Transcription Rules from Spanish to Orish

Spanish is relatively phonetic in comparison to most other languages in the world, but there are still some rules that can make the transcription from Spanish to Orish more complicated.

## Same Spelling and Pronunciation

These letters can't be confused in the transcription from Spanish to Orish because they are pronounced exactly the same:

## Same Spelling, Different Pronunciation

### The letters B and V

In Spanish, the letters B and V are homophonic, and both of them have the same allophones, /b/ and /β/. They are pronounced as /b/ at the beginning of a sentence or after M or N and as /β/ everywhere else. But in the transcription to Orish, they should be transcribed by their spelling, because in Orish there is a distinction between /b/ and /v/ that doesn't exist in Spanish.

### The letter D

In Spanish, the letter D is pronounced as /d/ at the beginning of sentences and after N, but in other cases it's pronounced as /ð/, a sound that doesn't exist in Orish even as an allophone of /d/. Because the sounds /d/ and /ð/ are in complementary distribution, the letter D should remain the same in the transcription from Spanish to Orish.

### The letter G

In Spanish, the letter G is pronounced as /x/ before E and I, as /g/ at the beginning of a sentence or after N, and as /ɣ/ everywhere else. In the transcription to Orish, the letter G should be replaced with the letter X before E or I, and remain the same everywhere else. The sound /ɣ/ is a free varient of /r/ in Orish, but because in Spanish the sound /ɣ/ is an allophone of /g/, it should be transcribed to G in Orish.

### The letter H

In Spanish, the letter H is normally silent, but in the transcription to Orish it's still recommended to keep this letter as is, and to pronounce it like in Orish, although it can really cause a pronunciation that is different from in Spanish.

### The letter R

In Spanish, unlike in Orish, there is a distinction between two rhotic phonemes: flap /ɾ/ trill /r/. The flap is always spelled with a single R, but the trill is commonly spelled with a double R The distinction between the two rhotic phonemes doesn't exist in Orish, and it doesn't matter if in Spanish there is a single or a double R or how it is pronounced, to Orish it should always be transcribed to a single R.

### The letter Z

In Spanish, there in no /z/, but the letter Z is pronounced as /s/ or /θ/. But in Orish there is a phonemic /z/, and in an accurate transcription it's still recommended to transcribe this letter to Z.

## Same Pronunciation, Different Spelling

### The letter C

In Spanish, the letter C is pronounced as /s/ or /θ/ before E or I, and as /k/ everywhere else. If the letter C is pronounced as /s/ or /θ/ it should be transcribed to Orish as S, and if it's pronounced as /k/ it should be transcribed to Orish as K.

### The digraph CH

In Spanish, the digraph CH is pronounced as /t͡ʃ,/ a sound that exists in Orish but is not spelled like in Spanish. Just replace this digraph with the digraph TƩ.

### The digraph GU

In Spanish, the digraph GU is pronounced as /g/, but comes before a softening vowel. In the transcription to Orish, this digraph should always be replaced with the single letter G, also, in Orish there is no "soft" G.

### The digraph GÜ

In Spanish, the digraph GÜ is pronounced as /gw/. Just replace in with GW when transcribing to Orish.

### The letter J

The letter J in Spanish is relatively easy to transcribe to Orish, because it has only one sound, /x/. Just replace it with the letter X.

### The letter N

In Spanish, the letter N is normally pronounced as /n/, but before a labial consonant it's assimilated into /m/. This letter should be transcribed to Orish to M before labial consonants, and to N everywhere else.

### The digraph QU

In Spanish, the digraph QU is pronounced as /k/ before E and I and as /kw/ before A and O. In the transcription to Orish, replace it with K before E or I and with KW before A or O.

### The letter X

In Spanish, the letter X is pronounced as /ks/ between two vowels, and as /s/ before a consonant. If it's pronounced as /ks/ replace it with KS and if it's pronounced as /s/ replace it with S.

## Different Spelling and Pronunciation

### Double L

In Spanish, the double L is pronounced as /ʒ/, /d͡ʒ/, /ʝ/ or /ʎ/. The difference between the four sounds makes the transcription of this sound to Orish really difficult. Here are the ways to transcribe it to Orish: Ʒ, DƷ, LY and YL.

### The letter Ñ

In Spanish, the letter Ñ is pronounced as /ɲ/, a sound that doesn't exist in Orish. Before a vowel this letter should be replaced with NY and before a consonant this letter should be replaced with YN.