Aragonese Language - Orthography

Orthography

In 2010, the Academia de l'Aragonés, formed in 2006, established a single orthographic standard in order to modernize medieval orthography and look for a more etymological language. This new orthography is used by the Aragonese Wikipedia.

Previously, Aragonese had two orthographic standards:

  • The grafía de Uesca codified in 1987 by the Consello d'a Fabla Aragonesa (CFA) at a convention in Huesca (Aragonese: Uesca) is used by a majority of Aragonese writers. It uses a more uniform system when assigning letters to phonemes with less regard to the etymology of a word. For example, words traditionally written with "v" and "b" are uniformly written with "b" in the Uesca system. Likewise "ch", "j", "g(+e)", and "g(+i)" are all written "ch". In addition, the orthography uses letters more strongly associated with Spanish (e.g., "ñ").
  • The grafía SLA devised in 2004 by the Sociedat de Lingüistica Aragonesa (SLA) is used by a minority of Aragonese writers. It uses more etymological-based forms that are closer to Catalan, Occitan, and medieval Aragonese sources. With the SLA system, "v" and "b" and "ch", "j", "g(+e)", and "g(+i)" are distinct forms and "ny" is used instead of "ñ".

In the sixteenth century, Aragonese Moriscoes wrote some Romance texts in Arabic writing, probably because of their inability to write in Arabic; the language in these texts shows a mixture of Aragonese and Castilian traits, and they can be considered among the last written examples of the Aragonese formerly spoken in Central and Southern Aragón.

Comparison between the three Aragonese orthographies
phonemes Academia de l'Aragonés grafía de Uesca (1987) grafía SLA
/a/ a a a
/b/ b, v according to Latin etymology.
Ex: bien, servicio, val, activo, cantaba, debant		 b
Ex: bien, serbizio, bal, autibo, cantaba, debán		 b, v according to Romance etymology, as in Catalan and OCcitan.
Ex: bien, servício, val, activo, cantava, devant
/k/
  • c
  • qu before e, i
  • c
  • qu before e, i
  • c
  • qu before e, i
/kw/ If there is an etymological 'q', as in Catalan and a bit in Occitan:
  • qu before a, o.
  • qü before e, i.
    Ex: quan, qüestión.
 cu as in Spanish
Ex: cuan, cuestión		 If there is an etymologic 'q', as in Catalan and a bit in Occitan:
  • qu before a, o.
  • qü before e, i.
    Ex: quan, qüestion.
/tʃ/ ch
Ex: chaminera, minchar, chusticia, cheografía		 ch
Ex: chaminera, minchar, chustizia, cheografía
  • ch.
  • j (g before e, i) according to etymology, as in Catalan and Occitan.
    Ex: chaminera, minjar, justícia, geografia
/d/ d d d
/e/ e e e
/f/ f f f
/ɡ/
  • g
  • gu before e, i
  • g
  • gu before e, i
  • g
  • gu before e, i
/ɡw/
  • gu before a, o
  • gü before e, i
  • gu before a, o
  • gü before e, i
  • gu before a, o
  • gü before e, i
etymologic h, mute after Latin Written according to etymology.
Ex: historia, hibierno		 Not written.
Ex: istoria, ibierno		 Written as in Medieval Aragonese and in Catalan.
Ex: história, hivierno
/i/ i i i
/l/ l l l
/ʎ/ ll ll ll
/m/ m m m
/n/ n n n
/ɲ/ ny as in Medieval Aragonese and Catalan
Ex: anyada		 ñ as in Spanish
Ex: añada		 nyas in Medieval Aragonese and Catalan
Ex: anyada
/o/ o o o
/p/ p p p
/r/ r r r
/rr/
  • rr
  • r- (word-initially)
  • rr
  • r- (word-initially)
  • rr
  • r- (word-initially)
/s/ s (also between two vowels, never ss*) s (also between two vowels, never ss*) s (also between two vowels, never ss*)
/t/ t t t
Etymologic final -t, mute in Modern Aragonese Written as in Medieval Aragonese, Catalan and Occitan
Ex: sociedat, debant, chent		 Not written.
Ex: soziedá, debán, chen		 Written as in Medieval Aragonese, Catalan and Occitan
Ex: sociedat, devant, gent
/u, w/ u u u
/jʃ/ (Eastern dialects)
/ʃ/ (Western dialects)		 ix as unifying grapheme for all dialects
Ex: baixo		 x
Ex: baxo
  • ix (Eastern dialects).
  • x (Western dialects).
    Ex: baixo (Eastern) = baxo (Western)
/j/
  • y initial and between vowels
  • i en os atros casos
  • y initial and between vowels
  • i in other cases
  • y initial and between vowels
  • i in other cases
/θ/
  • z before a, o, u.
  • c before e, i (in non-international words, and certain words with Greek or Arabic origin).
  • z in final position (but tz as grapheme for plurals and verbals forms from t+s that in Benasquese become ts).


Ex: zona, Provenza, fetz, centro, servicio, realizar, verdatz.

 z
Ex: zona, Probenza, fez, zentro, serbizio, realizar, berdaz.
  • z before e a, o, u, in initial position.
  • ç before a, o, u, in inner position.
  • z in final position.
  • c before e, i.
  • z in international formations (Greek cultisms, loans, with a 'z' in the original word).
    Ex: zona, Provença, fez, centro, servício, realizar, verdaz.
Cultisms Assimilation tendences not written.
Ex: dialecto, extension y lexico.		 Assimilation tendences written.
Ex: dialeuto, estensión pero lecsico.		 Not every assimilation tendences written.
Ex: dialecto, extension y lexico.
Accent written (in black in the examples) Spanish model, just in acute words, being permitted non-accentuation.
Ex:
  • historia, gracia, servicio
  • mitolochía, cheografía, María, río
  • atención
  • choven, cantaban
 Spanish model.
Ex:
  • istoria, grazia, serbizio
  • mitolochía, cheografía, María, río
  • atenzión
  • choben, cantaban
 Portuguese, Catalan and Occitan model.
Ex:
  • história, grácia, servício
  • mitologia, geografia, Maria, rio
  • atencion
  • joven, cantavan

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