Alphabet (core 32)
For each: Glyph → Name → Latin chain → Phoneme → Notes
A → “a” → a → /a/
Ą → “ą” (a-ogonek) → a + ogonek → /ɔ̃/ → nasal
B → “be” → b → /b/
C → “ce” → c → /t͡s/
Ć → “ć” (c-acute) → c + ´ → /t͡ɕ/ → palatal
D → “de” → d → /d/
E → “e” → e → /ɛ/
Ę → “ę” (e-ogonek) → e + ogonek → /ɛ̃/ → nasal
F → “ef” → f → /f/
G → “gie” → g → /g/
H → “ha” → h → /x/~/ɦ/ (merges with ch)
I → “i” → i → /i/
J → “jot” → j → /j/
K → “ka” → k → /k/
L → “el” → l → /l/
Ł → “ł” (l-stroke) → l + stroke → /w/
M → “em” → m → /m/
N → “en” → n → /n/
Ń → “ń” (n-acute) → n + ´ → /ɲ/
O → “o” → o → /ɔ/
Ó → “ó” (o-acute) → o + ´ → /u/
P → “pe” → p → /p/
R → “er” → r → /r/ (tap/trill)
S → “es” → s → /s/
Ś → “ś” (s-acute) → s + ´ → /ɕ/
T → “te” → t → /t/
U → “u” → u → /u/ (≃ ó phonemically)
W → “wu” → w → /v/
Y → “y” → y → /ɨ/ (central high unrounded)
Z → “zet” → z → /z/
Ż → “ż” (z-dot) → z + ˙ → /ʐ/ (retroflex)
Ź → “ź” (z-acute) → z + ´ → /ʑ/
(Q, V, X appear in loans; map as q/v/x → /k/+/v/+/ks/ with foreign tag.)
Digraph & Trigraph Graphemes (single phonemes)
- ch → c + h → /x/ (≃ H)
- cz → c + z → /t͡ʂ/ (retroflex affricate)
- dz → d + z → /d͡z/
- dź → d + z + ´ → /d͡ʑ/ (palatal)
- dż → d + z + ˙ → /d͡ʐ/ (retroflex)
- rz → r + z → /ʐ/ (≃ Ż; /ʂ/ after devoicing)
- sz → s + z → /ʂ/
- si/zi/ci/ni before vowel → palatalize:
- si + a → /ɕa/ (≃ ś + a)
- zi + e → /ʑɛ/ (≃ ź + e)
- ci + e → /t͡ɕɛ/ (≃ ć + e)
- ni + a → /ɲa/ (≃ ń + a)
Orthographic–Phonemic Rules (minimal engine kit)
- Nasal vowels: Ą /ɔ̃/, Ę /ɛ̃/; before plosives/affricates, realize as vowel + nasal C (e.g., kąt → /kɔnt/).
- Voicing assimilation: regressively across clusters; final devoicing applies (e.g., chleb → /xlɛp/).
- Palatalization: acute letters (ć ś ź ń) or i + C before vowel (engine flag:
palatal=true). - Ó ~ U: phonemic equivalence; keep graphemic distinction (morphology).
- RZ ~ Ż: same phoneme /ʐ/; preserve spelling for etymology.
LGM Entry Template (for any unit)
type: grapheme
glyph: "Ś"
name: "ś"
latin_chain: ["s", "´"]
phoneme: "ɕ"
features: {palatal: true}
notes: "Acute marks alveolo-palatal fricative; pairs with 'si' before vowel."
Quick sanity grid (contrastive pairs)
- s / ʂ / ɕ → s / sz / ś
- z / ʐ / ʑ → z / ż/rz / ź
- c / t͡ʂ / t͡ɕ → c / cz / ć
- dz / d͡ʐ / d͡ʑ → dz / dż / dź