SaypYu (originally SaypU) (; acronym for "Spell As You Pronounce Universal alphabet project") is an approximative phonetic alphabet[1] of 24 alphabet letters to spell languages, including English. The spelling system was developed by the Syrian banker Jaber George Jabbour to write English more phonetically. The 24-letter alphabet includes 23 Roman alphabet letters (after excluding "c", "q", and "x") and the addition of a 24th letter, the IPA letter "ɘ" (close-mid central unrounded vowel) to play the role of schwa. The letter represents the initial sound of "ago" or "about".
The SaypYu project promotes "the simple universal phonetic alphabet" which is intended to facilitate a quick and convenient writing system for verbally penetrating foreign situations and pronouncing unusual place-names reasonably quickly and accurately. The official website of the project has published thousands of words in amended phonetic system inviting others to make suggestions, additions, and corrections as a collaborative project.
SaypYu is not intended to replace, but to complement the highly sophisticated and elegant International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) which is used in professional dictionaries. It currently borrows the "ɘ" directly from the IPA, but possibly this may be replaced by a * or @ for less sophisticated systems.[2]
The system while based on phonetic alphabet, represents phonemics instead. Enough similar sounds, are written identically, as the th-sounds found in english are both spelt with th while IPA uses /θ/ in "thin" and /ð/ in this.
The Times Education Editor (Greg Hurst) reported in the article "Learning a new language? It's as easy as ABK!":[3]
The project was launched on 10 December 2012[4] by Jaber George Jabbour, Director of the Logos Capital Ltd. (UK), who is of Syrian origin, widely travelled and has encountered difficulty pronouncing words spelt in conventional Roman text such as Leicester Square which becomes, in SaypYu: Lestɘr skwer. Its declared purpose is to make pronunciation easier and foster international understanding.
According to BBC Learning English project report by Karen Zarindast[5] "Spell as you Pronounce" in the section Words in the News:
| Letter | Name |
|---|---|
| A a | aa |
| B b | bii |
| D d | dey |
| E e | ekow |
| F f | fay |
| G g | gii |
| H h | heytsh |
| I i | in |
| J j | jey |
| K k | key |
| L l | ley |
| M m | muu |
| N n | nii |
| O o | ow |
| P p | pey |
| R r | row |
| S s | suu |
| T t | tii |
| U u | uu |
| V v | vow |
| W w | wey |
| Y y | yet |
| Z z | zii |
| Ǝ ɘ | shwaa |
| IPA symbols | SaypYu symbols | |
|---|---|---|
| pronounced as //a// | a | |
| pronounced as /æ/ | a | |
| pronounced as /ɑ/ | a, aa | |
| pronounced as /ɑː/ | aa | |
| pronounced as /ɑ̃/ | aan | |
| pronounced as /e/, pronounced as /ε/ | e, ee | |
| pronounced as /e:/ | ee | |
| pronounced as /ɛ̃/ | en, an | |
| pronounced as /ɪ/ | i | |
| pronounced as /iː/ | ii | |
| pronounced as /o/ | o | |
| pronounced as /ɔ/ | o, oo | |
| pronounced as /ɔ:/ | o, oo | |
| pronounced as /ɔ̃/ | on | |
| pronounced as //u// | u | |
| pronounced as //ʊ// | u | |
| pronounced as /y/ | uu, uɘ, uy | |
| pronounced as /uː/ | uu | |
| pronounced as /ui/ | uy | |
| pronounced as /ə/ | ɘ | |
| pronounced as /ø/ | ɘɘ | |
| pronounced as /œ/ | ɘɘ | |
| pronounced as /œ̃/ | an | |
| pronounced as /eɪ/ | ey | |
| pronounced as /aɪ/ | ay | |
| pronounced as /æʊ/ | aw | |
| pronounced as /aʊ/ | aw | |
| pronounced as /oʊ/ | ow | |
| pronounced as /ɔɪ/ | oy | |
| pronounced as /j/ | y | |
| pronounced as /ʎ/ | y | |
| pronounced as /ʝ/ | y | |
| pronounced as /w/ | w | |
| pronounced as /ɥ/ | w | |
| pronounced as /b/ | b | |
| pronounced as /d/ | d | |
| pronounced as /f/ | f | |
| pronounced as /ɡ/ | g | |
| pronounced as /h/ | h | |
| pronounced as /k/ | k | |
| pronounced as /x/ | kh | |
| pronounced as /l/ | l | |
| pronounced as /m/ | m | |
| pronounced as /n/ | n | |
| pronounced as /p/ | p |
The project was aired on Canadian national radio.[6] The presenter Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed: