Occitan alphabet
The Occitan alphabet consists of the following 23 Latin letters:
Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V X Z Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) a b c d e f g h i j l m n o p q r s t u v x z
The letters K, W and Y are considered foreign and are used only in words of foreign origin, incrementally integrated into Occitan, such as whisky, watt, Kenya. They may be included in the Occitan alphabet following the order in the international alphabet.
Letter names
| Letters | Name | IPA (Standard pronunciation) |
IPA (Regional pronunciation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | [ˈa] | |
| B b | be, be (n)auta | [ˈbe, ˈbe ˈ(n)awtɔ] | auv. [ˈbə, ˈbə ˈ(n)awtɔ], niç. va. [ˈbe, ˈbe ˈ(n)awta] |
| C c | ce | [ˈse] | auv. [ˈsə] |
| D d | de | [ˈde] | auv. [ˈdə] |
| E e | e | [ˈe] | auv. [ˈə] |
| F f | èfa | [ˈɛfɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈefɔ], niç. va. [ˈɛfa] |
| G g | ge | [ˈdʒe] | auv. [ˈdzə], lim. [ˈdze], gas. [ˈʒe] |
| H h | acha | [ˈatʃɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈatsɔ], niç. va. [ˈatʃa] |
| I i | i | [ˈi] | |
| J j | ji | [ˈdʒi] | lim. [ˈdzi] |
| (K k) | ca | [ˈka] | |
| L l | èla | [ˈɛlɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈelɔ], niç. va. [ˈɛla] |
| M m | èma | [ˈɛmɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈemɔ], niç. va. [ˈɛma] |
| N n | èna | [ˈɛnɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈenɔ], niç. va. [ˈɛna] |
| O o | o (ò) | [ˈu (ˈɔ)] | |
| P p | pe | [ˈpe] | auv. [ˈpə] |
| Q q | cu | [ˈky] | auv. [ˈkjy] |
| R r | èrra | [ˈɛrrɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈerɔ], niç. [ˈɛʀa], va. [ˈɛra], pro. [ˈɛʀɔ] |
| S s | èssa | [ˈɛsɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈesɔ], niç. va. [ˈɛsa] |
| T t | te | [ˈte] | auv. [ˈtə] |
| U u | u | [ˈy] | |
| V v | ve, ve bassa (gas. ve, ve baisha) | [ˈbe, ˈbe ˈβasɔ] | auv. [ˈvə, ˈvə ˈbasɔ], lim. pro. [ˈve, ˈve ˈbasɔ], niç. va. [ˈve, ˈve ˈbasa] gas. [ˈbe, ˈbe ˈβaʃɔ] |
| (W w) | ve dobla | [ˈbe ˈðuplɔ] | auv. [ˈvə, ˈvə ˈdublɔ], lim. pro. [ˈve, ˈve ˈdublɔ], niç. va. [ˈve, ˈve ˈdubla] gas. [ˈbe, ˈbe ðuˈβlɔ] |
| X x | ixa | [ˈitsɔ] | auv. lim. pro. gas. [ˈiksɔ], niç. va. [ˈiksa] |
| (Y y) | i grèga | [ˈi ˈɣrɛɣɔ] | auv. lim. [ˈi ˈɡreɡɔ], pro. [ˈi ˈɡrɛɡɔ], niç. va. [ˈi ˈɡrɛɡa] |
| Z z | izèda | [iˈzɛðɔ] | auv. lim. [iˈzedɔ], pro. [iˈzɛdɔ], niç. va. [iˈzɛda] |
The letter names are usually feminine. They may also be masculine, in which case the feminine names be nauta (B), ve bassa (V), ve dobla (W) and i grèga (Y) become masculine be naut, be bas, ve doble and i grèc.
Elision is common before a letter starting with a vowel.
Diacritics
Several diacritics serve to modify the pronunciation of the letters of the Occitan alphabet.
- The grave accent (accent grèu) (_̀) found on à, è, ò.
- The acute accent (accent agut) (_́) found on á, é, ó, í, ú.
- The dieresis (trèma) (¨) found on ï, ü.
- The cedilla (cedilha) (¸) found under ç.
- The interpunct (ponch interior, punt interior) (·) found between two consecutive consonants: n·h e s·h. This is used in Gascon Occitan. In the Middle Ages, it was common throughout Aquitania (see Old Occitan).
The diacritics are required on the capitals. For example: Índia, Àustria, Sant Çubran, FÒRÇA, SOÏSSA, IN·HÈRN.