.. _tg-spelling: ******************** Spelling Conventions ******************** While transcribing a visit, you may encounter words whose spelling you are unsure of. For most normal words, we simply use standard American spelling found in any American dictionary. For a list of conventional spellings of non-word communicative sounds and words not found in the dictionary, consult the list of standard spellings below. We attempt to address other spelling related questions in the FAQ. FAQ === * :ref:`How should I spell this word? ` * :ref:`Should I transcribe this as a compound word? ` * :ref:`Should I use an -ie or -y suffix? ` * :ref:`How do I transcribe a web address? ` List of standard spellings ========================== Below is our offical list of standard spellings for a variety of sounds and non-dictionary words commonly found in parent-child speech. Communicative sounds -------------------- A communicative sound is generally something that doesn't quite have a defined phonological structure, but carries some meaning. ============================ =================================================== Word Example or note ============================ =================================================== ah "open your mouth and say *ah*", "ah, look!" (an exclamatory intake of air) aha "I have an idea!" argh frustration or "I'm a pirate" aw "so cute!" or "darn" blah boring boop falling down/getting hit noise brr "it's cold in here" doh Homer Simpson duh "it's obvious" eek "*eek*! a mouse!" eh indifference, "I don't care", confirmation, "right?" er pause in speech, similar to *uh* ew gross! gee golly gee whiz! grr angry ha laughter (not always necessary to transcribe) hmm wondering or thinking noise hmmm saying no (mouth closed) hey attention getter hooray "hip hip hooray!" huh "what did you say?" or "don't you agree?" huhuh saying no (mouth open) mmm yummy noise mmhm saying yes (mouth closed) mmmmmm prosodic, non-verbal "I don't know" nah saying no oh as in "oh my goodness!" or "oh boy!" ooh "ooh shiny!" oops "something's wrong" use for woops, woop, oop, etc. ouch "it hurts!" ouchie "it hurts!" or another word for boo-boo ow "it hurts!" owie "it hurts!" or another word for boo-boo psst "it's a secret" shh quiet noise tada "look, I did it!" uh filler sound uhhuh affirmative (open mouth) uhoh "oh no!" uhuhuh admonition; "don't do that" ugh disgust, sometimes frustration, grunt of effort um filler sound whee on a roller coaster! whew "what a relief" whoa "hold your horses" or exclamation whoo cheer, "go Bears!" yeehaw like a cowboy ============================ =================================================== Animal sounds ------------- List of sounds made when imitating animals. ============================ ================================================ Word Animal or Note ============================ ================================================ arf dog baa sheep bow+wow dog bzz bee cluck chicken cock+a+doodle+doo rooster grr bear or any growl hee+haw donkey meow cat moo cow neigh horse peep chick quack duck raar lion or DINOSAUR! ruff+ruff dog woof dog ============================ ================================================ Family relations ---------------- List of forms commonly used when addressing parents and grandparents. ============================ ================================================ Word Note ============================ ================================================ Auntie Dad Dada Daddy Ma Mom Mama Mommy Nana ============================ ================================================ .. admonition:: Be sure to capitalize familial terms! All familial terms can be used as proper or common nouns, and must be capitalized accordingly. If one of these terms is being used as a proper noun, transcribe it with an initial capital letter. One way to tell if it is being used as a proper noun is to see if it could be standing in place of the person's actual name. If it is being used as a common noun, transcribe it in all lower-case. Common nouns usually have a possessive or an article in front of it (e.g. "your daddy", "the mommy", "an auntie of mine"). Abbreviated terms ----------------- List of commonly used abbreviated terms. ============================ ================================================ Word Note ============================ ================================================ p+u Smells bad t+v x+ray ============================ ================================================ Common brands ------------- Commonly mentioned brand names. ============================ ================================================ Word Note ============================ ================================================ Band+Aid Kool+Aid Q+Tip ============================ ================================================ Idiomatic phrases ----------------- Widely used fixed phrases, which we consider single lexical units. ============================ ================================================ Word Example or note ============================ ================================================ ho+ho+ho Santa how+about hows+about "Well, hows+about that!" how+come kind+of see note in Section 6.5.1 of+course sort+of see note in Section 6.5.1 thank+you what+about where+abouts yabba+dabba+doo Fred Flintstone ============================ ================================================ Compound Titles --------------- Titles of books, movies, games, etc. See :ref:`Section 6.5 ` and :ref:`Section 6.6 ` for an explanation of how to form compounds with underscores and ``+`` signs. ======================================== ====================================== Title Note ======================================== ====================================== Bob_The_Builder Candy+Land Curious+George_And_The_Puppies Dora_The_Explorer Hide_And_Go_Seek Jackass_Three+D Magnum+P+I Monty+Python Monty+Python_And_The_Holy_Grail Sesame+Street South+Park South+Park_Bigger_Longer_And_Uncut The_Boy_Who_Cried_Wolf The_Cat_In_The_Hat The_Giving_Tree The_Man_With_The_Yellow_Hat The+Matrix Tic+Tac+Toe Toy+Story Toy+Story_Two ======================================== ====================================== Other ----- Other common non-dictionary words that don't fit into any of the above categories. ============================ ================================================ Word Example or note ============================ ================================================ alright binkie birdie boo boo+boo booger bye+bye cheesy chickie choo+choo choo coochie+coochie+coo ding+dong doggie duckie feetie fishie froggie gesundheit giddy+up goody goof+ball holy+moley hon horsie icky kiddo kitty+cat lookie m\@ln a\@ln r\@ln y\@l Spelling out a proper name nope night+night oclock ok Do not capitalize peekaboo pee+pee poo+poo poo+poos poopy rock+a+bye sippy smiley sweetie teeny+tiny tickley touchy weirdo yeah yay yuck yucky yum yummy yep yo yup ============================ ================================================ Letter sounds -------------------- When the child sounds out the letter instead of saying its name, use these standard spellings. In general, consonants are sounded out using the consonant followed by ``uh.`` Some consonants, such as S and R, are sounded out by double letters. Vowels are either in the form "ah" with a vowel plus h, or "ash" with two vowels plus h. Example: "B says buh, R says rr". "Can you make the sound that S makes?" "ss." If they sound out the letter to "sound exactly as the name of the letter, such as vowel long sounds, type the name of the letter again. For example E makes the E sound, and I makes the I sound when they are long vowels" vs. "E makes the eh sound and I makes the ih sound when they are short vowels." ============================ ========================================= ================== Letter Pronunciation spelling Variant ============================ ========================================= ================== A aah B buh C suh kuh D duh E eh F fuh G guh juh H huh I ih J juh K kuh L luh M mm N nn O ah ooh P puh Q quh R rr S ss T tuh U uh ooh V vuh W wuh X zuh kss Y yuh Z zuh ============================ ========================================= ==================