Lithuanian alphabet
The Lithuanian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and includes additional diacritical marks . It is a largely phonetic alphabet that is used exclusively to write the high-level Lithuanian language. There is a modified form of the Lithuanian alphabet for the Schemaitic dialect.
Letters
| Letter | Surname | Approximate German equivalent | Phonetic transcription |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | a | [ ɑ ] |
| Ą ą | a nosinė | Ah | [ ɑː ] |
| B b | bė | b | [ b ] |
| C c | cė | z | [ ʦ ] 1 |
| Č č | čė | ch | [ ʧ ] |
| D d | dė | d | [ d ] |
| E e | e | Ä | [ ɛ ] |
| Ę ę | e nosinė | uh | [ æː ] |
| Ė ė | ė | eh | [ eː ] |
| F f | ef | f | [ f ] |
| G g | gė | G | [ g ] |
| H h | Ha | - 2nd | [ ɣ ] 1 |
| I i | i | (short) i | [ ɪ ] 3 |
| Į į | i nosinė | ieh | [ iː ] |
| Y y | i ilgoji | ieh | [ iː ] |
| J j | jot (as) | j | [ j ] |
| K k | ka | k | [ k ] |
| L l | el | l | [ ɫ ] |
| M m | em | m | [ m ] |
| N n | en | n | [ n ] |
| O o | O | O | [ oː ] |
| P p | pė | p | [ p ] |
| R r | he | (Tongue) r | [ r ] |
| S s | it | ß | [ s ] |
| Š š | it | sch | [ ʃ ] |
| T t | tė | t | [ t ] |
| U u | u | (short) u | [ ʊ ] |
| Ų ų | u nosinė | uh | [ uː ] |
| Ū ū | u ilgoji | uh | [ uː ] |
| V v | vė | w | [ ʋ ] |
| Z z | zė | (voiced) s | [ z ] |
| Ž ž | žė | - 4th | [ ʒ ] |
1 ) Ch has the phonetic value [ x ] , similar to the German ch in ach.
2 ) The h denotes a velar fricative , similar to the high German (unrolled) r in raten.
3 ) The i softens ( palatalizes ) the preceding consonants. Immediately following the i of the vowels a, o or u, so that is i not spoken. The combination ia is spoken like e, ią like ę, iai like ei and so on. The only exception to this are foreign words such as zodiakas [zɔːdʲiˈjæːkɑs].
4 ) This sound occurs in German only in foreign words, for example G in gelatine.
The pronunciation information is only a guideline. Anyone who follows them will be understood by a Lithuanian without any problems. On allophonic different variants letters in the article about the Lithuanian language in phonetics pointed out.
A and ą are placed in the same place in the alphabet, as are e, ę and ė; i, į and y; as well as u, ų and ū. So it is quite possible that in a dictionary inžinierius (engineer), ypač (especially) and įpakuoti (to pack) are right behind one another. On the other hand, č is sorted into c, š into s and ž into z. So Šaka (branch) and sakai (resin) are by no means side by side.
Beep
In dictionaries, the emphasis on words is usually given. Since Lithuanian knows three different tones , these are indicated with different diacritical marks. The grave accent stands for the short tone, the accent tone is the acute tone and the grinding tone is symbolized with the tilde ˜ , which is called the circumflex in liturgy. The i point is always retained. If the grinding tone weighs on a diphthong (in Lithuanian this also includes connections of a vowel with one of the sonorous consonants m, n, l or r), the tilde is on the second component. With il, im, in, ir, ul, um, un, ur and ui , the accent tone is indicated by the grave accent, with the other diphthongs by the acute accent on the first component.
The following table lists all occurring vowels and diphthongs with the possible tones:
| short tone | à 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | è 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burst tone | - 1 | ą́ | ái | ál | at the | on | ár | áu | é 1 | ę́ | ė́ | egg | él | ém | én | he | éu |
| Grinding tone | ã 1 | ą̃ | i̇̃ | al̃ | at the | on | ar̃ | aũ | ẽ 1 | ę̃ | ė̃ | egg | el̃ | em̃ | eñ | he | eũ |
| short tone | i̇̀ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ò 2 | - | - | ù | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burst tone | - | į́ | ý | i̇́e | i̇̀l | in the | in | i̇̀r | O | ói 3 | óu 2 | - | ų́ | ū́ | ùi | ùl | around | U.N | úo | ùr |
| Grinding tone | - | į ̃ | ỹ | iẽ | il̃ | in the | in | ir̃ | O | oi̇̃ 3 | oũ 2 | - | ų̃ | ū̃ | ui̇̃ | ul̃ | around | U.N | uõ | ur̃ |
1 ) While a and e are always short in unstressed syllables, these sounds almost always appear as smooth (especially long) in stressed syllables. Bumpy é occurs only in the prefix pér- if it is followed by a vowel (otherwise ér is a diphthong). Short stressed à or è can only be found in grammatical endings, in prefixes to verbs, in closed syllables in the verb stem and in uninflected parts of speech (interjections, conjunctions, prepositions, particles). In addition, the stressed e in foreign words is usually short: universitètas, kritèrijus, prèsas .
2 ) Ou and short ò occur only in foreign words.
3 ) Oi occurs only in foreign words, loan words, interjections and dialect expressions.
Sound-letter assignment
Lithuanian spelling follows primarily phonetic principles. However, the relationship between different words in the spelling is also taken into account. The prefix už- is also written in užkandis (appetizer) with ž , although [ˈʊʃkanʲdʲɪs] is spoken. The reason for this is that the same prefix in užaugti (to grow up) has the voiced [ʒ]. For comparison: The German word forest is not written with t because you hear the d in forests .
The letters ą, ę, į and ų are primarily used to identify grammatical phenomena. For example, they are always used for the endings of the accusative singular or the genitive plural; in addition, they are in the stem of those verbs that insert an n or m after the vowel in some forms . In addition, unstressed a or e is always spoken briefly; ą or ę, however, long, so that this distinction is audible. Words that contain a į can also have related words with ą or ę ( inner inflection ), compare for example drįsti (dare) and drąsus (brave). Words with the same y cannot do this.
The distinction between e and ia is purely grammatical. In the root of the word e is always written, as is the case in most suffixes. The basic rule for writing Lithuanian endings is that e can only occur where another form has an ė . The suffix -iav- (for preterite) and foreign language suffixes like -iacija ( "-ation" in German) are the only examples in which ia not occur in the ending. The diphthong [æʊ] is always written eu in foreign words and iau in Lithuanian words .
literature
- Asta Adelė Rėbždaitė (editor): Lietuvių kalbos žinynas. Šviesa, Kaunas 2003, ISBN 5-430-03745-1 .
- Alfred Senn: Handbook of the Lithuanian Language. Volume 1: Grammar. Winter, Heidelberg 1966.