Frisian alphabet
Encyclopedia
Depending on the way one counts, the Frisian
alphabet contains between 25 and 32 characters
In handwritings, IJ is written as a single letter (see IJ (digraph)), whereas in print the string IJ is used. In alphabetical listings IJ is most commonly considered to consist of the two letters I and J, although in dictionaries there is an entry IJ between X and Z telling the user to look browse back to I.
Alternatively, Y and IJ are rarely considered either variants of one letter positioned between X and Z, or two separate letters ordered in the alphabet as X – IJ – Y – Z. Gouden Gids bv has used the latter ordering system in the past for its bilingual (Frisian/Dutch) telephone directory "Nationale telefoongids".
Capital IJ is quite rare. It only shows in the word ijsko (ice-cream) and in some names. Capital C, V and Z are mainly used for English loanwords like cake, virtual reality and ZIP and proper nouns like Chantal, Veldman and Zorro.
Both capital and lower-case C are mainly restricted to the digraph
CH. Proper nouns and English loans are exceptions. Both capital and lower case Q and X are restricted to proper nouns and English loans.
Common digraphs are:
Letters with diacritics take no independent position in the alphabet. They are listed in the same places as their unaccented counterparts. When words differ only by the diacritics on the letters, the word with the unaccented letter precedes the one with the circumflex
. That one precedes the word with the acute
. Hence the order: tut, tût, tút.
Proper nouns and loanwords that are originally written in one of the Latin alphabets usually retain their diacritics as far as the keyboard at hand allows for. The same holds for letters not common in the Frisian alphabet.
The diaeresis or trema is used on vowel letters to indicate the onset of a new syllable.
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
alphabet contains between 25 and 32 characters
Letters
| Capital letters | ||||||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I/Y | J | K | L | |
| M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Z |
| Capital letters with diacritics | ||||||||||||
| Â | Ê | É | Ô | Û | Ú | |||||||
| Lower case letters | ||||||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i/y | j | k | l | |
| m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | z |
| Lower case letters with diacritics | ||||||||||||
| â | ê | é | ô | û | ú | |||||||
| Names | ||||||||||||
| aa | bee | see | dee | ee | ef | gee | haa | ii | jee | kaa | el | |
| em | en | oo | pee | kuu | er | es | tee | uu | fee | wee | iks | set |
Alphabetical order
In alphabetical listings both I and Y are usually found between H and J. When two words differ only because one has I and the other one has Y (stikje/stykje), the word with I precedes the one with Y.In handwritings, IJ is written as a single letter (see IJ (digraph)), whereas in print the string IJ is used. In alphabetical listings IJ is most commonly considered to consist of the two letters I and J, although in dictionaries there is an entry IJ between X and Z telling the user to look browse back to I.
Alternatively, Y and IJ are rarely considered either variants of one letter positioned between X and Z, or two separate letters ordered in the alphabet as X – IJ – Y – Z. Gouden Gids bv has used the latter ordering system in the past for its bilingual (Frisian/Dutch) telephone directory "Nationale telefoongids".
Capital IJ is quite rare. It only shows in the word ijsko (ice-cream) and in some names. Capital C, V and Z are mainly used for English loanwords like cake, virtual reality and ZIP and proper nouns like Chantal, Veldman and Zorro.
Both capital and lower-case C are mainly restricted to the digraph
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
CH. Proper nouns and English loans are exceptions. Both capital and lower case Q and X are restricted to proper nouns and English loans.
Common digraphs are:
| Digraph | IPA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CH | [x] | voiceless velar fricative Voiceless velar fricative The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The sound was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English.... |
| NG | [ŋ] | velar nasal Velar nasal The velar nasal is the sound of ng in English sing. It is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is N.... |
| SJ | [ç] | voiceless palatal fricative Voiceless palatal fricative The voiceless palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The symbol ç is the letter c with a cedilla, as used to spell French words such as façade... |
| ZJ | [ʝ] | voiced palatal fricative |
Diacritics
A, E, U and O may be accompanied by circumflex or acute diacritics, as shown in the table above this article. The accented letters have sound values of their own. In handwritings, diacritics are fairly common though not obligatory on capitals. In print, diacritics are not commonly used on capital letters. Those are normally replaced by their unaccented counterparts.Letters with diacritics take no independent position in the alphabet. They are listed in the same places as their unaccented counterparts. When words differ only by the diacritics on the letters, the word with the unaccented letter precedes the one with the circumflex
Circumflex
The circumflex is a diacritic used in the written forms of many languages, and is also commonly used in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from Latin circumflexus —a translation of the Greek περισπωμένη...
. That one precedes the word with the acute
Acute
Acute may refer to:* Acute accent* Acute angle* Acute * Acute * Acute toxicity...
. Hence the order: tut, tût, tút.
Proper nouns and loanwords that are originally written in one of the Latin alphabets usually retain their diacritics as far as the keyboard at hand allows for. The same holds for letters not common in the Frisian alphabet.
The diaeresis or trema is used on vowel letters to indicate the onset of a new syllable.