I ʘʷ IPA

[allegrox]

The latest linguistics assignment involves deciphering this country song that's been transcribed into my professor's terrible IPA. Is it sad that I know the International Phonetic Alphabet better than he does? Then again, I suppose this is designed to be more easily decipherable by people who don't really know it very well. The words are all written in full, as you might say them in isolation, but often not like they'd actually be pronounced in a sentence (especially function words). In many cases it's simply wrong, like using /ʌ/ for the schwa in all single-syllable words, including the indefinite article, "a", which should be /ə/ since it's never stressed in normal speech (and when it is, it's for emphasis, and it's pronounced /e/. And a couple of the characters he used (č for the ch sound and ǰ for j) are obsolete. But that doesn't stop me from being able to read it pretty fluently. :)

wok ʌp ðɪs mornən
wɔkt ɪn ðʌ kɪčən ænd dɑjd
ænd o wʌt ʌ fɪlən
wɪn mɑj sol wɪnt θru ðʌ silən
ænd stret ɑn ʌp tu hɛvən ɑj dɪd rɑjd

wɪn ɑj ɡɑt ðɛr ðe dɪd se
ǰɑn ɪt hæpənd ðɪs ʌ we
ju slɪpt ʌp ɑn ðʌ flor ænd hɪt jər hɛd
ænd ɔl ðʌ enǰəlz se
ǰʌst bifor ju pæst əwe
ðiz wər ðʌ vɛri læst wərdz ðæt ju sɛd

pliz dont bɛri mi dæwn ɪn ðʌ kold kold ɡræwn
no ɑjd ræðər hæv ʌm kʌt mi ʌp ænd pæs mi ɔl əræwn
θro mɑj bren ɪn ʌ hərəken
ðʌ blɑjnd kæn hæv mɑj ɑjz
ænd ðʌ dɛf kæn tek boθ mɑj irz
ɪf ðe dont mɑjnd ðʌ sɑjz

ɡɪv mɑj stʌmək tu milwɔki ɪf ðe rʌn æwt ʌv bir
pʊt mɑj sɑks ɪn ʌ sidər bɑks jʌst ɡɪt ʌm æwt ʌv hir
vinəs dʌ mɑjlo kæn hæv mɑj ɑrmz
lʊk æwt ɑjv ɡɑt jər noz
sɛl mɑj hɑrt tu ðʌ ǰʌŋkmæn
ænd ɡɪv mɑj lʌv tu roz

ɡɪv mɑj fit tu ðʌ fʊtlus ðʌ kɛrləs fænsi fri
ɡɪv mɑj niz tu ðʌ nidi dont pʊl ðæt stʌf ɑn mi
hænd mi dæwn mɑj wɔkən ken
ɪts ʌ sɪn tu tɛl ʌ lɑj
sɪnd mɑj mæwθ we dæwn sæwθ
ænd kɪs mɑj æs ɡʊdbɑj