Editing Plautdietsch (section)

==Phonetics==
Mennonite Low German has many sounds, including a few not found in other varieties of Low German.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''IPA chart of Mennonite Low German consonants'''
|-
!
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Labiodental consonant|Labiodental]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- align=center
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
|
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}&nbsp;<sup>1</sup>
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}&nbsp;<sup>2</sup>
|
|- align=center
![[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA link|p}} {{IPA link|b}}
|
| {{IPA link|t}} {{IPA link|d}}
|
| {{IPA link|c}} {{IPA link|ɟ}}<sup>3</sup>
| {{IPA link|k}} {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}&nbsp;<sup>4</sup>
|- align=center
![[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|f}} {{IPA link|v}}&nbsp;<sup>5</sup>
| {{IPA link|s}} {{IPA link|z}}&nbsp;<sup>6</sup>
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{IPA link|ʒ}}&nbsp;<sup>7</sup>
| {{IPA link|ç}} {{IPA link|j}}&nbsp;<sup>8</sup>
| {{IPA link|x}} ({{IPA link|ɣ}})&nbsp;<sup>9</sup>
| {{IPA link|h}}
|- align=center
![[Flap consonant|Flap]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}&nbsp;<sup>10</sup>
|
|
|
|
|- align=center
![[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɹ}}&nbsp;<sup>10</sup>
|
|
|
|
|- align=center
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|l}} ({{IPA link|ɫ}})&nbsp;<sup>11</sup>
|
|
|
|
|}

Where symbols for consonants occur in pairs, the left represents the [[voicelessness|voiceless consonant]] and the right represents the [[voice (phonetics)|voiced consonant]]. Observations: According to the spelling system of De Bibel these sounds are spelled as follows:
# {{IPA|/ɲ/}} – {{angle bracket|nj}} as in ''Kjinja'' ("children")
# {{IPA|/ŋ/}} – {{angle bracket|ng}} as in ''Hunga'' ("hunger")
# {{IPA|/c ɟ/}} – {{angle bracket|kj}} and {{angle bracket|gj}} as in ''Kjoakj'' ("church") and ''Brigj'' ("bridge")
# {{IPA|/ʔ/}} – no letter, but has to be used if a word that begins with a vowel or a prefix is added to a word which by itself starts with a vowel: ve'achten (to despise)
# {{IPA|/f v/}} – {{IPA|/f/}} can be written as {{angle bracket|f}} or {{angle bracket|v}}: ''Fada'' ("male cousin"), ''Voda'' ("father"). The only criterion is the spelling of these words in German. {{IPA|/v/}} is spelled {{angle bracket|w}} as in German: ''Wota'' ("water")
# {{IPA|/s z/}} – at the beginning of a word and between vowels {{IPA|/z/}} is written {{angle bracket|s}}: ''sajen'' ("to say"), ''läsen'' ("to read"). The {{IPA|/s/}} sound is written {{angle bracket|z}} at the beginning of a word (where some speakers pronounce it {{IPA|[ts]}}), {{angle bracket|ss}} between vowels and final after a short vowel: ''Zocka'' ("sugar"), ''waussen'' ("to grow"), ''Oss'' ("ox"). At the end of a word after a long vowel or consonant both are written {{angle bracket|s}}, the reader has to know the word to pronounce the correct sound: ''Hos'' {{IPA|/hoz/}} ("rabbit"), ''Os'' {{IPA|/os/}} ("carrion").
# {{IPA|/ʃ ʒ/}} – {{angle bracket|sch}} and {{angle bracket|zh}} as in ''School'' ("school") and ''ruzhen'' ("rush"). {{angle bracket|sp}} and {{angle bracket|st}} represent {{IPA|/ʃp/}} and {{IPA|/ʃt/}} at the beginning of a word and if a prefix is attached to a word starting with {{angle bracket|sp}} or {{angle bracket|st}}: ''spälen'' ("to play") ''bestalen'' ("to order").
# {{IPA|/ç j/}} – {{angle bracket|j}} as in ''Joa'' ("year"). The {{IPA|/ç/}} sound is written {{angle bracket|ch}} after consonants, {{angle bracket|e}}, {{angle bracket|i}} and {{angle bracket|äa}}: ''Erfolch'' ("success"), ''Jesecht'' ("face"), ''Jewicht'' ("weight"), ''läach'' ("low"). After {{angle bracket|a}}, it is written {{angle bracket|jch}} to differentiate it from {{IPA|/x/}}: ''rajcht'' ("right")
# {{IPA|/x ɣ/}} – {{IPA|/x/}} is written {{angle bracket|ch}}, only occurs after back vowels: ''Dach'' ("day"), ''Loch'' ("hole"). {{IPA|[ɣ]}} (an allophone of {{IPA|/ɡ/}}) is rendered {{angle bracket|g}} between vowels and final: ''froagen'' ("to ask"), ''vondoag'' ("today"). At the beginning of a word and before consonants, g has the {{IPA|[ɡ]}} sound.
# {{IPA|/ɾ ɹ/}} – {{angle bracket|r}} is a flap (like the Spanish r), or depending on the person, even a trill (like Spanish {{angle bracket|rr}}), before vowels: ''root'' ("red"), ''groot'' ("big"), ''Liera'' ("teacher"); {{IPA|/ɹ/}} pronounced as an approximant (English r) before a consonant, at the end and in the -ren endings of Old Colony speakers: ''kort'' ("short"), ''ar'' ("her"), ''hieren'' ("to hear").{{Citation needed|reason=There is sometimes just speaker variation in the production of /r/ and if there is a clear rule as to which IPA /r/ is produced in which environment, the editor should cite a source.|date=August 2012}} The [[guttural R|uvular German r]] {{IPA|[ʀ]}} is not heard in Plautdietsch.
# {{IPA|/l ɫ/}} – {{IPA|[ɫ]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|[l]}} that occurs after vowels in words like ''Baul'' and ''well''.

