Taalen Writing
Orthography
| Phoneme | p | t | k | b | d | g | f | θ | h ç x | v | ð | ɣ |
| Romanization | p | t | c | b | d | g | f | th | h | v | dh | gh |
| Phoneme | m | n | ŋ | m̥ | n̥ | ŋ̥ | s | ʃ | l | ɬ | ɾ,ɹ | ɹ̥ |
| Romanization | m | n | ñ | mh | nh | ñh | s | sh | l | lh | r | rh |
| Phoneme | j | w | i | ɪ | ʊ | u | e | ø | o | ɛ | ||
| Romanization | y,i | u | i | i+ | u+ | u | e | eu | o | e | ||
| Phoneme | æ | ə | a | ɑ | aɪ | eɪ | oɪ | əɪ | aʊ | oʊ | əʊ | |
| Romanization | ea | a,y | a | aa | ai | ei | oe | ae | au | ou | ao |
+ : must be followed by a geminate
The letter y is also used to mark syllabicity on the four resonants: yn = /n̩/, ym = /m̩/, yr = /ɹ̩/, and yl = /l̩/. It is also used to indicate /ə/, as can the simple vowels in unstressed syllables.
U before a vowel is /w/, which never occurs before a back vowel (o or u). In the case where composition brings u before such a vowel, it becomes v: -au + o- = -avo-.
Though vowels cannot remain in hiatus (two sequential vowels which do not indicate a diphthong), they do appear frequently with understood glides between. For example, ia represents two syllables, /i.jə/, and uan can be one or two syllables, /wan/ or /u.wən/. The two syllable reading is usually distinguished with y, making uan (/wan/) and uyn (u.wən or u.wn̩), exactly as the native script does. It can also be indicated in romanization with ', so that the two could be distinguished as uan and u'an. This latter method is a remnant of an older romanization.
The digraph ch does not appear, replaced in mutation by h. The phoneme /ŋ/ is always represented by ñ, even in a cluster: /ŋg/ ñg.
Because Taalen does not allow stops finally, stems or words ending in stops aspirate them, and mark them with ' to indicate their origins:
| ragh /ˈɾaɣ/ 'mist' | ragha /ˈɾa.ɣə/ 'mists' |
| rag'h /ˈɾaɣ/ 'he carries' | ragen /ˈɾa.gɛn/ 'I carry' |
A newer romanization is gaining ground, in which such distinctions are not written, and left to the reader to clarify. The use of the apostrophe therefore has acquired an antiquated, victorian feel to its use.
Geminate consonants (such as ll /lː/) are represented by doubling the letter. In the native writing system, a special symbol is used for this (as well as in aa). The geminate digraphs are represented by tth, ddh, ggh, ssh, llh, and rrh (ph and bh only appear as the result of mutation, and thus won't appear geminated).
| This article is one of several about the Taalen language. Taalen Morphology * Taalen Phonology * Taalen Writing * * |
