The Yiddish Alphabet
This table lists the Yiddish alphabet as described in the Uriel Weinreich English-Yiddish-English Dictionary (Weinreich 1968), with a few variants that may be seen in readily available literature. The YIVO romanizations are taken from the same source, where they are presented as "sound equivalents". The romanizations indicated in Harkavy 1898 are included for comparison. The IPA transcriptions correspond to the examples provided by YIVO at http://yivo.org/about/index.php?tid=57&aid=275 (also with a few added variants). The phonetic transcriptions have been extrapolated from the LCAAJ. It is important to note that the elements of the two transcription systems appear in this table as appropriate to the standard pronunciation discussed under the next heading. The same elements, particularly those indicating vowels and diphthongs, are associated with other Yiddish letters when other pronunciations are being transcribed.
The table also includes several digraphs and a trigraph that are standard elements of the Yiddish writing system. They appear here in normal alphabetic order but are also commonly collated separately at the end of a listing of the basic single-character alphabet.
| Symbol | YIVO Romanization | Harkavy Romanization | IPA Transcription | Phonetic Transcription | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| א | (none) | (none) | (none) | (none) | shtumer alef | Indicates that a syllable starts with the vocalic form of the following letter. Neither pronounced nor transcribed. |
| אַ | a | a | a | a | pasekh alef | As a non-YIVO equivalent, an may also be indicated by an unpointed alef. |
| אָ | o | o | ɔ | o | komets alef | As a non-YIVO equivalent, an may also be indicated by an unpointed alef. |
| ב | b | b | b | b | beys | |
| בּ | (none) | (none) | b | (b) | beys | Non-YIVO alternative to ב. |
| בֿ | v | v | v | v | veys | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
| ג | g | g | ɡ | g | giml | |
| ד | d | d | d | d | daled | |
| דזש | dzh | (none) | d͡ʒ | dž | daled zayen shin | |
| ה | h | h | h | h | hey | |
| ו | u | u | ʊ | u | vov | |
| וּ | u | (none) | ʊ | u | melupm vov | Used only adjacent to ו or before י. |
| וֹ | (none) | (none) | ɔ, ɔj | (o,oj) | khoylem | Non-YIVO alternative to אָ and וי. |
| וו | v | v | v | v | tsvey vovn | |
| וי | oy | oi | ɔj | oj | vov yud | |
| ז | z | z | z | z | zayen | |
| זש | zh | zh | ʒ | ž | zayen shin | |
| ח | kh | ch | x | x | khes | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
| ט | t | t | t | t | tes | |
| טש | tsh | tsh | t͡ʃ | č | tes shin | |
| י | y, i | y, i | j, i | j, i | yud | Consonantal when the first character in a syllable. Vocalic otherwise. |
| יִ | i | (none) | i | i | khirik yud | Used only following a consonantal י or adjacent to another vowel. |
| יי | ey | ei, ai | ɛj | ej | tsvey yudn | |
| ײַ | ay | (none) | aj | aj | pasekh tsvey yudn | |
| כּ | k | k | k | k | kof | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
| כ | kh | ch | x | x | khof | |
| ך | kh | ch | x | x | lange khof | Final form. Used only at the end of a word. |
| ל | l | l | l, ʎ | l | lamed | |
| מ | m | m | m | m | mem | |
| ם | m | m | m | m | shlos mem | Final form. Used only at the end of a word. |
| נ | n | n | n | n | nun | |
| ן | n, m | n, m | n, ŋ, m | n, m | lange nun | Final form. Used only at the end of a word. |
| ס | s | s | s | s | samekh | |
| ע | e | e | ɛ, ə | e | ayin | |
| פּ | p | p | p | p | pey | Has no separate final form. |
| פֿ | f | f | f | f | fey | |
| פ | (none) | f | f | (f) | fey | Non-YIVO alternative to פֿ. |
| ף | f | f | f | f | lange fey | Final form. Used only at the end of a word. |
| צ | ts | tz | ts | c | tsadek | |
| ץ | ts | tz | ts | c | lange tsadek | Final form. Used only at the end of a word. |
| ק | k | k | k | k | kuf | |
| ר | r | r | ʀ | r | reysh | |
| ש | sh | sh | ʃ | š | shin | |
| שׂ | s | s | s | s | sin | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
| תּ | t | t | t | t | tof | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
| ת | s | s | s | s | sof | Used only in words of Semitic origin. |
Read more about this topic: Yiddish Orthography
Famous quotes containing the word alphabet:
“I believe the alphabet is no longer considered an essential piece of equipment for traveling through life. In my day it was the keystone to knowledge. You learned the alphabet as you learned to count to ten, as you learned “Now I lay me” and the Lord’s Prayer and your father’s and mother’s name and address and telephone number, all in case you were lost.”
—Eudora Welty (b. 1909)