Xavier's English Letter Character Concepts

If you know anything about me, it's likely that I like to personify letters. Though, most of the time, the projects that personify letters that I see focus heavily on English. This won't do, because English isn't the only language on Earth. Fortunately, I know my fair share about foreign languages, so I'm at least qualified enough to personify a given language's letters.

Single Letter Sounds

Sequence Character Name Sound Value(s) Description
A a TBA
  • lax /æ/,
  • tense /ɛj/,
  • foreign /ɑ/,
  • lax after ⟨w⟩ /ɒ/,
  • rhotic after ⟨w⟩ / before ⟨l⟩+consonant /o/,
  • schwa /ə/
 TBA
B b Basil /b/ A jolly bass singer, bubbles come out when they sing
C c TBA
  • hard /k/,
  • soft /s/,
  • palatal /ʃ/
 TBA
D d Dawoud
  • default /d/,
  • in the -ed suffix after a voiceless consonant /t/
 A drummer that tries to put on a "cool" veneer, maybe a bit of a nostalgia-fueled daydreamer
E e TBA
  • lax /ɛ/,
  • tense /ɪj/,
  • foreign /ɛj/,
  • schwa /ə/,
  • word-final /∅/
 TBA
F f TBA /f/ TBA
G g TBA
  • hard /ɡ/,
  • soft /ʤ/
 TBA
H h Henry /h/ An overworked hotel worker, rushes up to serve other consonants
I i TBA
  • lax /ɪ/,
  • tense /ɑj/,
  • foreign/before another vowel /ɪj/,
  • semivowel /j/,
  • schwa /ə/
 TBA
J j Julie /ʤ/ A jester with a fleur-de-lis motif (⟨j⟩ is used mainly in French-derived words)
K k TBA /k/ TBA
L l TBA /l/ TBA
M m TBA /m/ TBA
N n TBA
  • default /n/,
  • before a velar /ŋ/
 TBA
O o TBA
  • lax /ɒ/,
  • tense /əw/,
  • in some common words /ʉw/,
  • lax before ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨v⟩, voiced ⟨th⟩ /ɐ/,
  • schwa /ə/
 TBA
P p TBA /p/ TBA
Q q TBA in ⟨qu⟩ /kw/ TBA
R r TBA /ɹ/ TBA
S s TBA
  • default /s/,
  • intervocalically / after a voiced sound /z/,
  • palatal /ʃ/,
  • intervocalic palatal /ʒ/
 TBA
T t TBA
  • default /t/,
  • ⟨i⟩-palatal /ʃ/,
  • ⟨u⟩-palatal /ʧ/
 A somewhat pretentious tennis player, also enjoys drinking tea
U u TBA
  • lax /ɐ/,
  • tense /jʉw/,
  • tense after ⟨l⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨s⟩ /ʉw/,
  • in some common words /ʊ/,
  • semivowel /w/,
  • schwa /ə/
 TBA
V v Vlad /v/ A Dracula-style vampire, vocalizes while sticking out fangs (/v/ is a labiodental sound)
W w TBA /w/ TBA
X x TBA
  • default /ks/,
  • intervocalically after ⟨e⟩ /ɡz/,
  • palatal /kʃ/,
  • word-initial /z/
 TBA
Y y TBA
  • semivowel /j/,
  • lax /ɪ/,
  • tense /ɑj/,
  • ending a multisyllabic word /ɪj/,
  • schwa /ə/
 TBA
Z z TBA /z/ TBA

Consonant Sequences

Sequence Sound Value(s) Description
ch
  • default /ʧ/,
  • Greek-derived /k/,
  • French-derived /ʃ/
 TBA
ck /k/ TBA
dg /ʤ/ TBA
gh
  • default /∅/,
  • after a checked vowel /f/
 TBA
gn /n/ TBA
gu /ɡ/ TBA
kn /n/ TBA
mb /m/ TBA
ph /f/ TBA
rh /ɹ/ TBA
sc /s/ TBA
sh /ʃ/ TBA
tch /ʧ/ TBA
th
  • default /θ/,
  • intervocalic/beginning a function word /ð/
 T and H enjoy travelling the world, but often try to one-up eachother about it. H says, "I’ve just spent the week in Barcelona!", only for T to retort, "You mean Barthelona?". The same happens with "Madrid" ("Surely, you mean Maðrið!").
wh /ʍ/ TBA

Vowel Sequences and Rhotic Vowels

Sequence Sound Value(s) Description
aa, ah /ɑ/ TBA
ae
  • Greco-Latin-derived /ɪj/,
  • modern /ɛj/
 TBA
ai, ay /ɛj/ TBA
ar
  • default /ɑ(ɹ)/,
  • before ⟨w⟩ /o(ɹ)/
 TBA
/ɛj/ + r /ɛː(ɹ)/ TBA
au, aw /o/ TBA
ea
  • tense /ɪj/,
  • lax /ɛ/,
  • /ɛj/
 TBA
eau /əw/ TBA
ee /ɪj/ TBA
ei
  • default /ɛj/,
  • usually after ⟨c⟩ /ɪj/,
  • German /ɑj/
 TBA
er, ir, ur, yr /ɜ(ɹ)/ TBA
/ɪj/ + r /ɪː(ɹ)/ TBA
eu, ew, ue, ui
  • default /jʉw/,
  • after ⟨l⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨s⟩ /ʉw/,
 TBA
ey
  • default /ɛj/,
  • ending a multisyllabic word /ɪj/
 TBA
ie
  • default /ɪj/,
  • ending a one-syllable word /ɑj/
 TBA
igh, ye /ɑj/ TBA
oa, oe /əw/ TBA
oi, oy /oj/ TBA
oo
  • tense /ʉw/,
  • lax /ʊ/
 TBA
or, /əw/ + r
  • default /o(ɹ)/,
  • before ⟨w⟩ /ɜ(ɹ)/
 TBA
ou
  • default /æw/,
  • usually French-derived /ʉw/,
  • lax /ɐ/
 TBA
ow
  • default /æw/,
  • tense /əw/
 TBA
/ʉw/ + r /ʊː(ɹ)/ TBA

← Back to Language Letter Characters Home Page

← Back to Xavier's Home Page