Warlpiri Language - Alphabet

Alphabet

Since the 1950s, Warlpiri has been written in Latin script using an alphabet originally devised by Lothar Jagst and subsequently modified slightly. The Warlpiri alphabet uses only ordinary letters, with no accent marks. It is close to IPA, deviating in the following ways:

1. Long vowels are written by doubling the vowel letter: ii, aa, uu.
2. Retroflex consonants are written with digraphs formed by prefixing r to the usual alveolar symbol: rt, rn, rl.
3. The palatal stop is written j.
4. Other palatals are written with digraphs formed by suffixing y to the usual alveolar symbol: ny, ly. The palatal approximant is written y.
5. The velar nasal is written ng.
6. The alveolar trill is written rr.
7. The retroflex flap is written rd.
8. The retroflex approximant is written r.

To these basic rules are added two adjustments to make the alphabet easier to use.

1. The indicators y (for palatal) and r (for retroflex) are often dropped if redundant in consonant clusters that share articulation position. Examples: nyj is written nj, rnrt is written rnt.
2. At the beginning of a word, the retroflex indicator r is omitted. This does not produce ambiguity, because no Warlpiri word begins with a plain alveolar consonant. Example: rtari "foot" is written tari.