | y̠͈ | Close tense near-front rounded vowel | glu̇̀ːh (Lower Carniolan) |
| i̧ | i̧ | ɪ̟͉ | Near-close non-tense front unrounded vowel | lì̧ːce (Eastern Lower Carniolan subdialect) |
| ɨ | ɨ | ɪ | Near-close near-front unrounded vowel | žɨ́ːla (Upper Carniolan) |
| ı̣ | i̥ | i͈ | Close tense i | ˈmåti̥ (Prekmurje) |
| i̥ | i̥ | ɨ̟̞ | Reduced i-like vowel | na smˈriːet’i̥ (Rižana subdialect) |
| y̥ | y̥* | ɨ̞ | Reduced y-like vowel | mỳ̥ti (Karst) |
| u̥ | u̥ | ʉ̠̞ | Reduced u-like vowel | tˈraːbu̥x (South Pohorje) |
| u̧ | u̧ | ʊ̠͉ | Near-close non-tense back rounded vowel | nu̧ːxt (Eastern Lower Carniolan subdialect) |
| ů | ů* | ʊ̠̝͈ | Almost-close tense o | ˈrȩbrů (Prekmurje) |
| ė | ė | ɪ̟͈ | Near-close tense front unrounded vowel | bˈrėːza (Upper Savinja) |
| ȯ | ȯ | ʊ̠͈ | Near-close tense back rounded vowel | ˈxȯːd’im (Upper Savinja) |
| ẹ | ẹ | e | Close-mid front unrounded vowel | pẹ̀ːst (Upper Carniolan) |
| ë* | ë | e̠ | Close-mid near-front unrounded vowel | nə strẹ́šë̀ (Gail Valley) |
| ọ | ọ | o | Close-mid back rounded vowel | kọ́ːža (Upper Carniolan) |
| ḙ | ḙ | e̞ | Mid front unrounded vowel | zˈvḙːzda (Inner Carniolan) |
| e̥ | e̥ | ɘ̞ | Reduced e-like vowel | na bˈreɣe̥ (Inner Carniolan) |
| o̥ | o̥ | ɵ̞ | Reduced o-like vowel | ˈło̥xt (Inner Carniolan) |
| o̭ | o̭ | o̞ | Mid back rounded vowel | nó̭ːgà (Kranjska Gora subdialect) |
| ȩ | e / ɛ | ɛ | Open-mid front unrounded vowel | téːta (Upper Carniolan) |
| ě | ě | ɛː | Yat (long open front vowel) that was present in Alpine Slavic | |
| ö | ö | ø | Open- and close-mid front rounded vowel | zˈbödy (Inner Carniolan) |
| ö | ö | œ | Open- and close-mid front rounded vowel | zˈbödy (Inner Carniolan) |
| ə | ə | ə̞ | Open-mid central vowel | ˈpəs (Upper Carniolan) |
| ə̣ | ə̣* | ə̟? | Further reduction of i̥ and e̥ | də̣klè (Lower Carniolan) |
| o̧ | o / ɔ | ɔ | Open-mid back rounded vowel | kóːsa (Upper Carniolan) |
| ä | ä | æ | Near-open front unrounded vowel | tä́ːta (South White Carniolan) |
| ḁ̈ | ḁ̈* | æ̠? | Reduced ä | ˈsọ̀ːlzḁ̈ (Resian) |
| ḁ | ḁ* | ɐ | Reduced a-like vowel | kḁˈlḙnȯ (Karst) |
| å | å | ɒ̝ | Near-open back rounded vowel | ˈžåːba (South Pohorje) |
| ḁ̊ | ḁ̊* | ɒ̟̝? | Reduced å | ˈžilḁ̊ (some speakers) |
| ȧ | ȧ | a̝ | (not fully) Open front unrounded vowel | ˈtȧːta (Inner Carniolan) |
| a | a | ä | Open mid unrounded vowel | tráːva (Upper Carniolan) |
| ã | ą | ã | Nasal a | pą́ːta (Jaun Valley) |
| õ | ǫ | ɔ̃ | Nasal o | qǫ̀ːt (Jaun Valley) |
| ọ̃ | ǫ̣ | õ | Nasal ọ | zǫ̣̀ːf (Jaun Valley) |
| ȯ̃* | ǫ̇ | ʊ̠͈̃ | Nasal ȯ | pǫ̇̀ːpi (Jaun Valley; rarely) |
| i̤ | i̤ | ɨ̤ | Breathy i | ˈi̤ša (Resian) |
| ṳ | ṳ | ʉ̤ | Breathy u | ˈrṳška (Resian) |
| e̤ | e̤ | ɛ̤̈ | Breathy e | ko̤ˈle̤no̤ (Resian) |
| o̤ | o̤ | œ̤̈ | Breathy o | ˈo̤ko̤ (Resian) |
| o̤ | o̤ | ɵ̤ | Breathy o | ˈo̤ko̤ (Resian) |
| ə̤ | ə̤* | ə̤ | Breathy ə | ˈo̤čə̤ (Resian; rarely) |
Non-sonorants :
| RT | LT | IPA | Example (Logar transcription) | Further details |
| p | p | p | xˈlaːpc (Karst) | |
| b | b | b | bràːda (Prekmurje) | |
| ɸ* | ɸ | ɸ | zó:ɸ (Upper Carniola) | |
| b’ | b’ | bʲ | ˈdi̯eːb’o (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized b |
