Transliteration

Transliteration in a narrow sense is a mapping from one system of writing into another. Transliteration attempts to be lossless, so that an informed reader should be able to reconstruct the original spelling of unknown transliterated words. To achieve this objective transliteration may define complex conventions for dealing with letters in a source script which do not correspond with letters in a goal script. Romaji is an example of a transliterating method.

Example to illustrate the difference between transliteration and transcription

In Modern Greek, the letters <η> <ι> <υ> and the letter combinations <ει> <oι> <υι> are all pronounced {{IPA|}} (in IPA notation).

Related Topics:
Greek - IPA

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A transcription consequently renders them all as <i>,

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but a transliteration still distinguishes them, for example by transliterating to <ē> <i> <y> and <ei> <oi> <yi>.

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(As the old Greek pronunciation of <η> was {{IPA|}},

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this proposal uses the character appropriate for an Old Greek transliteration or transcription <ē>,

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an <e> with a macron.)

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On the other hand, <ευ> is sometimes pronounced {{IPA|}} and sometimes {{IPA|}}, depending on the following sound. A transcription distinguishes them, but this is no requirement for a transliteration.

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