Rules for the use of SRS in the respelling of English text

SRSrules © 2003 Robert Boden
current as of November 29, 2003

Rules



  1. All letters of the existing English Alphabet are accepted with their usual sound.  'g' is confined to the sound in 'gag', 'd' to the sound in 'dad'.  'x' = 'eks', 'q' is only used in words like 'qúeen'.  The regular consonantal combinations are accepted.  Two adjacent letters with the same sound are accepted as the sound of one of the letters.
  2. The usual consonantal digraphs are accepted: sh, ch, ng, wh, th as in thin/then, nk, zh.
  3. 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u', are accepted or provided in the interior of words or as initial letters where the short vowel sound is required.  'y' is accepted in the interior of words as the sound of  'i'.
  4. 'á', 'é', 'í', 'ó', 'ú' are provided in the interior of words or as initial letters where the long vowel sound is required. 'ý' is provided as a replacement, in a multi-syllable word, for a terminal letter 'y' which has the 'í' sound. ì is accepted as the sound of  'é' where an  'i' has the 'é' sound in the original word. 'è' is accepted as the sound of  'á' where 'e' has the sound of 'á' in the original word.
  5. 'ô' is used to replace any letter combination which begins with 'o' and has the 'aw' sound. Either 'aw' or 'au' is accepted as the sound of  'aw'.  Where a syllable has the sound of 'aw' but contains neither the 'aw' or 'au' digraph, nor a combination beginning with 'o', 'aw' is substituted.
  6. 'eu' is used to replace any combination of letters which has the sound of the 'u' in 'put'.
  7. 'ou' and 'ow' are accepted as the sound of  'ou' in 'out'.
  8. 'oi' and 'oy' are accepted as the sound of  'oi' in 'boil'.
  9. 'ù' is used to replace a 'u' which has the sound of 'ú' preceded by 'y'.
  10. 'ai' is accepted as the sound of  'e' where the combination precedes an 'r'.
  11. 'tion' is accepted as the sound of  'shun', 'sion' as 'zhun', 'cian' as 'shun', 'cial' as 'shul' and 'ture' as 'chur'.
  12. The combinations 'ów', 'ái', 'áy', 'ígh', 'ee' (seen), 'ea' (each), are accepted  as long vowel sounds, but the vowel is marked in the cases of  'ów', 'ígh', 'ái', and 'áy'.
  13. A terminal 'a' is accepted provided it has the sound of  'u'.
  14. The combinations 'er', 'ir', 'ur' are accepted if they indicate the sound of  'ur' in 'urn'.  'ar' and 'or' are accepted in a final unaccented syllable if they indicate the sound of  'ur'.
  15. The 'err' combination is used in all places where the sound is that of the 'err' in 'terror'.
  16. The 'irr' combination is used in all places where  the sound is that of the 'irr' in 'mirror'.
  17. Terminal letters 'e', 'i', 'o', and 'u'  are accepted or provided where the long vowel sound of the letters is desired.
  18. A terminal letter 'y' as part of an unaccented syllable has the sound of  'é'.
  19. A terminal letter 'y' in a single syllable word has the sound of  'ý'.
  20. Terminal letters 'ce' and 'se' are accepted as the the sound of 's' .
  21. s, 's, d  are accepted as plural, possessive, and past tense endings of final syllables ending in 'le'.
  22. s, 's, d  are accepted or provided as plural, possessive, and past tense endings of final syllables ending in 'vowel + l'.
  23. A single 's'  which indicates plural or possessive following any vowel or voiced consonant at end of word has the sound of  'z'.
  24. 'el', 'le', 'al', 'il', 'ol', 'ul', 'yl' in a final unaccented syllable are accepted as the sound of  the 'le' in 'apple'. The 'l' is doubled if the short vowel sound is to be maintained.
  25. A 'c' which precedes 'e', 'i', or 'y' is accepted as the sound  of  's'.
  26. 'o' before an 'r'  is accepted as the sound of  'aw' except in a final unaccented syllable.
  27. 'a' before an 'r' is accepted or provided as the sound of  'o' except in a final unaccented syllable. 'a' before an 'h' is accepted or provided as the sound of  'o'.
  28. The combination of  'eh',  'ih', or 'uh' is provided where necessary to mark a syllable which ends in the short vowel sound.
  29. Initial silent letters 'w' or 'k' are accepted.
  30. The combination of 'dge' indicating the 'j' sound is replaced by 'dj'. The combination of 'ge' indicating the 'j' sound is replaced by 'j'.
  31. 'o' before 'm' or 'n' is accepted as either the 'o' or 'u' sound in initial or internal syllable of a multiple syllable word.
  32. 'Silent e' is accepted in a single syllable word or final syllable, but the long vowel letter is marked.
  33. Only those letters which would result in unrecognizable citation pronunciation are deleted or replaced.
  34. Sight word is 'the'.