| ƀ | ƀ | b͉ | ƀóːƀəca (Jaun Valley) | Spirantized b |
| f | f | f | ˈfant (Lower Carniola) | |
| θ* | θ | θ̪͆ | hù:əθ (Jaun Valley) | |
| ð | ð* | ð̪͆ | 'smərðu (some speakers) | |
| đ | đ | d̻͉̄ | brǻːđə (Jaun Valley) | Spirantized d |
| t | t | t̻̄ | ˈteːme (Prekmurje) | |
| t’ | t’ | t̻̄ʲ | ot’áː (Torre Valley) | Palatalized t |
| d | d | d̻̄ | dẹ̀ːdej (Jaun Valley) | |
| d’ | d’ | d̻̄ʲ | rˈd’aːvẹ (Prekmurje) | Palatalized d |
| c | c | t̪̻͡s̪̻ | sərˈciə (Karst) | Dentalized [t͡s] |
| c’ | c’ | t̪̻͡s̪̻ʲ | òšpic’ȧ (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized c |
| ʒ | ʒ | d̪̻͡z̪̻ | ʒìo (Natisone Valley) | Dentalized [d͡z] |
| s | s | s̪̻ | làːs (Selca) | Dentalized [s] |
| s’ | s’ | s̪̻ʲ | ˈpars’ė (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized s |
| z | z | z̪̻ | kəˈzaːu̯c (Rižana subdialect) | Dentalized [z] |
| z’ | z’ | z̪̻ʲ | jèz’ik (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized z |
| c̣ | c̣ / ċ | t͇͡s͇ | ˈċala (Bača subdialect) | Between c and č |
| ṣ | ṣ / ṡ | s͇ | pˈlẹːṡa (Bača subdialect) | Between s and š |
| ẓ | ẓ / ż | z͇ | miˈżinċ (Bača subdialect) | Between z and ž |
| t́ | t́ | c? | laˈt́ẹːt (Prekmurje) | Palatal t |
| d́* | d́ | ɟ? | ˈd́ẹːtra (Prekmurje) | Palatal d |
| ć | ć | t͡ɕ | ˈmaːćexa (Inner Carniolan) | Palatal c |
| ʒ́ | ʒ́ | d͡ʑ | ʒ́enitọ̀ːrji (Torre Valley) | Palatal ʒ |
| ś | ś | ɕ | ˈśux (Torre Valley) | Palatal s |
| ź | ź | ʑ | śòːu̯źa (Torre Valley) | Palatal z |
| č | č | t͡ʃ | ˈməːrlič (Karst) | |
| č’* | č’ | t͡ʃʲ | plỳč’ȧ (some speakers) | Palatalized č |
| ǯ | ǯ | d͡ʒ | ǯíːnar (Torre Valley) | |
| ǯ’* | ǯ’ | d͡ʒʲ | påːžǯ’e (Prekmurje; rarely) | Palatalized ǯ |
| š | š | ʃ | ˈkaːšiĺ (Karst) | |
| ž | ž | ʒ | žaˈna (Rosen Valley) | |
| č́ | č́ | t͡ɕ / t͡ʃʲ? | č́elìːən (Torre Valley) | Palatal č |
| ǯ́ / dž́ | ǯ́ | d͡ʑ / d͡zʲ? | riˈǯ́ȧːve (some speakers) | Palatal ǯ |
| š́ | š́ | ɕ / ʃʲ? | táːš́č́a (Torre Valley) | Palatal š |
| ž́ | ž́ | ʑ / ʒʲ? | jəˈž́ək (Prekmurje) | Palatal ž |
| k | k | k | pr̥ˈgiːška (Prekmurje) | |
| k’ | k’ | kʲ | vèk’e (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized k |
| g | g | g | gùːx (Upper Carniola) | |
| g’ | g’ | gʲ | ˈg’ẹːi̯tra (some speakers) | Palatalized g |
| x | x | x | xàːti (Rosen Valley) | |
| x’ | x’ | xʲ | pətpàːsx’ė (Upper Savinja) | Palatalized x |
| ɣ | ɣ | ɣ | kúːɣa (Upper Carniola) | |
| ǥ | ǥ | g͉ | ǥu̯áːu̯a (Rosen Valley) | Spirantized g |
| ǵ | ǵ | ɟ? | 'ǵẹzik (Prekmurje) | Palatal g |
| x́ | x́ | ç? | mi̥'x́yːr (Inner Carniolan) | Palatal x |
| ɣx | ɣx | ɣ̥᪽ | kùːɣxa (Torre Valley) | ɣ that partially lost the voicing |
| h | h | ħ ~ ɦ | qúːha (Rosen Valley) | |
| h | h | ʕ ~ h | qúːha (Rosen Valley) | [ħ ~ ɦ] that lost voicing |
| q | q / ʔ / ꝗ | ʔ | déːqwa (Rosen Valley) | |
Sonorants and semivowels :
| RT | LT | IPA | Description | Example (Logar transcription) |
| w | w | w | Bilabial approximant | ɣoˈwọːry (Inner Carniolan) |
| u̯ | u̯ | u̯ʷ | Semivowel w | pepẹ̀ːu̯ (Upper Carniolan) |
| m | m | m | Bilabial nasal | mẹ́ːlem (Upper Carniolan) |
| v | v | ʋ | Labiodental approximant | čevọ̀ː (Upper Carniolan) |
