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= Continuum Standard Orthography =
The '''Continuum Standard Orthography''' (CSO) is the official reference for transcribing and pronouncing terms used across the Continuum Universes franchise. This page provides Romanized forms, IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions, OED-style pronunciation guides, and ARPAbet codes.

== Vowels ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Romanized !! IPA !! OED-style !! ARPAbet
|-
| a || /a/ || a in ''father'' || AA
|-
| aa || /aː/ || long a || AAː
|-
| á || /aʊ/ || ow in ''cow'' || AW
|-
| â || /eɪ/ || ay in ''day'' || EY
|-
| ae || /æ/ || a in ''cat'' || AE
|-
| e || /ɛ/ || e in ''bet'' || EH
|-
| è || /i/ || ee in ''meet'' || IY
|-
| ê || /iː/ || long ee || IYː
|-
| é || /eɪ/ || ay in ''say'' || EY
|-
| ë || /ə/ || schwa (sofa) || AH
|-
| i || /ɪ/ || i in ''bit'' || IH
|-
| ø || /ø/ || French peu || ER0 (approx)
|-
| û || /u/ || oo in ''boot'' || UW
|-
| ü || /u/ || oo in ''boot'' || UW
|-
| uu || /u/ || long oo || UWː
|-
| o || /ɔ/ || aw in ''law'' || AO
|-
| ô || /oʊ/ || oh in ''go'' || OW
|-
| ó || /ɔʊ/ || ou in ''bought'' || AOʊ
|-
| í || /aɪ/ || eye in ''my'' || AY
|-
| u || /ʌ/ || u in ''cup'' || AH
|-
| y || /j/ || y in ''yes'' || Y
|-
| ii || /iː/ || long ee || IYː
|-
| oo || /ʊ/ || oo in ''foot'' || UH
|}

== Consonants ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Romanized !! IPA !! OED-style !! ARPAbet
|-
| b || /b/ || b in ''bat'' || B
|-
| p || /p/ || p in ''pat'' || P
|-
| d || /d/ || d in ''dog'' || D
|-
| t || /t/ || t in ''top'' || T
|-
| k || /k/ || k in ''cat'' || K
|-
| g || /g/ || g in ''go'' || G
|-
| m || /m/ || m in ''man'' || M
|-
| n || /n/ || n in ''net'' || N
|-
| f || /f/ || f in ''fun'' || F
|-
| v || /v/ || v in ''vet'' || V
|-
| s || /s/ || s in ''sit'' || S
|-
| z || /z/ || z in ''zoo'' || Z
|-
| l || /l/ || l in ''let'' || L
|-
| r || /r/ || rolled r || R
|-
| h || /h/ || h in ''hat'' || HH
|-
| ĵ || /dʒ/ || j in ''judge'' || JH
|-
| sh || /ʃ/ || sh in ''ship'' || SH
|-
| ś || /ʃ/ || sh (alt) || SH
|-
| ß || /sː/ || ss || S
|-
| hh || /ħ/ || pharyngeal h || HH1 (approx)
|-
| ç || /ç/ || German ich || HH2 (approx)
|-
| q || /qχ/ || uvular cluster || KX (approx)
|-
| ' (glottal) || /ʔ/ || glottal stop || Q (or ʔ)
|}

== Diphthongs & Clusters ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Romanized !! IPA !! OED-style !! ARPAbet
|-
| dh || /ð/ || th in ''this'' || DH
|-
| ð || /ð/ || th in ''this'' || DH
|-
| th || /θ/ || th in ''thin'' || TH
|-
| þ || /θ/ || th (alt) || TH
|-
| ć || /tʃ/ || ch in ''church'' || CH
|-
| ź || /ʒ/ || s in ''measure'' || ZH
|-
| ch || /tʃ/ || ch in ''church'' || CH
|-
| zh || /ʒ/ || s in ''measure'' || ZH
|-
| t's || /ts/ || ts in ''cats'' || TS
|-
| x || /ks/ || x in ''box'' || K S
|-
| k't || /kʔt/ || k then glottal then t || K T (with break)
|-
| g'n || /gʔn/ || g then glottal then n || G N (with break)
|}

== Example Words ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Word !! Romanized !! IPA !! OED-style !! ARPAbet !! Notes
|-
| ok'tlugarg || ok'tlugarg || /ɔtʔklʌgɑrg/ || ot-kluh-garg || AO T K L AH G AA R G || Malisik war-mount; demonstrates glottal stop and cluster
|-
| Suk’uu’luu || Suk’uu’luu || /sʌkʔuːʔluː/ || suk-oo-luh || S AH K Q UW Q L UW || Stalker species; example of multiple glottal stops
|-
| Mêra Ûrlek Teslek || Mêra Ûrlek Teslek || /miːrə uːrlɛk tɛslɛk/ || mee-ruh oor-lek tess-lek || M IY R AH UW R L EH K T EH S L EH K || Valorèin personal name; shows diacritics in use, final a as schwa
|-
| Zûrik Ûrlek || Zûrik Ûrlek || /zuːrɪk uːrlɛk/ || zoo-rik oor-lek || Z UW R IH K UW R L EH K || Valorèin personal name; illustrates accented vowels
|-
| Laatuutaa || Laatuutaa || /lɑːtuːtə/ || lah-too-tuh || L AA T UW T AH || Valorèin name; long vowels and doubled consonants, final a as schwa
|-
| Malismorai || Malismorai || /mælɪsmɔrɑː/ || mal-iss-mor-ah || M AE L IH S M AO R AA || Malisik cultural term; compound formation
|-
| Lesèa || Lesèa || /lɛsiə/ || leh-see-uh || L EH S IY AH || Lethurèan tribe name; diacritic usage, final a as schwa
|-
| Lûwela || Lûwela || /luːwɛlə/ || loo-weh-luh || L UW W EH L AH || Valorèin personal name; accented vowel with clear syllables, final a as schwa
|-
| Onja || Onja || /ɔnjə/ || on-yuh || AO N JH AH || Common given name; final a as schwa
|-
| Aenja || Aenja || /ænjə/ || an-yuh || AE N JH AH || Common given name; final a as schwa
|}

== Pronunciation Rules ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Rule !! Description
|-
| Final "a" || Any name or word ending in the letter "a" is pronounced with a final schwa /ə/.
|-
| è || Always pronounced as /i/ (like ''meet'').
|-
| ê || Always pronounced as /iː/ (long ee).
|-
| ae || Pronounced as /æ/ (like ''cat'').
|}

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