Decoding the Sounds of Language
// OMOD: Where writing meets pronunciation
Every character you read has a secret sound. Every languoid has its own writing systems. OMOD reveals these connections by mapping orthography (what we write) to phonetics (how we speak).
What is OMOD?
Orthography
The written symbols we use - letters, characters, glyphs. What your eyes see when you read Vietnamese, Arabic, Tamil, or any language.
Phonetics
The actual sounds we make when speaking. Represented using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) - the universal sound notation system.
Mapping
OMOD connects these two worlds, showing how each written symbol transforms into sound across different languages and contexts.
See It In Action
Vietnamese: đ → /ɗ/
This character represents an implosive /ɗ/ sound - created by drawing air inward while making a 'd' sound. It's unique to Vietnamese among Latin-script languages.
Example: đúng /ɗuŋ˧˥/ = "correct"
Beyond Simple Letters
OMOD doesn't just map single letters. It captures the complexity of real orthographic systems:
Why This Matters
Language Learning
Understand exactly how to pronounce unfamiliar scripts
NLP & AI
Train models to understand script-sound relationships
Text-to-Speech
Improve pronunciation accuracy across languages
Linguistic Research
Analyze orthographic patterns and evolution
Accessibility
Help screen readers handle multilingual content
Language Preservation
Document endangered writing systems
The OMOD Approach
Like Glottocode provides unique identifiers for languages, OMOD provides a systematic way to identify and understand orthographic-phonetic relationships. Each mapping is:
📍 Context-Aware
Same letter, different sounds depending on position
🔬 Precise
Using standard IPA notation for universal understanding
🌐 Expandable
Built to grow with new languages and writing systems
Ready to Explore?
OMOD is an open project. Contribute mappings, build applications, or use our data.