Talossan Pronunciation and Spelling

This page gives the letters used in Talossan, along with their values according to the Alfavít Phonetic Talossán (APT) and a Talossan English approximation (except where the sound doesn't occur in English, in which case reference is made to other languages).

Vowels

letter	APT	pronunciation
a	[a]	Like the a in "ah", "father"
â	1. [ë] 2. [î]	1. Normally like the "a" in "about", "sofa". 2. In a handful of old words, pronounced like the letter î below. The most important of these are quând, sânc, vând, trâns.
ä	[æ]	Like the "a" in "cat", "hat"
å	[å]	Like "aw" in "law, saw"
ae/ai	[aj]	Like the word "eye".
e	1. [ê] 2. [e]	1. like "e" in "met" unless it occurs in one of the four conditions below. 2. like French "é" (similar to the "a" in "mate" but a pure vowel, with no "y" sound at the end) when it occurs in the following 4 situations: 2a. in diphthongs or before another vowel (eg. véu, vidéir) 2b. as the last letter of a word (eg. me, dimpersé) 2c. in the verbal endings -éu, -ev-, -etz 2d. in syllables which are both open and stressed (eg. the first "e" in levent)
ë	[ë]	like the "a" in "about" (the same as â [1] above) except when at the end of irregular verbs (eg. estarë, vidarë) where it is silent and merely a visual reminder that the verb is irregular.
ei	[ej]	like "ay" in "day", "say"
eu	[ÿw]	like the "i" in "sit" followed by "w" as in "wet" - similar to the interjection of disgust "Eeeeeeww!" said quickly. (Notice the lack of accent mark: if the "e" is accented, éu, then the 2 letters are pronounced normally: [eu]
i	1. [i] 2. [j]	1. Normally like the "ee" in "see" (sometimes found written double, but still pronounced just [i]) 2. When unstressed before or after another vowel, pronounced like "y" in "yes".
î	1. [î] 2. [a]	1. Doesn't occur in English: like the "oo" in "book", "foot" but pronounced with the lips spread wide instead of rounded. 2. But the participial ending înd is always stressed and pronounced [ant].
o	[o]	Like the "o" in "go", but a pure vowel, with no "w" at the end.
ö	[ø]	Like French "eu" or German "ö": say "e" as in "met" with rounded lips. In 2 old words, støtanneu and løgneu, the letter ø is used instead.
oû	[u]	Like the "oo" in "soon"
u	1. [u] 2. [w] 3. [U]	1. Normally like "oo" in "moon" 2. When unstressed before or after another vowel, like "w" in "wet" 3. In the ending iun, the n is silent and the u is nasalised, like Portuguese "um".
ü	[ü]	Like French "u" or German "ü": say "ee" with rounded lips.
û	1. [û] 2. [u]	1. Normally like "u" in "cut", "sun". 2. In four words, dûceu, dûceuità, dûcità, dûciar, pronounced like "oo" in "soon".

Any other accent marks, eg. à, í, ô indicate stress and do not affect the pronunciation of a word. See Stress and Accents.

