Phuthi Language - Alphabet

Alphabet

A Phuthi orthography has not yet been standardised. Donnelly (1999, 2007) uses a proposed alphabet based uncontroversially on that of other Nguni and Sotho languages:

vowels
  • a e i o u

There are two superclose vowels, also found in the Sotho languages. In the Phuthi orthography they are indicated with a circumflex diacritic, thus:

  • î û
consonants
  • b bh d dl (dv) dz f g gr h hh hl j jh k kg kgh kh l lh m mh n ng nh ny nyh p ph r rh s t (tf) th tj tjh tl tlh ts tsh v w wh y yh z

The following Phuthi consonant and vowel graphs have the same values they receive in Xhosa , in Swati , and in Sotho . Symbols in parentheses are really allophonic consonants derived from phonological context . Most (non-labial) consonants can also occur with a secondary labial glide articulation , e.g. as , so also .

clicks and click combinations

is dental; is palatal; is lateral.

  • plain: c q x
  • aspirated: ch qh xh
  • voiced: gc gq gx
  • nasalized: nc nq nx

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