Catalan orthography

{{IPA notice}} Like those of many other [[Romance language]]s, the '''[[Catalan language|Catalan]] alphabet''' derives from the [[Latin alphabet]] and is largely based on the [[Catalan phonology|language’s phonology]]. The Catalan alphabet consists of the twenty-six letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]]: {|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;" |- |bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="center" colspan="29" | '''[[Capital letters|Majuscule Forms]]''' (also called '''uppercase''' or '''capital letters''') |- |width=3% align="center"|[[A]]||width=3% align="center"|[[B]]||width=3% align="center"|[[C]]||width=3% align="center"|[[D]]||width=3% align="center"|[[E]]||width=3% align="center"|[[F]]||width=3% align="center"|[[G]]||width=3% align="center"|[[H]]||width=3% align="center"|[[I]]||width=3% align="center"|[[J]]||width=3% align="center"|[[K]]||width=3% align="center"|[[L]]||width=3% align="center"|[[M]]||width=3% align="center"|[[N]]||width=3% align="center"|[[O]]||width=3% align="center"|[[P]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Q]]||width=3% align="center"|[[R]]||width=3% align="center"|[[S]]||width=3% align="center"|[[T]]||width=3% align="center"|[[U]]||width=3% align="center"|[[V]]||width=3% align="center"|[[W]]||width=3% align="center"|[[X]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Y]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Z]] |- |bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="center" colspan="29" | '''[[Lower case|Minuscule Forms]]''' (also called '''lowercase''' or '''small letters''') |- |align="center"|a||align="center"|b||align="center"|c||align="center"|d||align="center"|e||align="center"|f||align="center"|g||align="center"|h||align="center"|i||align="center"|j||align="center"|k||align="center"|l||align="center"|m||align="center"|n||align="center"|o||align="center"|p||align="center"|q||align="center"|r||align="center"|s||align="center"|t||align="center"|u||align="center"|v||align="center"|w||align="center"|x||align="center"|y||align="center"|z |} {{Catalan-speaking world|image=[[Image:Catalan Ls with interpunct.png|125px]]|expanded=Language}} In addition, the following characters with diacritics are used: ''[[À]]'', ''[[É]]'', ''[[È]]'', ''[[Í]]'', ''[[Ï]]'', ''[[Ó]]'', ''[[Ò]]'', ''[[Ú]]'', ''[[Ü]]'' and ''[[Ç]]''. These are not, however, treated as independent letters in collation, nor do they have entries of their own in Catalan dictionaries. When two words differ only in the presence or absence of a diacritic, the one without it is collated first. ==Letter names and pronunciations== Catalan is a [[pluricentric language]], the pronunciation of some of the letters is different in [[Eastern Catalan]] ([[Institut d'Estudis Catalans|IEC]]) and [[Valencian]] ([[Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua|AVL]]). Apart from these variations, the pronunciation of most consonants is fairly straightforward, and similar to French, Occitan or Portuguese pronunciation. {|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"|Letter !colspan="3"|Catalan !colspan="3"|Valencian |- !Name (IEC) !Pronunciation !Phonetic values !Name (AVL) !Pronunciation !Phonetic values |- | align=center| [[A|A