 

SRS Abbreviated in the form of examples

  1. bob, cat, dad, fluff, gag, hot, jam, kick, lilt, mom, nan, pop, qúeen, rural, sis, tot, vivid, went, tax, yell, zip
  2. ship, chip, sing, when, thin/then, pink, trezhur
  3. pat, pet, pit, pot, pup, myth
  4. máte, éve, píne, códe, clúe, implý, rádìo, trivìal
  5. môth, côst, law, Paul
  6. peut, weulf
  7. out, cow
  8. toil, boy
  9. ùnicef, cùte
  10. air, fair
  11. option, vision, optician, special, capture
  12. lów, hígh, cláim, dáy, each, seen
  13. ídéa
  14. sólar, upper, sir, culor, murmur
  15. territory, therr
  16. irrigáte, hirr
  17. be, alibi, go, thru, but páydáy
  18. báby, but myth
  19. implý, but my
  20. fence, horse
  21. táble, tábles, táble's, tábled
  22. lábel, lábels, lábel's, lábeld
  23. bars, his, hers
  24. lábel, táble, vítal, civil, symbol, fáithful, vínyl
  25. cent, civic, bícycle
  26. for, normal
  27. car, ah hah
  28. heh, bihreft, théuhretic
  29. wríte, knífe
  30. badj, gáj, jorj
  31. comment, compléte, contact, conclúde
  32. 'silent e'  is accepted in a single syllable word or final syllable, but the long vowel letter is marked
  33. Only those letters which would result in unrecognizable citation pronunciation are deleted or replaced
  34. sight word is 'the'



SRS Example - The Láte Uhrival

 

Bob strólld up the path.  He wuz láte and wuz considering his alibi. He lisend tu the uther cars in the street, heding hóme. The dôg, with paw ráizd, greeted him at the dor. Molly keud awlwáys tell when he uhríved. She wuz a fáithful creature, and the sensitivity uv that nóze wuz not a myth. The house wuz quíet. He leukt down at the vínyl tíle.  It keud stand sum polish but he weud rézist the impulse tu compláin.

 

He saw his fahther in the garden nirr the fence but didn't bother tu cawl him. He wuz obvìusly préperring tu mów the lawn.  He keud see the nábor's cow in the medów and the dense weuds béyond. It seemed a trivìal matter but he awlwáys leukt tu see if therr wuz enything on the kitchen táble. His wífe míght wríte a nóte. Therr wuz a nu novel therr, probably hers.  It had a pécùlyar symbol on the cuver.  The títle sed sumthing ubout neurons.  He didn't knów whut that wuz ubout but simply didn't kerr.

 

He décíded tu rémúve the lábel now frum the packij he wuz kerréing.  He hóped that Myrtle weud not huhrass him ubout the côst uv the nu fur cót he had bôt her. He had a fairly geud réplý.  At lést it wuz páid for. And the first uv the yirr wuz awlmóst hirr and the air wuz cóld. 

 

He found the páper partly ópen, óver a chair. It had ráind in the morning.  The páper ôfen got wet.  He turnd the rádìo on but didn't kerr for the singing.

 

He red ubout the cýclóne which had awlmóst hit the civic center. The sky had leukt thretning.  He gáve a sígh. Therr weud hav bin the devil tu páy if the storm had bin wurse.  The knolej máde him wince. He thôt, "We ar so helpless in the fáce uv bad wether".  He gáve sum thôt tu sólar power, but clung tu his ùzhúal rigor, which ment discussing this with his wífe béfor máking a décizhun.  She expected this considerátion. He had bin thinking ubout émerjency power and had an ídéa. Sum mezhur uv action míght be prúdent.




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