Swiss Spelling

Vowels (Vucaal)

The spelling system applied in Switzerland and some parts of Northern Lombardy uses 7 letters (a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü) to denote its 8 vowels ([a], [], [e], [i], [], [ø], [u], [y]).

The letter a denotes a single sound, while the letter e may denote either an open [] (seldom written è) or a closed [e] sound (notice that the open vowel [] occurs in stressed syllables only); the pronunciation of the open and closed sounds may vary from one part of the region to the other.

The letters i and u, on the other hand, have vocal ([i] and [u]) and semivocal ([j] and [w]) values; moreover the letter i may be silent in its function to palatalize a preceding c, g, or sc.

Lombard vowels in word final position can be either short or long, and this difference is phonemic: fà to do is pronounced [fa], faa done (m) is pronounced [fa:], and fall to do it is pronounced [fal:].

Long vowels generally occurs in open syllables or in syllables whose coda is a single consonant.

The glide with which English vowels frequently end should be, anyway, avoided.

The approximate English equivalents are as follows:

• A is like a in the RP English word father, cf.:
amuur m love;
argument m matter;
bèla adj.f. beautiful;
sala f hall;
sira f evening.
Word finally, it may be pronounced [] in some non standard dialects.

• E has two pronunciations:
• it can be closed, sounding like e in the RP English word they (without the final i glide), cf.:

beev v to drink;
e conj and;
el art the;
veer m true.
• it can be open, sounding like e in the RP English word met (it occurs only in stressed syllable), cf.:

festa f party; holiday;
l’è v it is;
prest adv soon;
vert m open.
In this second case it can be written è, to contrast.

• I is used in 3 cases:
• to denote a vowel like i in machine, cf.:

liber m book;
ninöö m child;
pin m pine;
vin m wine;
• to denote a semivowel [j] like y in yet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

fiama f flame;
fiümm m river;
piüma f feather;
• the i is not pronounced in the combinations ci, gi, and sci when they are followed by a, o or u, unless the accent falls on the i; in these cases the letter i merely indicates that c, g and sc are palatalized and pronounced, respectively, like the English ch, j and sh, cf.:

arancia [a'ranta] f orange;
ciau [taw] interj hello! bye!;
giurnaal [dur'nal] m newspaper;
giüst ['dyst] adj just, right;
lassà [la'sa] v to leave;
sciensa ['ensa] f science.
• NB! The stressed i, however, is pronounced:

biulugìa [bjuludija] f biology;
büsìa [by'zia] f lie.

• O can have only an open sound, like o in the RP English word or. Notice that it occurs only in stressed syllables: in unstressed syllables it becomes u, cf.:
moda f fashion;
no adv no;
posta f mail;
toga f toga.
Remember that o has never the sound of English Oh!, found in Italian.

• U is used in 2 cases:
• to denote a vowel like u in RP English boot, cf.:

dun m gift;
mund m world;
un art a;
ura f hour.
• to denote a semivowel [w] like w in wet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

guèra f war.

• Ö is like French oeu. It occurs only in stressed syllables; cf.:
föra adv outside;
incöö adv today;
möri v I die;
vöri v I want.
• In unstressed position ö becomes u, cf.:

möri v I die => murì v to die.

• Ü is pronounced like French u or German ü, cf.:
fümm m smoke;
lüüs f light;
müür m wall;
üga f grapes.

Elision (Elisiun)

The hiatus to be avoided, some function words drop their vowel before a word beginning with another
vowel. In these cases the apostrophe (l'apostruf) is generally used to indicate this dropping, cf.:

el amiis => l’amiis the friend (male);
la amisa => l’amisa the friend (female);
una universitaa => un’universitaa a university;
de Italia => d’Italia of Italy.

Consonants (Cunsunant)

The consonants b, f, m, n, v are pronounced as in English.

The other consonants need special treatment.

Remember that all final stops are devoiced.

