text_original: These clay books were heavy to hold and clumsy to handle, while the charac  ters did not stand out well from the brown, yellow, and whitish background of the material; but, on the other hand, a poem, baked and incorporated into the page itself, ran less danger of destruction than if scribbled in ink on sheets of papyrus.
text_transcription: THESE CLAY BOOKS WERE HEAVY TO HOLD AND CLUMSY TO HANDLE WHILE THE CHARACTERS DID NOT STAND OUT WELL FROM THE BROWN YELLOW AND WHITISH BACKGROUND OF THE MATERIAL BUT ON THE OTHER HAND A POEM BAKED AND INCORPORATED INTO THE PAGE ITSELF RAN LESS DANGER OF DESTRUCTION THAN IF SCRIBBLED IN INK ON SHEETS OF PAPYRUS
phonemes: ðiːz klˈeɪ bˈʊks wɜː hˈɛvi tə hˈoʊld ænd klˈʌmzi tə hˈændəl, wˌaɪl ðə tʃˈæɹæk tˈɜːz dɪdnˌɑːt stˈænd ˈaʊt wˈɛl fɹʌmðə bɹˈaʊn, jˈɛloʊ, ænd wˈaɪɾɪʃ bˈækɡɹaʊnd ʌvðə mətˈɪɹiəl; bˌʌt, ɔnðɪ ˈʌðɚ hˈænd, ɐ pˈoʊᵻm, bˈeɪkt ænd ɪŋkˈɔːɹpɚɹˌeɪɾᵻd ˌɪntʊ ðə pˈeɪdʒ ɪtsˈɛlf, ɹˈæn lˈɛs dˈeɪndʒɚɹ ʌv dᵻstɹˈʌkʃən ðɐn ɪf skɹˈɪbəld ɪn ˈɪŋk ˌɔn ʃˈiːts ʌv pɐpˈaɪɹəs.