Wikipedia:Transliteration integrity

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Transliteration Integrity: A Commitment to Accurate Representation Across Scripts

Transliteration is the process of converting text from one script into another while preserving the exact pronunciation of the source word. It is often used to enable speakers of one language to approximate the sounds of words from a language with a different script. Despite its importance, the term transliteration is often misunderstood, with many conflating it with orthographic substitution or phonetic approximation. To clarify the true nature of transliteration, we define transliteration integrity as the practice of faithfully representing the source pronunciation, maintaining consistency across different writing systems, and avoiding distortions due to visual or phonetic biases.

1. Phonemic Fidelity: Exact Pronunciation Preservation

At the core of true transliteration is the preservation of the source pronunciation. Transliteration should never alter the sounds of the original word. This principle can be evaluated by the test of phonemic fidelity: Does the transliterated form reproduce the source pronunciation exactly? If the transliteration results in any phonemic shifts — whether due to the limitations of the target script or improper adaptation — or any reason, in fact, it fails to meet the standard of true transliteration.

Example:

The English word “Oxford” transliterated into Bengali as “অক্সফোর্ড” should retain the exact English pronunciation /ɒksfɜːd/, with no phonetic shift. Transliteration of this word into any other script should reflect the same sounds, regardless of the characters used. /ɒkʃford/ is a phonetic approximation. For example, when transliterating "DAYTIME" into Greek script as "ΔΑΥΤΙΜΕ", it should still be pronounced /ˈdeɪtaɪm/ in English, even though the letters used in the Greek script might look unfamiliar.

2. Script Independence: Consistent Pronunciation Across Writing Systems

Transliteration must be script-independent and spelling-independent, meaning that the transliterated form of a word should have the same pronunciation, regardless of the script or spelling used. A true transliteration maintains consistency across different writing systems, ensuring that the source sound is preserved in every instance.

Example:

The Greek letter “Δ” is transliterated into the Latin alphabet as “D”, even though it represents the phoneme /ð/. In this case, the transliteration maintains the same sound across scripts, and the source pronunciation remains unaltered.

3. Reversibility: Reconstructing the Source Sound

While not always strictly necessary, the ability to reconstruct the original sound from the transliterated form is another important criterion for transliteration integrity. If the transliterated text cannot reasonably reconstruct the original pronunciation or if phonemes are lost, the transliteration cannot be considered accurate.

Example:

The name “Москва” transliterated into the Latin alphabet as “Moskva” preserves the pronunciation and can be easily reversed back to the original Russian form without ambiguity.

1. No Visual Bias: Avoiding Letter-Based Substitution

Transliteration is about representing sound, not visual appearance. A key characteristic of true transliteration is the avoidance of visual biases. This means that letters from the target script should not be chosen based solely on their visual resemblance to the source script’s letters. For example, the Cyrillic “С” should not be transliterated as “C” because the shape of the letters is similar, but they represent different sounds (/s/ vs /k/ in English).

4. Consistency: Stable Transliteration Across Contexts

True transliteration requires consistency. The same word or sound should be transliterated in the same way every time, regardless of context. If the transliteration changes arbitrarily or inconsistently, it undermines its integrity and fails to accurately represent the original pronunciation.

Example:

The Arabic name “محمد” should consistently be transliterated as “Muhammad” in every instance, maintaining the same phonetic representation each time it appears.

5. Source Sound Priority: No Influence from Target Language Bias

In transliteration, the source pronunciation must always take priority. Transliteration is not about adapting the pronunciation to fit the phonological system of the target language. The sounds of the original word should not be altered based on the phonetic rules or preferences of the target language.

Example:

The Persian word “تهران” should be transliterated as “Tehran”, with the pronunciation /tɛhˈrɑːn/ preserved, even though Persian phonology differs from English phonology.

Transliteration integrity is vital because it preserves the linguistic and cultural authenticity of a word when transferred from one writing system to another. When done correctly, it allows people to connect with the original pronunciation, even if they are unfamiliar with the original script. Moreover, it ensures accuracy in language studies, facilitates clear communication, and helps avoid the confusion that arises from phonetic approximations and inconsistent transliterations.

Redirects from transliterations on other language Wikipedias, such as Супер Марио 64 -> Super Mario 64 on the Serbian Wikipedia, Эр Канада -> Air Canada on the Russian Wikipedia, and Лет ит би -> Let it Be on the Russian Wikipedia further highlight the importance of transliteration integrity and user expectance of proper, phonemically and phonetically accurate transliterations.

Transliteration is a powerful tool for representing words across writing systems, but only when it is done with integrity. True transliteration respects the source pronunciation, ensures script independence, avoids visual substitution, and remains consistent and reversible. Understanding and applying these principles is essential to maintaining the accuracy and reliability of transliteration, allowing speakers and readers of different languages to understand and engage with one another across linguistic boundaries.

Phonemic Fidelity: Preserving the original sound of the source word without alterations.

Script Independence: Ensuring the transliteration maintains pronunciation across writing systems.

Reversibility: Allowing reconstruction of the source pronunciation.

No Visual Bias: Avoiding substitution based on visual similarity.

Consistency: Maintaining a uniform approach to transliteration across instances.

Source Sound Priority: Preserving the original pronunciation regardless of the target language's phonetic system.

Additional notes:

Even if you make a mistake with the characters used, for example, if you type עיםדא by accident instead of גוסט, it should still be pronounced identically to the English word "ghost" if "ghost" is what you are representing in both cases.

Here is a validity chart for true transliteration.

• Medium.com – "What is Transliteration? How is it different from Translation?"
• Serbian Latin–Cyrillic Converter Tool
• Personal linguistic analysis by the essay author.

• Transliteration
• Phonemic transcription