Proto-Turkic/Alphabet

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Hi! Welcome to the Proto-Turkic alphabet.

Alphabet[edit | edit source]

Since Proto-Turkic is a configuration language like other proto-languages, it is expressed with Latin letters.

Uppercase Lowercase Pronunciation
IPA value Closest approximation
A a /ä/ cacao
Ā ā /äː/ Same as above but longer
/ə/ bird
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
/e/ Australian bed
Ẹ̄ ẹ̄ /eː/ Same as above but longer
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
L l
Ĺ ĺ
M m
N n
Ń ń
Ŋ ŋ
O o
Ō ō
Ö ö
Ȫ ȫ
P p
R r
Ŕ ŕ
S s
T t
U u
Ū ū
Ü ü
Ǖ ǖ
Y y

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[edit | edit source]

Carons[edit | edit source]

Carons on the letter ⟨č⟩ is pronounced /tʃ/ as in charge.

Macrons[edit | edit source]

Vowel letters with lines on them give the same sound as letters without, but are pronounced long.

Dots[edit | edit source]

Dots below on the letters ⟨ạ⟩ and ⟨ẹ⟩ represents a schwa /ə/ and a closed /e/, respectively.

Breves[edit | edit source]

The usage of breves on the letters ⟨ă⟩ and ⟨ĕ⟩ is unclear.

Next Lesson: Phonology