The alphabet
The Triparic alphabet, upper and lower case forms, along with the names of the letters, is:
| A a
|
Æ æ
|
B b
|
C c
|
D d
|
Ð ð
|
E e
|
F f
|
G g
|
H h
|
| ah
|
æsch
|
beh
|
cheh
|
deh
|
ið
|
eh
|
if
|
geh
|
heh
|
| I i
|
J j
|
K k
|
L l
|
M m
|
N n
|
O o
|
P p
|
Q q
|
R r
|
| ih
|
jeh
|
keh
|
il
|
im
|
in
|
oh
|
peh
|
quh
|
ir
|
| S s
|
T t
|
Þ þ
|
U u
|
V v
|
W w
|
X x
|
Y y
|
Z z
|
|
| is
|
teh
|
þeh
|
uh
|
veh
|
weh
|
ix
|
yeh
|
zeh
|
|
Consonants
| Consonant
|
Description
|
| b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, t, v, w, z
|
All as typically used in English.
|
| c
|
Always /k/, except in the digraphs ch and sch (see below).
|
| ç ("cheh-çedil")
|
Always /s/.
|
| ch
|
As ⟨ch⟩ in English church.
|
| ð
|
As the ⟨th⟩ in English that.
|
| g
|
Always hard, like in English get.
|
| j
|
Always the voiced affricate like in English jump.
|
| q
|
Pronounced /k/. Occurs in words of Romance origin.
|
| r
|
Throaty rather than trilled. Pronounced like the American English ⟨r⟩.
|
| s
|
Pronounced /s/ in most contexts, except /z/ at the end of words after vowels or voiced consonants. When doubled, ss is always pronounced /s/, not /z/. This is like its behavior in English: consider "has", "kids", "lass".
|
| sch
|
As ⟨sh⟩ in English shoe.
|
| þ
|
As the ⟨th⟩ in English think.
|
| x
|
As in English axe, except at beginning of words, where it is pronounced as /z/.
|
| y
|
When before a vowel, consonantal as in English, as in yet.
|
| zh
|
As ⟨z⟩ in English azure.
|
Vowels
| Vowel
|
IPA
|
Description
|
| a, e, i, o, u
|
/a, e, i, o, u/
|
As their common pronunciation in Romance languages
|
| u
|
/u, w/
|
When between a velar stop (c, k, q, g) and another vowel, pronounced like w; otherwise, pronounced like ⟨oo⟩ in English soon
|
| y
|
/i/
|
When used vocalically, usually at the end of words, pronounced like i
|
| ä[1] ("ah-umlŏt")
|
/eɪ̯/
|
as ⟨a⟩ in English hate
|
| å ("ah-ring")
|
/æ/
|
as ⟨a⟩ in English hat
|
| ã ("ah-tilde")
|
/ʌ/
|
as ⟨u⟩ in English hut
|
| æ
|
/aɪ̯/
|
as English aye
|
| ö[2] ("oh-umlŏt")
|
/œ/
|
as in German Göttin
|
| ø[3]
|
/ɔɪ̯/
|
as ⟨oy⟩ in English boy
|
| ŏ[4]
|
/aʊ̯/
|
as ⟨ou⟩ in English out
|
| ü ("uh-umlŏt")
|
/y/
|
as in German müssen
|
- ↑ This sound was spelled two different ways before the 2016 reform. The other was ê, used in a very few words, the best known being dêm (now däm).
- ↑ This sound was spelled ø before the 2016 reform.
- ↑ This sound was spelled õ before the 2016 reform.
- ↑ This sound was spelled ö before the 2016 reform.
Sounds eliminated in 2016 Reform
| Original
|
Sound
|
Replacement
|
| î
|
nasal "i" like in French fin
|
Replaced with i in most words; å in a few
|
| ñ
|
Palatalized "n" like ⟨ny⟩ in English canyon
|
Very rare. Replaced with ny if necessary.
|
| ô
|
as ⟨oa⟩ in English boat
|
No significant difference from o, so replaced with that
|
| û
|
nasal "u" like in French brun
|
No significant difference from ã, so replaced with that
|
Key to Phonetics Symbols
Something written in ⟨angle brackets⟩ is one or more graphemes; that is, it represents something written. Something written in /slashes/ is one or more phonemes; that is, it represents the units of sound that speakers break their language down into. These are most properly written in the International Phonetic Alphabet.
