Tagalog alphabet
Tagalog has 16 consonant
sounds, 5 vowel sounds, and 5 diphthongs. Syllable stress is used to
distinguish between words that are otherwise similar. With the exception of the
glottal stop (
' ), all of the sounds are represented by letters in
writing. Tagalog is a highly phonetic language. Generally,
words are spelled as they are pronounced.
Each consonant has an inherent vowel /a/. Other
vowels are indicated either by separate letters, or by dots - a dot over a
consonant changes the vowels to an /i/ or and /e/, while a dot under a consonant changes the
vowel to /o/ or /u/. The inherent vowel is muted by adding a /+/ sign beneath a
consonant.
Today the Latin alphabet is used to write to Tagalog.
The Tagalog
alphabet:
Latin alphabet for
Tagalog:
|
|
Tagalog pronunciation
Consonant
The Tagalog consonants are b, d, k, g, h, l, m, n, ng,
p, ( ' ), r, s, t, w, and y. Ng represents the velar nasal,
and the apostrophe ( ' )
represents the glottal stop. The table below shows the articulatory description
of the consonant sounds:
Sounds/Positions |
Labial |
Dental |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
|
Stops, voiceless |
p |
t |
-- |
k |
' |
|
Stops, voiced |
b |
d |
-- |
g |
-- |
|
Fricatives, voiceless |
-- |
-- |
s |
-- |
h |
|
Nasals, voiced |
m |
n |
-- |
ng |
-- |
|
Lateral, voiced |
-- |
l |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Flap, voiced |
-- |
r |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Semi-vowels, voiced |
w |
-- |
y |
-- |
-- |
Vowels
The Tagalog vowels are i, e, a, o, and u. Generally, these sounds maintain their
pronunciation (or phonetic properties) regardless of the sounds around them.
Consecutive vowels are generally articulated with a glottal stop intervening
between them. The table here shows the articulatory properties of the vowels:
|
Tongue Position |
Front |
Central |
Back |
|
High |
i |
-- |
u |
|
Mid |
e |
-- |
o |
|
Low |
-- |
a |
-- |
The mid vowels e and o are
relatively new additions assimilated from Spanish.
Diphthongs
The Tagalog diphthongs are iw, ay, aw, oy, and uy. These are
complex sounds which are combinations of simple vowels and semi-vowels.
|
Sound/Position |
Front |
Central |
Back |
|
High |
iw |
-- |
uy |
|
Mid |
-- |
-- |
oy |
|
Low |
-- |
aw, ay |
-- |
Except
for iw and uy, these diphthongs have their corresponding sounds
in English.
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