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Like those of many other Romance languages, Orthography of Catalan is adapted from the Latin alphabet and is largely based on the language’s phonology.[1]
Contents |
Alphabet
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation | example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | /a/ | sac | 'sack' |
| B b | be | /b/ | biga | 'beam' |
| C c | ce | /k/ | casa | 'house' |
| Ç ç | ce trencada | /s/ | Renaixença | 'Renaissance' |
| D d | de | /d/ | dalla | 'scythe' |
| E e | e | /ɛ/, /e/ | sec,cec | 'blind', 'dry' |
| F f | efa | /f/ | fosc | 'dark' |
| G g | ge | /ɡ/, /(d)ʑ/ | gasa | 'lint' |
| H h | hac | Ø | humanitat | 'mankind' |
| I i | i | /i/ | ric | 'I laugh' |
| J j | jota | /ʑ/ | ajut | 'help' |
| K k | ke | /k/ | karate | |
| L l | ela | /l/ /ʎ/ | pala, palla | 'shovel’, 'straw' |
| M m | ema | /m/ | mama | 'mum' |
| N n | ena | /n/ | mana | 'he commands' |
| O o | o | /ɔ/, /o/ | soc sóc | 'log', 'I am' |
| P p | pe | /p/ | piga | 'speck' |
| Q q | cu | /k/ | obliquar | |
| R r | erre | /ɾ/, /r/ | cera, serra | 'wax', 'saw' |
| S s | esse | /s/, /z/ | passar, pesar | 'to pass', 'to weigh' |
| T t | te | /t/ | talla | 'size' |
| U u | u | /u/ | suc | 'juice' |
| V v | ve baixa | /b/, /v/[2] | envejar | 'to envy' |
| W w | ve doble | |||
| X x | ics, xeix | /ɕ/, /ks/, /ɡz/ | xoc, expressió | 'shock', 'expression' |
| Y y | i grega | |||
| Z z | zeta | /z/ | zero | |
Other conventions
Catalan also possesses digraphs:
- ‹ig› represents /tɕ/ after a vowel: puig
- ‹ix› represents /ɕ/ after a vowel: mateix
- ‹tg› represents /dʑ/: prometatge
- ‹tj› represents /tɕ/ at the ends of words and /dʑ/ otherwise: corretja
- ‹tx› represents /tɕ/ : despatx
- ‹l•l› (ela geminada) represents /ll/ (distinguishing it from ‹ll›, which represents /ʎ/): anul•lar
- ‹ny› represents /ɲ/: any
Catalan also uses the acute accent (‹é í ó ú›) to mark stressed close vowels and the grave accent (‹à è ò›) to mark stressed open vowels:[3]
- també ('also') [təmˈbe]
- pròxim ('nearby') [ˈprɔksim]
If a diaeresis appears over an ‹i› or ‹u› that follows another vowel, it denotes a hiatus:[4]
- raïm ('grape') [rəˈim]
- taüt ('coffin') [təˈut]
In addition to this, ‹ü› represents /w/ between /ɡ/ or /k/ and a front vowel (‹gu› and ‹qu› are used to represent a hard pronunciation before ‹i e›):[5]
- ungüent ('ointment') [uŋˈɡwen].
See also
Notes
- ^ Wheeler (2005:6)
- ^ In most dialects (except Balearic [see Carbonell & Llisterri (1992:53)] and southern Valencian) /b/ and /v/ have merged into just one phoneme.
- ^ Wheeler (2005:6)
- ^ Wheeler (2005:8)
- ^ Wheeler (2005:7-8)
References
- Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 22 (1-2): 53–56
- Wheeler, Max W (2005). The Phonology Of Catalan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199258147.
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