Latvian alphabet
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[edit] Alphabet
The Latvian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 33 letters. 22 of them are from the Latin alphabet; the remaining 11 are obtained from Latin letters by using diacritic marks. The letters are:
a, ā, b, c, č, d, e, ē, f, g, ģ, h, i, ī, j, k, ķ, l, ļ, m, n, ņ, o, p, r, s, š, t, u, ū, v, z, ž
A, Ā, B, C, Č, D, E, Ē, F, G, Ģ, H, I, Ī, J, K, Ķ, L, Ļ, M, N, Ņ, O, P, R, S, Š, T, U, Ū, V, Z, Ž
[edit] Historical letters
Historically the letters CH, Ō and Ŗ were also used in the Latvian alphabet. On 5 June 1946, the Latvian SSR legislature passed a regulation on language reform that officially replaced the letter Ŗ with R in print.[1] Similar reforms replacing CH with H, and Ō with O were enacted over the next few years.
The letters CH, Ō and Ŗ continue to be used in print throughout most of the Latvian diaspora communities, whose founding members left their homeland before the post-World War II Soviet-era language reforms. An example of a publication in Latvia today, albeit one aimed at the Latvian diaspora, that uses the older orthography—and hence, also the letters CH, Ō and Ŗ—is the weekly newspaper Brīvā Latvija.
[edit] The letter "O"
In present-day Latvian, the letter O is used for three vowel sounds: the diphthong "uo", and a simple "o" (both long and short), particularly in loan words (e.g. telefons).
[edit] Letter names and pronunciation
Letter | Name | IPA | Letter | Name | IPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A, a | a | [ɑ] | Ķ, ķ | ķē | [c] |
Ā, ā | garais ā | [ɑː] | L, l | el | [l] |
B, b | bē | [b] | Ļ, ļ | eļ | [ʎ] |
C, c | cē | [t͡s] | M, m | em | [m] |
Č, č | čē | [t͡ʃ] | N, n | en | [n], [ŋ] |
D, d | dē | [d] | Ņ, ņ | eņ | [ɲ] |
E, e | e | [e], [æ] | O, o | o | [uo], [o], [oː] |
Ē, ē | garais ē | [eː], [æː] | P, p | pē | [p] |
F, f | ef | [f] | R, r | er | [r] |
G, g | gā | [ɡ] | S, s | es | [s] |
Ģ, ģ | ģē | [ɟ] | Š, š | eš | [ʃ] |
H, h | hā | [x], [h] | T, t | tē | [t] |
I, i | i | [i] | U, u | u | [u] |
Ī, ī | garais ī | [iː] | Ū, ū | garais ū | [uː] |
J, j | jē | [j] | V, v | vē | [v] |
K, k | kā | [k] | Z, z | zē | [z] |
Ž, ž | žē | [ʒ] |
[edit] References
- ^ LPSR AP Prezidija Ziņotājs, no. 132 (1946), p. 132.