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
- clicks and click combinations
is palatal;
- plain: c q x
- aspirated: ch qh xh
- voiced: gc gq gx
- nasalized: nc nq nx
Read more about this topic: Phuthi Language
Famous quotes containing the word alphabet:
“I wonder, Mr. Bone man, what you’re thinking
of your fury now, gone sour as a sinking whale,
crawling up the alphabet on her own bones.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“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)