Proto-Turkic/Alphabet
Hi! Welcome to the Proto-Turkic alphabet.
Alphabet
Since Proto-Turkic is a reconstructed language like other proto-languages, it is expressed in Romanization, that is, with Latin letters.
| Uppercase | Lowercase | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPA value | Closest English approximation | ||
| A | a | /ä/ | father |
| Ā | ā | /äː/ | Same as above but longer |
| Ạ | ạ | /ə/ | strut |
| Ạ̄ | ạ̄ | /əː/ | Same as above but longer |
| Ӑ | ӑ | (unclear) | |
| B | b | /b/ | bird |
| Č | č | /tʃ/ | check |
| D | d | /d/ | dark |
| E | e | /ɛ/ | met |
| Ē | ē | /ɛː/ | Same as above but longer |
| Ẹ | ẹ | /e/ | Australian bed, or same as below but shorter |
| Ẹ̄ | ẹ̄ | /eː/ | somewhat like vein |
| Ӗ | ӗ | (unclear) | |
| G | g | /ɡ/ | guard |
| H | h | /h/ | heart |
| I | i | /i/ | Same as below but shorter |
| Ī | ī | /iː/ | see |
| Ï | ï | /ɨ/ | roses |
| Ï̄ | ï̄ | /ɨː/ | Same as above but longer |
| K | k | /k/ | car |
| L | l | /l/ | loaf |
| Ĺ | ĺ | /lʲ/ | somewhat like million |
| M | m | /m/ | mother |
| N | n | /n/ | nap |
| Ń | ń | /nʲ/ | Spanish ñ, somewhat like Tonya |
| Ŋ | ŋ | /ŋ/ | song |
| O | o | /o/ | Same as below but shorter |
| Ō | ō | /oː/ | somewhat like bowl |
| Ö | ö | /ø/ | like German schön, French bleu |
| Ȫ | ȫ | /øː/ | Same as above but longer |
| P | p | /p/ | part |
| R | r | /r/ | rolled r |
| Ŕ | ŕ | /rʲ/ | see above, but with a short y |
| S | s | /s/ | super |
| T | t | /t/ | tongs |
| U | u | /u/ | Same as below but shorter |
| Ū | ū | /uː/ | somewhat like goose |
| Ü | ü | /y/ | like German küssen, French sur |
| Ǖ | ǖ | /yː/ | Same as above but longer |
| Y | y | /j/ | yellow |
Unlike today's Turkic languages, there are no /z/ and /š/ sounds in Proto-Turkic. Instead, there are palatalized sounds /ŕ/ and /ĺ/ whose later became /z/ and /š/ in Common Turkic, but /r/ and /l/ instead in Oghur languages. The letters ⟨J j⟩, however, are usually used over ⟨Y y⟩.
Diacritics
Carons
Caron on the letter c ⟨č⟩ is pronounced /tʃ/ as in charge.
Macrons
Vowel letters with lines on them give the same sound as letters without, but are pronounced longer.
Dots
Dots below on the letters ⟨ạ⟩ and ⟨ẹ⟩ represents a schwa /ə/ and a closed /e/, respectively.
Breves
The usage of breves on the letters ⟨ă⟩ and ⟨ĕ⟩ is unclear.
Next Lesson: Phonology