Consonants

b	[b]	Like "b" in "bite".
bh	[v]	like "v" in "vow"
c	1. [k] 2. [C]	1. Always hard like "c" in "cat", except when followed by e or i. 2. Before e or i (but not î), like "ch" in "cheese". If the ce or ci precedes another vowel, as in ceai, anciînt, then the e or i is not pronounced, and merely serves to indicate the "ch" pronunciation ([Caj], [anCî'nt]).
ç	[s]	Like "s" in "say"
ch	[k]	Always pronounced like "k", as in English "chorus".
c'h	1. [x] 2. [ç]	1. Usually has the "scraping" sound of "ch" in German "machen" or Gaelic "loch". 2. After the sounds [i] and [ü] (also initially before these same vowels), this sound is palatalised, as in German "ich", Gaelic "smaoinich".
çh	[G]	The voiced equivalent of c'h above. A rare sound in Talossan, occurring chiefly in Berber loan words. This sound may be found in older texts spelt r'.
d	1. [d] 2. [D]	1. Normally like "d" in "do" 2. Between two vowels (including at the beginning of a word when the preceeding word ends in a vowel), softened to the "th" of "this", "then".
ð	[D]	Like the "th" in "this", "then". May be spelt th instead.
dd	[d]	Always hard like the "d" in "do"
dh	[D]	Like "th" in "this", "then".
f	[f]	Like "f" in "fit"
fh	[h]	like "h" in "hot"
g	1. [g] 2. [J]	1. Always hard like "g" in "go", except in the four words below. 2. In the words ageu, legeu, regeu and regipäts, pronounced like "g" in "gentle".
glh	[L]	Like "lli" in "million"
gñh	[N]	Like "ni" in "onion"
h	[h]	Like "h" in "hot"
k	[k]	Like "k" in "kit"; used only in foreign words.
l	1. [l] 2. [H] 3. [w] 4. [-] 5. [D]	1. Normally like "l" in "lake". 2. In the combinations lc, lp, lt, the l is devoiced; keep your tongue in the position to say "l", but push your breath out around in instead. 3. At the end of a word after any vowel except [o], [ø], [u] or [ü], pronounced like "w" in "wet". 4. Silent at the end of a word after the sounds [o] and [u]. 5. At the beginning of a word when the preceeding word ends in a vowel, pronounced like "th" in "this", "then".
lh	[L]	Like "lli" in "million", except in the pronoun lhor which is pronounced [Dor].
ll	[l]	Always like "l" in "lake".
m	[m]	Like "m" in "man"
mh	[v]	Like "v" in "vow"
n	1. [n] 2. [-] 3. [ñ]	1. Normally like "n" in "now". 2. In the ending iun, it is silent but nasalises the u. 3. Before the sounds [k] and [g], pronounced like "n" in "sink"
ñ	[ñ]	Like "ng" in "sing"
ng	1. [ñ] 2. [ñg]	1. At the end of a word, like "ng" in "sing". 2. In the middle of a word, like "ng" in "finger".
nh	[N]	Like "ny" in "canyon"
p	[p]	Like "p" in "pat"
ph	[f]	Like "ph" in "telephone", "philosophy".
q	[kj]	When followed by any vowel except u, pronounced "ky", like the "c" in "cute".
qu	[kw]	Like "qu" in "quit"
r	1. [r] 2. [S]	1. Normally a rolled or trilled "r", as in Spanish and Italian. 2. In the infinitive endings ar and arë, pronounced like "sh" in "wash".
rh	1. [S] 2. [r]	1. In the future tense ending -arh-, pronounced like "sh" in "wash". 2. Elsewhere pronounced as a normal [r].
s	1. [s] 2. [z]	1. Normally like "s" in "sit" (but often pronounced more apically as in Castillian Spanish) 2. In the endings -soûr, -osâ, -ösâ, pronounced like "s" in "rose".
sch	[S]	Like "sh" in "shush"
s'ch	[sk]	Like "sch" in "schism"
sc'h	[sx]	"s" as in "sit" followed by the [x] sound, as in Dutch "schoen", "schip".
s-ch	[SC]	"sh" as in "shut" followed by "ch" as in "chip", as in the phrase "fresh cheese".
sh	[S]	Like "sh" in "ship"
ß	[s]	Like "s" in "say"
t	[t]	Like "t" in "top"
tg	[T]	Like "th" in "thin", "thick"; an alternate spelling for þ (see below).
th	1. [D] 2. [h]	1. When used as an alternate spelling for ð, like "th" in "this", "then". 2. When indicating an old mutation, like "h" in "hot".
tx	[Z]	Like "s" in "vision", "pleasure".
tz	[c]	Like "ts" in "hits", "cats".
v	[v]	Like "v" in "vow"
vh	[w]	Like "w" in "wet"
w	[w], [v]	Used only in foreign loanwords and pronounced as in the language of origin (generally [w] or [v]).
x	1. [ks] 2. [S]	1. Normally like "x" in "fix", "box". 2. In the endings -eux, -éux, pronounced like "sh" in "ship".
xh	[J]	Like "j" in "job".
y	[y], [i]	Used only in foreign loanwords and pronounced as in the language of origin (usually [y] or [i]).
z	1. [z] 2. [c]	1. Normally like "z" in "zip". 2. In the ending -ziun and in words based on the root scurz-, pronounced like "ts" in "hits".
þ	[T]	Like "th" in "thick", "thin"; may be spelt tg instead.