| v’ | v’ | ʋʲ | Palatalized v | pˈraːv’im (Upper Savinja) |
| m’* | m’ | mʲ | Palatalized m | ˈłuọːm’əm (Upper Savinja) |
| l | l | l | Alveolar continued lateral approximant | lìːst (Upper Carniolan) |
| l̯ | l̠ | l̪ | Dental continued lateral approximant | l̠ìːce (Haloze) |
| r | r | ɾ | Alveolar discontinued approximant | rẹ́ːpa (Upper Carniolan) |
| n | n | n̪ | Dental nasal | ˈnoːu̯s (Central Styrian) |
| l’ | l’ | lʲ | Palatalized l | ˈl’uːdi (South White Carniolan) |
| n’ | n’ | nʲ | Palatalized dental nasal | ˈtiln’ėk (Upper Savinja) |
| ĺ | ĺ | ʎ | Palatal lateral approximant | ˈiːxtĺu (Karst) |
| ń | ń | ɲ | Palatal nasal | ńìːwa (Brda) |
| j | j | j | Palatal approximant | jéːčmen (Upper Carniolan) |
| i̯ | i̯ | i̯ | Semivowel j | ˈzaːi̯ka (North White Carniolan) |
| j̃* | j̃ / j̨ | j̃ | Nasalized j | lọ̑ˈbåːj̃a (Slovene Hills) |
| ĩ̯ | ĩ̯ | ĩ̯ | Nasalized ĩ̯ | cúĩ̯a (Horjul) |
| ł | ł | ʟ | Velar l | ˈłȧːi̯tu (Inner Carniola) |
| ṙ | ṙ / ʀ | ʀ | Uvular r | ˈṙuːəx (Rosen Valley) |
| ŋ | ŋ | ŋ | Velar n | lẹ́ːšəŋk (Upper Carniolan) |
Diacritics :
| RT | LT | IPA | Further details |
| Tones ||||
| V̑ | V̀ː | V́ː | Long high-pitched vowel |
| V̏ | V̀ | V́ | Short high-pitched vowel |
| V́ | V́ː | V̀ː | Long low-pitched vowel |
| V̀ | V́ | V̀ | Short low-pitched vowel |
| Ṽ | V́ | V̂ | High-low-pitched vowel (in Brdo dialect) |
| | | V̆̀ | Extra-short low-pitched vowel |
| Stress ||||
| V̄ | ˈVː | Vː | Long stressed vowel |
| - | ˈVˑ | Vˑ | Semi-long stressed vowel |
| V̆ | ˈV | V | Short stressed vowel |
| Other vowel diacritics ||||
| Ṽ | V̨ | Ṽ | Nasal vowel |
| Ṿ | Ṿ | V̝͈ | Raised tense vowel |
| V̇ | V̇ | see above | Extremely raised and tense vowel |
| V̧ | V | V̞ | Lowered vowel |
| V̭ | V̭ | see above | Neutral (mid) vowel |
| V̥ | V̥ | V̈ | Centralized vowel |
| V̤ | V̤ | V̤ | Breathy vowel |
| V̯ | V̯ | V̯ | Short implosive and explosive vowel or semivowel |
| $^V$ | $^V$ | (V̆) | Weak articulation, shortness |
| Consonants ||||
| C̄ | Cː | Cː | Long consonant |
| C̃ | C̃ / C̨ | C̃ | Nasal consonant |
| C̮ | C̮ | C̥᪽ | Semi-voiced consonant |
| C̥ | C̥ | C̩ | Syllabic consonant |
| C‛ | C‛ | Cʰ | Aspirated consonant |
| $^C$ | $^C$ | (C̆) | Weak articulation, shortness |
| Other ||||
| C | C | C | Dummy consonant |
| V | V | V | Dummy vowel |
| ø | ø | ø | A sound that is not present, null ending |
| / / | / / | / / | Phoneme |
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | Allophone |
| > | > | > | Derived from |
| < | < | < | Originates from |
Notes:
* Letters marked with * are not part of the standard transcription.
* Both Logar and Ramovš used č́, ǯ́, š́, and ž́, however it is unknown whether they are palatal or only palatalized and what is the difference between them and palatalized č and ǯ, or palatal ć, ʒ́, ś, and ź.
* IPA transcriptions followed by a question mark are presumed; there was not enough research done to fully determine the transcription.
* The IPA transcriptions given are exact. When writing pronunciation generally, not all diacritics have to be used.
* On computers, V̔ can be used to represent .