Latvian alphabet

=Alphabet=

The Latvian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 33 letters. 22 of them are from the Latin alphabet; the remaining 11 are obtained from Latin letters by using diacritic marks. The letters are:

a, ā, b, c, č, d, e, ē, f, g, ģ, h, i, ī, j, k, ķ, l, ļ, m, n, ņ, o, p, r, s, š, t, u, ū, v, z, ž

A, Ā, B, C, Č, D, E, Ē, F, G, Ģ, H, I, Ī, J, K, Ķ, L, Ļ, M, N, Ņ, O, P, R, S, Š, T, U, Ū, V, Z, Ž

Historical letters

Historically the letters CH, Ō and Ŗ were also used in the Latvian alphabet. On 5 June 1946, the Latvian SSR legislature passed a regulation on language reform that officially replaced the letter Ŗ with R in print. ["LPSR AP Prezidija Ziņotājs", no. 132 (1946), p. 132.] Similar reforms replacing CH with H, and Ō with O were enacted over the next few years.

The letters CH, Ō and Ŗ continue to be used in print throughout most of the Latvian diaspora communities, whose founding members left their homeland before the post-World War II Soviet-era language reforms. An example of a publication in Latvia today, albeit one aimed at the Latvian diaspora, that uses the older orthography—and hence, also the letters CH, Ō and Ŗ—is the weekly newspaper "Brīvā Latvija".

The letter "O"

In present-day Latvian, the letter O is used for three vowel sounds: the diphthong "uo", and a simple "o" (both long and short), particularly in loan words (e.g. "telefons").

Letter names and pronunciation

References

ee also

*Latvian orthography