Kashubian alphabet

The Kashubian alphabet (kaszëbsczi alfabét, kaszëbsczé abecadło) is the script of the Kashubian language, based on the Latin alphabet. The Kashubian alphabet consists of 34 letters:
A, Ą, Ã, B, C, D, E, É, Ë, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, Ò, Ó, Ô, P, R, S, T, U, Ù, W, Y, Z, Ż
The Kashubian language also use some digraphs: ch, cz, dz, dż, rz and sz. The digraphs cz, dż, sz, ż are pronounced in a different manner from their Polish counterparts – they are palato-alveolar, not retroflex – but "rz" is pronounced exactly the same as in Polish.
Pronunciation
| Upper case | Lower case | Name of letters | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | a | [a] |
| Ą | ą | ą | [õ], [ũ] |
| Ã | ã | ã | [ã]
[ɛ̃] (Puck County, Wejherowo County) |
| B | b | bé | [b] |
| C | c | cé | [ts] |
| D | d | dé | [d] |
| E | e | e | [ɛ] |
| É | é | é | [e]
[ɨj] in some dialects [i]/[ɨ] from Puck to Kartuzy [ɨ] at the end of a word |
| Ë | ë | szwa | [ə] |
| F | f | éf | [f] |
| G | g | gé | [a] |
| H | h | ha | [x] |
| I | I | i | [i] |
| J | j | jot | [j] |
| K | k | ka | [k] |
| L | l | él | [l] |
| Ł | ł | éł | [w] |
| M | m | ém | [m] |
| N | n | én | [n] |
| Ń | ń | éń | [ɲ]
[n] |
| O | o | o | [ɔ] |
| Ò | ò | ò | [wɛ] |
| Ó | ó | ó | [o]
[u] (southern dialects) |
| Ô | ô | ô | [ɞ]
[ɛ] (western dialects) [ɔ] (Wejherowo County) [o]/[u] (southern dialects) |
| P | p | pé | [p] |
| R | r | ér | [ɲ] |
| S | s | és | [s] |
| T | t | té | [t] |
| U | u | u | [u] |
| Ù | ù | ù | [wu] |
| W | w | wé | [v] |
| Y | y | igrek | [i] |
| Z | z | zet | [z] |
| Ż | ż | żet | [ʒ] |
Consonants combination
| Upper case | Lower case | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Ch | ch | [x] |
| Cz | cz | [tʃ] |
| Dz | dz | [dz] |
| Dż | dż | [dʒ] |
| Rz | rz | [ʐ] |
| Sz | sz | [ʃ] |
Literature
- Eugeniusz Gòłąbk: Wkôzë kaszëbsczégò pisënkù. Oficyna Czec, Gduńsk 1997, p. 25 ISBN 83-87408-02-6.
