Gerenian alphabet
The Gerenian alphabet (Gerenian: leture gherenies) use letters of the Latin script and currently consists on 33 letters: 11 vowels and 22 consonants.
Modern alphabet
| Letter | Name | IPA | Approximate English example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | a [a] | a | father |
| Ää | ahad [a'had] | ɛ | bed |
| Ee | e [ɛ] | ɛ | bed |
| Bb | be [bɛ] | b | bit |
| Vv | ve [vɛ] | v | vine |
| Ff | fe [fɛ] | f | face |
| Cc | ce [ɕɛ] | ɕ | sheer (a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative) |
| Čč | če [tʃɛ] | tʃ | catch |
| Ss | se [sɛ] | s | see |
| Zz | ze [θɛ] | θ | thin |
| Žž | že [ʐɛ] | ʐ | pleasure |
| Dd | de [dɛ] | d | do |
| Gg | ge [gɛ] | g | game |
| Hh | he [hɛ] | h | house |
| Ii | i [ɪ] | ɪ | me |
| Îî | în [əŋ] | ə | above |
| Jj | j [ɨ] | ɨ | roses (close central unrounded vowel) |
| Ĵĵ | ĵe [xɛ] | x | loch (Scottish) |
| Yy | i enoes [ɪ ɛ'noɛs] | ɪ | me |
| Ŷŷ | ŷe [ʃɛ] | ʃ | shine |
| Kk | ke [kɛ] | k | kitten |
| Ll | le [lɛ] | l | lamp |
| Mm | me [mɛ] | m | map |
| Nn | ne [nɛ] | n | not |
| Oo | o [o] | o | more |
| Öö | ö [œ] | œ | feu (French), burn |
| Pp | pe [pɛ] | p | spell |
| Rr | re [rɛ] | r | rolled r |
| Tt | te [tɛ] | t | stool |
| Țț | țe [t͡sɛ] | t͡s | sits |
| Uu | u [ʊ] | ʊ | moon |
| Üü | ü [ʏ] | ʏ | tu (French), über (German) |
| Ww | wa [wa] | w | wash |
History
When Proto-Gerenian was created, it began being written using the standard Latin alphabet. A separate script, named Gerakana, and created around the same time as the language, was also used.
In late 2011, with the fresh impetus given to the evolution of the Gerenian language (caused by the foundation of Gerenia), it was necessary to agree on an alphabet. The letters h, w and x were removed. However, the letters ä, ö, ü, and î were added at the same time. Several further changes were made to the alphabet during 2012: h and w returned to it, y disappeared for a brief period, and the lettersț, ž, ĵ, ŷ, and č were added. The confusion aroused obliged the Gerenian government to establish the Gerenian Language National Commission, an agency to regulate both the language and the alphabet. The last modification to the alphabet was made by the Commission, accompanied by the rejection of the proposal to adopt the Gerakana script (either to replace the Latin script or to be used alongside it).
The chart below shows the evolution of the Modern alphabet:
| Dec 2004 | Dec 2011 | Jan 2012 | Jun 2012 | Dec 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A | A | A | A |
| B | B | B | B | B |
| C | C | C | C | C |
| D | D | D | D | D |
| E | E | E | E | E |
| F | F | F | F | F |
| G | G | G | G | G |
| H | H | H | H | |
| I | I | I | I | I |
| J | J | J | J | J |
| K | K | K | K | K |
| L | L | L | L | L |
| M | M | M | M | M |
| N | N | N | N | N |
| O | O | O | O | O |
| P | P | P | P | P |
| R | R | R | R | R |
| S | S | S | S | S |
| T | T | T | T | T |
| U | U | U | U | U |
| V | V | V | V | V |
| W | W | |||
| X | ||||
| Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Z | Z | Z | Z | Z |
| Î | Î | Î | Î | |
| Ä | Ä | Ä | Ä | |
| Ö | Ö | Ö | Ö | |
| Ü | Ü | Ü | Ü | |
| Ž | Ž | |||
| Ț | Ț | |||
| Ĵ | ||||
| Ŷ | ||||
| Č |
Notes:
- In the 2012 columns, the order of the letters do not correspond to the order established by the Gerenian Language National Commission and its predeccesor.
- Some letters remained through the years, though the sounds they represent have changed.