===Vowels===
[[File:Plautdietsch vowel chart (Canadian Old Colony dialect).svg|thumb|Vowels of the Canadian Old Colony dialect, from {{Harvcoltxt|Cox|Driedger|Tucker|2013|p=224}}]]

The [[vowel]] inventory of Plautdietsch is large, with 13 simple vowels, 10 diphthongs and one triphthong.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Vowels in Plautdietsch
|-
!scope="col"|Class
!scope="col"|[[Front vowel|Front]]
!scope="col"|[[Central vowel|Central]]
!scope="col"|[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|y}} || || {{IPA link|u}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[Near-close vowel|Near-close]]
|{{IPA link|ɪ}} || ||{{IPA link|ʊ}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} || rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ə}}|| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ}} || {{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|||{{IPA link|a}} || {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|}

* {{IPA|/y/}} is rounded and is heard only in the Old Colony and Bergthal groups.
* This table gives only a very general idea of Plautdietsch vowels, as their exact phonetic realizations vary considerably from dialect to dialect, although these differences are poorly documented. For instance, in the Canadian Old Colony dialect, {{IPA|/ɪ, ɛ/}} are strongly lowered to {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɛ}}, {{IPAplink|æ}}]}}, {{IPA|/ʊ/}} is mid-centralized to {{IPAblink|ɵ̞}}, whereas there is hardly any difference between {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} (there is no {{IPA|/ɑ/}} in that variety), with both being pronounced {{IPAblink|ɐ}} or {{IPAblink|ɑ}}, although they are probably still distinguished by length and F3 values. Traditionally, Plautdietsch has been said to not have phonemic vowel length.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Cox|Driedger|Tucker|2013|pp=223–225}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Plautdietsch vowels with example words
! colspan="2" scope="col" |Symbol
! colspan="3" scope="col" |Example
|-
!scope="col"|[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
![[orthography]]
!scope="col"|[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!scope="col"|[[orthography]]
!scope="col"|English translation
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ɪ}}
!i
|{{IPA|bɪt}}
|''bitt''
|"(he) bites"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|i}}
!ie
|{{IPA|bit}}
|''Biet''
|"piece"
|-
!scope="row"|ʉ
!u
|bʉt
|''but''
|"(he) builds"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ɛ}}
!e
|{{IPA|ʃɛp}}
|''Schepp''
|"ship"
|-
!scope="row"|e̝
!ä
|{{IPA|be̝t}}
|''bät''
|"bit"
|-
!scope="row"|e
!ei
|lev
|Leiw
|"lion"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ə}}
!e
|{{IPA|də}}
|'' de''
|"the"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ɔ}}
!au
|b{{IPA|ɔ}}l
|''Baul''
|"ball"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|a}}
!a
|{{IPA|bad}}
|''Bad''
|"bed"
|-
!scope="row"|ɑ~ʌ
!o
|bʌl
|''Boll''
|"bull"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|oː}}
!o
|{{IPA|rot}}
|''Rot''
|"advice"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|u}}
!u
|{{IPA|rua}}
|''Rua''
|"tube, pipe"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ʊ}}
!u
|{{IPA|bʊk}}
|''Buck''
|"stomach"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ɔɪ}}
!ee
|{{IPA|bɔɪt}}
|''Beet''
|"beet"
|-
!scope="row"|ʌɪ
!ee
|ʌɪnt
|Eent
|"one"
|-
!scope="row"|œ~ø
!oo
|bøt
|''Boot''
|"boat"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ia}}
!ia
|{{IPA|via}}
|''wia''
|"(he) was"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|iə}}
!iee
|{{IPA|viət}}
|''wieet''
|"worth"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ea}}
!äa
|{{IPA|vea}}
|''wäa''
|"who"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|oa}}
!oa
|{{IPA|boa}}
|''Boa''
|"drill"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ua}}
!ua
|{{IPA|vua}}
|''wua''
|"where"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|uə}}
!ua
|{{IPA|vuət}}
|''Wuat''
|"word"
|-
!scope="row"|ʉa
!ua
|bʉa
|''Bua''
|"farmer"
|-
!scope="row"|ɪu
!ua
|bɪuk
|''Buak''
|"book"
|-
!scope="row"|{{IPA|ɔɪa}}
!ea
|{{IPA|bɔɪa}}
|''Bea''
|"beer"
|}

The {{IPA|/u/}} sound has been shifted to {{IPA|/y/}} in the Old Colony dialect, leaving the sound only as part of the '''ua''' diphthong. However, in certain areas and age groups, there is a heavy tendency to shift {{IPA|/o/}} sound up to {{IPA|[u]}}.

Pronunciation of certain vowels and diphthongs varies from some speakers to others; the diphthong represented by '''ee''' for instances is pronounced {{IPA|[oi]}} or even {{IPA|[ei]}} by some. Likewise the long vowels represented by '''au''' and '''ei''' might have a diphthong glide into {{IPA|[ʊ]}} and {{IPA|[ɪ]}}, respectively.
* English sound equivalents are approximate. Long vowels ä and o do not have a diphthong glide.