• C has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant, it is like the English k, cf.:

can m dog;
creed v to believe;
cüna f cradle;
cunt prep with.
This sound is written ch at the end of the word, cf.:
cööch m chef;
vacch fpl cows (plural of vaca).
• before e or i it is like the English sound ch in chest, cf.:

cena f supper;
cent num a hundred;
cima f peak;
cìnema m cinema.
This sound is simply written c at the end of the word. See also mute i.

• D is somewhat more explosive than in English, with the tongue near the tip of the upper teeth but with no aspiration, cf.:
danee m money;
data f date;
devet v [you] (sg) must;
dona f woman.

• G has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant it is as in the English word go, cf.:

gamba f leg;
goma f eraser;
grand adj great;
güst m taste.
This sound is, as usual, devoiced at the end of the word, and is written gh.
• before e or i it is like the j in English jam, cf.:

gelaa m ice cream;
gent f people;
gita f outing;
pàgina f page.
This sound is, as usual, devoiced at the end of the word, and is written g. See also mute i.

• H is always silent; it is used in few words, mainly foreign names, cf.:
ahi! interj ouch!;
hotel m hotel.
• A better rendering for these words would be:

ai! interj ouch!;
utell m hotel.

• L is sharper and more forward in the mouth than in English, similar to l in link, cf.:
lüna f moon;
lungh adj long;
lüüs f light;
oli m oil.

• P is as in English, but without the aspiration that sometimes accompanies this sound in English, cf.:
pan m bread;
pever m pepper
post m place;
punt m bridge.

• Q is always followed by a consonantic u [w] and this combination is pronounced like the English qu in quest, cf.:
quader m picture;
quaal adj which;
quant adv how much; when;
quest pron this.

• R is pronounced with one flip of the tongue against the gums of the upper teeth. This is the trilled r and it is different from the English r; cf.:
albergh m hotel;
art m art;
ura f hour;
urelogg m watch.

• S has two pronunciations:
• between vowels or before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v it is like the English z in zoo, cf.:

faseva v he did;
sbaj m mistake;
sgridà v to scold;
svelt adj quick.
• in all the other cases it is like the English s in set; notice that this sound, when found between vowels, is written ss; cf.:

passà v to pass;
saltà v to jump;
stansa f room;
stüvaa adj stew.

• T is approximately the same as in English, but no escaping of breath accompanies it in Lombard, cf.:
carta f paper;
festa f party;
matida f pencil;
tütt adj all.

• J is approximately the same as y in English yet, cf.:
aj m garlic;
fijöö m son;
mèj adj better;
jeer adv yesterday.

Consonantic Digraphs

• CH (found only before e or i and word finally) is like the English [k], cf.:
anche adv also;
che conj that;
chi pron who;
perchè adv because.

• GH has two pronunciations:
• before e or i it is like the [g] in get, cf.:

ghe pron to him;
ghett m ghetto;
• word finally it is pronounced [k], cf.:

laagh m lake;
maagh m magician.

• GN is approximately like the English ny in canyon, cf.:
bagn m bath;
gnecch adj weary;
ignurant adj ignoramus;
vegni v [I] come.

• SC has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, or u is like the English sk in ask, cf.:

scultà v to listen;
pesca f peach;
scalupin fpl cutlets;
scarpa f shoe;
• before e and i and word finally is like the sound sh in shell, cf.:

ascia f axe;
scena f scene;
scendar f ash;
umasc m bad man.

• SCH occurs only before e or i or word finally, and is pronounced like the English sk, cf.:
disch m disk; record;
fiasch mpl flasks;
scheda f card;
schisc adj flat.

• S’C occurs only before e or i or word finally, and is pronounced like the sound of English s in see followed by the sound of ch as found in cheat, cf.:
mas’c m man;
s’ciupà v to die.

• S’G occurs only before e or i or word finally (where it is pronounced as s’c), and is pronounced like the sound of English s in see followed by the sound of j as found in jet, cf.:
s’gelà v to thaw.