a]] || ''a'' || {{IPA|/ˈa/}} || {{IPA|[a]}}, {{IPA|[ə]}} || ''a'' || {{IPA|/ˈa/}} || {{IPA|[a]}} |- | align=center| [[B|B b]] || ''be'' (''alta'') || {{IPA|/ˈbe (ˈaltə)/}} || {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[β]}}, {{IPA|[p]}} || ''be'' || {{IPA|/ˈbe/}} || {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[β]}}, {{IPA|[p]}} |- | align=center| [[C|C c]] || ''ce'' || {{IPA|/ˈse/}} || {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[g]}} || ''ce'' || {{IPA|/ˈse/}} || {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[g]}} |- | align=center | [[D|D d]] || ''de'' || {{IPA|/ˈde/}} || {{IPA|[d]}}, {{IPA|[ð]}}, {{IPA|[t]}} || ''de'' || {{IPA|/ˈde/}} || {{IPA|[d]}}, {{IPA|[ð]}}, {{IPA|[t]}} |- | align=center | [[E|E e]] || ''e'' || {{IPA|/ˈe/}} || {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, {{IPA|[e]}}, {{IPA|[ə]}} || ''e'' || {{IPA|/ˈe/}} || {{IPA|[e]}}, {{IPA|[ɛ]}} |- | align=center | [[F|F f]] || ''efa'' || {{IPA|/ˈefə/}} || {{IPA|[f]}}, {{IPA|[v]}} || ''efe'' or ''ef'' || {{IPA|/ˈef(e)/}} || {{IPA|[f]}}, {{IPA|[v]}} |- | align=center | [[G|G g]] || ''ge'' || {{IPA|/ˈʒe/}} || {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, {{IPA|[tʃ]}} || ''ge'' || {{IPA|/ˈdʒe/}} || {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, {{IPA|[tʃ]}}     |- | align=center | [[H|H h]] || ''hac'' || {{IPA|/ˈak/}} || ∅ || ''hac'' || {{IPA|/ˈak/}} || ∅ |- | align=center | [[I|I i]] || ''i'' || {{IPA|/ˈi/}} || {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[j]}} || ''i'' || {{IPA|/ˈi/}} || {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[j]}} |- | align=center | [[J|J j]] || ''jota'' || {{IPA|/ˈʒɔtə/}} || {{IPA|[ʒ]}} || ''jota'' || {{IPA|/ˈdʒɔta/}} || {{IPA|[dʒ]}} |- | align=center | [[K|K k]] || ''ca'' || {{IPA|/ˈka/}} || {{IPA|[k]}} || ''ca'' || {{IPA|/ˈka/}} || {{IPA|[k]}} |- | align=center | [[L|L l]] || ''ela'' || {{IPA|/ˈelə/}} || {{IPA|[ɫ]}}, {{IPA|[ʎ]}} || ''ele'' or ''el''|| {{IPA|/ˈel(e)/}} || {{IPA|[l]}}, {{IPA|[ɫ]}}, {{IPA|[ʎ]}} |- | align=center | [[M|M m]] || ''ema'' || {{IPA|/ˈemə/}} || {{IPA|[m]}} || ''eme'' or ''em'' || {{IPA|/ˈem(e)/}} || {{IPA|[m]}} |- | align=center | [[N|N n]] || ''ena'' || {{IPA|/ˈenə/}} || {{IPA|[n]}}, {{IPA|[m]}}, {{IPA|[ɲ]}}, {{IPA|[ŋ]}} || ''ene'' or ''en'' ||{{IPA|/ˈen(e)/}} || {{IPA|[n]}}, {{IPA|[m]}}, {{IPA|[ɲ]}}, {{IPA|[ŋ]}} |- | align=center | [[O|O o]] || ''o'' || {{IPA|/ˈo/}} || {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, {{IPA|[o]}}, {{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPA|[w]}} || ''o'' || {{IPA|/ˈo/}} || {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, {{IPA|[o]}} |- | align=center | [[P|P p]] || ''pe'' || {{IPA|/ˈpe/}} || {{IPA|[p]}}, {{IPA|[b]}} || ''pe'' || {{IPA|/ˈpe/}} || {{IPA|[p]}}, {{IPA|[b]}} |- | align=center | [[Q|Q q]] || ''cu'' || {{IPA|/ˈku/}} || {{IPA|[k]}} || ''cu'' || {{IPA|/ˈku/}} || {{IPA|[k]}} |- | align=center | [[R|R r]] || ''erra'' || {{IPA|/ˈɛrə/}} || {{IPA|[r]}}, {{IPA|[ɾ]}} || ''erre'' or ''er'' || {{IPA|/ˈɛre/}}, {{IPA|/ˈɛɾ/}} || {{IPA|[r]}}, {{IPA|[ɾ]}} |- | align=center | [[S|S s]] || ''essa'' || {{IPA|/ˈesə/}} || {{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[z]}} || ''esse'' or ''es'' || {{IPA|/ˈes(e)/}} || {{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[z]}} |- | align=center | [[T|T t]] || ''te'' || {{IPA|/ˈte/}} || {{IPA|[t]}}, {{IPA|[d]}} || ''te'' || {{IPA|/ˈte/}} || {{IPA|[t]}}, {{IPA|[d]}} |- | align=center | [[U|U u]] || ''u'' || {{IPA|/ˈu/}} || {{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPA|[w]}} || ''u'' || {{IPA|/ˈu/}} || {{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPA|[w]}} |- | align=center | [[V|V v]] || ''ve (baixa)'' || {{IPA|/ˈbe ˈbaʃə/}}, {{IPA|/ˈve/}} || {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[β]}} ~ {{IPA|[v]}}, {{IPA|[f]}} || ''ve'' || {{IPA|/ˈve/}} || {{IPA|[v]}}, {{IPA|[f]}} |- | align=center | [[W|W w]] || ''ve doble'' || {{IPA|/ˈbe ˈdobːlə/}}, {{IPA|/ˈve ˈdobːlə/}} || {{IPA|[w]}}, {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[β]}} ~ {{IPA|[v]}} || ''ve doble'' || {{IPA|/ˈve ˈdoble/}} || {{IPA|[w]}}, {{IPA|[v]}} |- | align=center | [[X|X x]] || ''ics'', ''xeix'' || {{IPA|/ˈiks/}}, {{IPA|/ˈʃeʃ/}} || {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, {{IPA|[ks]}}, {{IPA|[gz]}} || ''ics'', ''xeix'' || {{IPA|/ˈiks/}}, {{IPA|/ˈʃeiʃ/}} || |{{IPA|[tʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, {{IPA|[ks]}}, {{IPA|[gz]}} |- | align=center | [[Y|Y y]] || ''i grega'' || {{IPA|/ˈi ˈgɾegə/}} || {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[j]}} || ''i grega'' || {{IPA|/ˈi ˈgɾega/}} || {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[j]}} |- | align=center | [[Z|Z z]] || ''zeta'' || {{IPA|/ˈzetə/}} || {{IPA|[z]}}, {{IPA|[s]}} || ''zeta'' || {{IPA|/ˈzeta/}} || {{IPA|[z]}}, {{IPA|[s]}} |} ==Digraphs== {| class="wikitable" !colspan="3"|Digraphs |- ! Grapheme ! Pronunciation ! Usage |- align=center | [[ll (digraph)|ll]] || {{IPA|/ʎ/}} || initial, intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[ny (digraph)|ny]] || {{IPA|/ɲ/}} || initial (rare), intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[rr (digraph)|rr]] || {{IPA|/r/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | [[ss (digraph)|ss]] || {{IPA|/s/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | [[ix (digraph)|ix]] || {{IPA|/ʃ/}} || intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[tx (digraph)|tx]] || rowspan="2"| {{IPA|/tʃ/}} || initial (in loanwords), intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[ig (digraph)|ig]] || syllable-final position |- align=center | [[ds (digraph)|ds]] || rowspan="2"| {{IPA|/ts/}} || intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[ts (digraph)|ts]] || initial (in loanwords), intervocalic & syllable-final position |- align=center | [[tz (digraph)|tz]] || {{IPA|/dz/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | [[dj (digraph)|dj]] || rowspan="3"| {{IPA|/dʒ/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | [[tg (digraph)|tg]] || intervocalic position before front vowels |- align=center | [[tj (digraph)|tj]] || intervocalic position before central & back vowels |- align=center | [[gu (digraph)|gu]] || {{IPA|/g/}} || initial & intervocalic position before front vowels |- align=center | [[qu (digraph)|qu]] || rowspan="2"| {{IPA|/k/}} || initial & intervocalic position before front vowels |- align=center | [[ch (digraph)|ch]]* || syllable-final position |- | colspan="3" style="border-left: #fff solid 1px; border-right: #fff solid 1px" |   |- !colspan="3"|Compound letters |- ! Grapheme ! Pronunciation ! Usage |- align=center | [[l·l]] || rowspan="2"| {{IPA|/lː/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | tl || intervocalic position |- align=center | tll || {{IPA|/ʎː/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | tm || {{IPA|/mː/}} || intervocalic position |- align=center | tn || {{IPA|/nː/}} || intervocalic position |} ===Acute and grave accents=== Catalan also uses the [[acute accent]] (⟨é í ó ú⟩) to mark stressed [[close vowel]]s and the [[grave accent]] (⟨à è ò⟩) to mark stressed [[open vowel]]s, examples: * ''també'' {{IPA|[təmˈbe]}} ('also') * ''pastís'' {{IPA|[pəsˈtis]}} ('pie') * ''córrer'' {{IPA|[ˈkorə]}} ('to run') * ''pallús'' {{IPA|[pəˈʎus]}} ('fool') * ''ànima'' {{IPA|[ˈanimə]}} ('soul') * ''interès'' {{IPA|[intəˈɾɛs]}} ('interest') * ''pròxim'' {{IPA|[ˈpɾɔksim]}}('nearby') Standard rules governing the presence of accents are based on word endings and the position of the stressed syllable. In particular, accents are expected for: * [[Oxytone]]s ending in a syllabic vowel, a vowel + ⟨-s⟩, or ⟨-en, -in⟩, examples: **''parlà'' {{IPA|[pərˈɫa]}} ('he spoke') **''parlés'' {{IPA|[pərˈɫes]}} ('that he spoke' past subjunctive) **''entén'' {{IPA|[ənˈten]}} ('he understands') *This doesn't occur in words like ''parleu'' {{IPA|[pərˈɫɛw]}} ('you are speaking' plural) , or ''parlem'' {{IPA|[pəɾˈɫɛm]}} ('we are speaking'). * [[Paroxytone]]s with any other ending, including non-syllabic ⟨-i, -u⟩, examples: **''parlàveu'' {{IPA|[pərˈɫaβəw]}} ('you were speaking' plural) **''parlàvem'' {{IPA|[pərˈɫaβəm]}} ('we were speaking') *This doesn't occur in words like ''parla'' {{IPA|[ˈpaɾɫə]}} ('he is speaking') , ''parles'' {{IPA|[ˈpaɾɫəs]}} ('you are speaking' singular), or ''parlen'' {{IPA|[ˈparɫən]}} ('they are speaking'). * Any [[proparoxytone]]s, examples: **''química'' {{IPA|[ˈkimikə]}} ('chemistry') **''ciència'' {{IPA|[siˈɛnsiə]}} ('science') Since there is no need to mark the stressed syllable of a monosyllabic word, most of them do not have an accent. Exceptions to this are those with a ''diacritical accent'' that differentiates some cases of words that would otherwise be homographic. Example: ''es'' {{IPA|[əs]}} ('it' impersonal) vs ''és'' {{IPA|[ˈes]}} ('s/he is'), ''te'' {{IPA|[tə]}} ('you' clitic) vs ''té'' {{IPA|[ˈte]}} ('s/he has'), ''mes'' {{IPA|[ˈmɛs]}} ('month') vs ''més'' {{IPA|[ˈmes]}} ('more'), ''dona'' {{IPA|[ˈdɔnə]}} ('woman') vs ''dóna'' {{IPA|[ˈdonə]}} ('s/he gives'). In most cases, the word bearing no accent is either unstressed (as in the case of 'es' and 'te'), or the word with the accent is more common, usually a [[function word]]. The different distribution of ''open e'' vs ''closed e'' between Eastern Catalan and Western Catalan is reflected in some orthographic divergences between standard Catalan and Valencian norms, example: ''anglès'' {{IPA|[əŋˈɡɫɛs]}} (Catalan) vs ''anglés'' {{IPA|[aŋˈɡɫes]}} (Valencian) ('English'). ===Diaeresis=== The [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] has two different uses: to mark hiatus over ⟨ï, ü⟩, and to mark that ⟨u⟩ is not silent in the groups ⟨gü, qü⟩. If a diaeresis appears over an ⟨i⟩ or ⟨u⟩ that follows another vowel, it denotes a [[Hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]], examples: *''raïm'' {{IPA|[rəˈim]}} ('grape') *''taüt'' {{IPA|[təˈut]}} ('coffin') This diaeresis is not used over a stressed vowel that already should have an accent. Examples: ''suís'' {{IPA|[suˈis]}} ('Swiss' masculine), but ''suïssa'' {{IPA|[suˈisə]}} ('Swiss' feminine), ''suïs'' {{IPA|[ˈsuis]}} ('that you sweat' subjunctive) (without the diaeresis, this last example would be pronounced {{IPA|[ˈsujs]}}, i.e. as only one syllable, like ''reis'' {{IPA|[ˈrejs]}} 'kings'). In addition to this, ⟨ü⟩ represents {{IPA|[w]}} after a velar velar consonant {{IPA|/ɡ/}} or {{IPA|/k/}} and a [[front vowel]] (⟨gu⟩ and ⟨qu⟩ are used to represent a hard (i.e. velar) pronunciation before ⟨i⟩ or ⟨e⟩). *''ungüent'' {{IPA|[uŋˈɡwen]}} ('ointment') *''qüestió'' {{IPA|[kwəstiˈo]}} ('topic') ===''Ce trencada'' (c-cedille)=== Catalan ''[[ce trencada]]'' ([[Ç|Ç ç]]), literally in English 'broken cee', is a modified ⟨[[c]]⟩ with a [[cedilla]] mark ( ¸ ), it is only used before ⟨a u o⟩ to indicate a "soft c" {{IPA|/s/}}, much like in Portuguese, Occitan or French (e.g. compare ''coça'' {{IPA|[ˈkosə]}} 'kick', ''coca'' {{IPA|[ˈkokə]}} 'cake' and ''cosa'' {{IPA|[ˈkɔzə]}} 'thing'). In Catalan, ''[[ce trencada]]'' also appears word finally after any vowel (e.g. ''feliç'' {{IPA|[fəˈɫis]}} 'happy'), but note word final ⟨[[ç]]⟩ may be voiced to {{IPA|[z]}} before vowels and voiced consonants, e.g. ''feliçment'' {{IPA|[fəˈɫizˌmen]}} ('happily') and ''braç esquerre'' {{IPA|[ˈbɾaz əsˈkɛrə]}} ('left arm'). ===''Punt volat'' (middot)=== The so called ''[[punt volat]]'' or [[middot]] is only used in the group ⟨l·l⟩ (called [[ela geminada|''ela'' or ''el(e) geminada'']], 'geminate el') to represent a [[geminate]]d sound {{IPA|/lː/}}, as ⟨ll⟩ is used to represent the palatal lateral {{IPA|/ʎ/}}. This usage of the middot sign is a recent invention from the beginning of twentieth century (in medieval and modern Catalan, before [[Pompeu Fabra|Fabra's standardization]], this symbol was sometimes used to note certain elisions, especially in poetry). The only (and improbable) case of ambiguity in the whole language that could arise is the pair ''cel·la'' {{IPA|[ˈsɛɫɫə]}} ('cell') vs ''cella'' {{IPA|[ˈsɛʎə]}} ('eyebrow'). ==Other conventions== The distribution of the two rhotics {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/ɾ/}} closely parallels [[Spanish phonology#Alternations|that of Spanish]]. Between vowels, the two contrast but they are otherwise in complementary distribution: in the onset, an [[alveolar trill]], {{IPA|[r]}}, appears unless preceded by a consonant; different dialects vary in regards to rhotics in the coda with Western Catalan generally featuring an [[alveolar tap]], {{IPA|[ɾ]}}, and Central Catalan dialects like those of Barcelona or Girona featuring a weakly trilled {{IPA|[r]}} unless it precedes a vowel-initial word in the same [[prosodic unit]], in which case {{IPA|[ɾ]}} appears. In Eastern Catalan and North Western Catalan most instances of word-final ⟨r⟩ are silent, but there are plenty of unpredictable exceptions (e.g. in Central Eastern Catalan ''por'' {{IPA|[ˈpo]}} 'fear' but ''mar'' {{IPA|[ˈmar]}} 'sea'). In Central Eastern Catalan monosyllabic words with a pronounced final ⟨r⟩ get a reinforcement final consonant {{IPA|[t]}} when in absolute final position (e.g. final ⟨r⟩ of ''cor'' ('heart') in ''reina del meu cor'' {{IPA|[ˈrejnə ðəɫ ˈmew ˈkɔr'''t''']}} 'queen of my heart' vs ''el cor es mou'' {{IPA|[əɫ ˈkɔɾ əs ˈmɔw]}} 'the heart is moving'). In Valencian, most instances of word-final ⟨r⟩ are pronounced.