Letters

Notes:

1. The letter alif (ا) plays three roles. First as a carrier of vowel at the beginning of a word. Second is for writing the [e] sound in combination with diacritic, and third is for writing vowel hiatus.
2. It is not an independent letter, but a special "dongara" consisting of a letter and a consonant (in other words, the repetition of a letter) to indicate a specific sound.
3. These letters are only used in writing Arabic loanwords. The Ladino equivalents for these letters are in accordance with the Judeo-Arabic orthographic traditions.
4. This letter has a dual pronunciation, depending on the letter after it. For this reason, both in Aljamiado and in Ladino, two different letters are used to represent it.
5. In Ladino, the pronunciation of this letter differs from its equivalent in modern Spanish.
6. Whenever the letter "D" is at the beginning of the word, or after a nasal consonant ("m" or "n"), or after a lateral consonant ("l"), pronounced as [d] and written with the letter "d". In all other cases, it is pronounced as [ð] and written with the letter "d".^[10]
7. In old Spanish, the letter "X" was for representing the sound [ʃ]. But in some words, especially those that start with "ex-", the pronunciation of this letter is [s]~[ks].
8. In the writing of Aljamiado, the Maghrebi script has been common, in which the placement and number of dot of on letters "faʾ" and "qafʾ" are different from the conventional Arabic script, or the so-called "Mashreqi script".
9. The pronunciation of "Ll" differs slightly in different Spanish dialects and between speakers. In the Argentinian and Uruguayan dialects, the pronunciation of the digraph "Ll", undrwent a different transformation, andis equivalent to [ʒ] or [ʃ] today.
10. The letter "waw" does not correspond to any exact letter in the Spanish Latin alphabet. This letter and its sound [w] are pronounced in certain digraphs and trigraphs. Worded differently, there are diphthongs and triphthongs as result of certain vowel sequences, where the sound [w] is pronounced and the letter "waw" is used to write it.
11. The letter "y" in the Spanish Latin alphabet is equivalent to "yaʾ" (ي). But this letter is also used to write some vowel sequences, especially vowel sequences that have a sound similar to [y] in their pronunciation.

Vowels

Spanish has 5 vowels, which include [a], [e], [i], [o], [u].

In the Arabic language and alphabet, however, there are only 3 vowels, [a], [i], [u]. In Arabic, these 3 vowels have both a short form, which is represented by diacritics fatʾha, kasra, and ḍamma, and long forms, which are represented by the letters alif (ا), yaʾ (ي), and waw (و).

In Spanish, however, there is no difference between short and long vowels. In Aljamiado alphabet, 4 vowels are written as follows:^[11]

The vowel [a] is represented by the diacritic "◌َ". The vowel [i] is represented by the diacritic "◌ِ". The two vowels [o] and [u] are merged and are represented by the diacritic "◌ُ". The vowel [e] is represented by the combination of fatʾha and alif "ـَـا".

The Hebrew alphabet, like Arabic, has both diacritics, known as niqqud, and the use of three letters alef (א), vav (ו), and yod (י). In the Judaeo-Spanish alphabet, niqqud is not used, and only three aforementioned letters are used. Also, in addition to the merger of [o] and [u], two vowels [i] and [e] are also merged, and thus only three vowels are shown; as follows:^[12]

The vowel [a] is represented by alif "א". The two vowels [e] and [i] are merged and represented by yod "י". The two vowels [o] and [u] are merged and are represented by vav "ו".

In Aljamiado, similar to Arabic and Persian, when the vowel is at the beginning of the word, alif (ا) is used as the vowe carrier, except for the [e] sound. For the [e] sound, a hamza is used as a vowel carrier, followed by alif (ا). In Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino) as in Arabic, alif "א" plays the same role.

No distinction between unstressed or stressed vowels exist in Aljamiado manuscripts.

In the middle of the word, in Aljamiado, only diacritics (and for the case of [e] only a diacritic and an alif (ا) and in Judaeo-Spanish only one of the three previously mentioned letters are used.

Notes:

1. The letter hei (ה) is used when the vowel [a] is at the end of the word. This letter is the equivalent to the letter «ه، ـه» or «ة، ـة» in Persian and Arabic.

Consonants

In order to better understand Aljamiado writing conventions, it is necessary to understand the pronunciation of Old Spanish and the evolution of the sounds of Spanish. That is why the manuscripts of Aljamiado are considered important sources for the study of Spanish linguistics.

The first thing that should be mentioned is that in Aljamiado, like Persian and other Arabic-derived alphabets, changes were made to the letters in the Arabic alphabet in order to show new consonants. In other Arabic-derived alphabets, these changes were made by adding dots to the letters that most closely match an existing sound in Arabic alphabet. But in Aljamiado, this was done by gemination mark on the letters with the closest existing sound. Gemination, in addition to this role, in Aljamiado also plays the role of geminating, like Arabic, something that is done in the Spanish Latin alphabet by writing letters twice. For example, "ب" produces a [b], but "بّ" produces a [p].

The Ladino alphabet also does the same thing with niqqud such as "Rafe" (רָפֶה) "◌ﬞ" or "Geresh" (גֶּרֶשׁ‎‎) "◌׳", for example "ב" produces the sound [b], and "בﬞ" or "ב׳" produce the sound [v].

Notes

1. This sound, for the most part, has evolved out of existence in Modern Spanish. The "x" (شّ) now sounds like "j" ([x]) in most cases in modern Spanish.

Some letters simply adopted another value.

The phoneme /β/ was typically represented by the letter ب (b), though in some instances it was represented by the letter ف (f). The plosive consonants were required to be aspirated;^[15] however, this aspect was lost in weaker positions such as the initial position of a word or an intervocalic position. In Aljamiado texts, the letter ط was utilized to represent the phoneme /t/ in initial and intervocalic positions where it was unaspirated, while the letter ت was utilized in postconsonantal positions to indicate the aspirated form of the phoneme. Similarly, the letter ﻕ was used to represent the phoneme /k/ in initial and intervocalic positions where it was unaspirated, and the letter ﻙ was used in postconsonantal positions to indicate the aspirated form. However, according to the glossary of Abuljair, the aspiration of plosive consonants never ceased to occur in any position.

B, V (ب) and P (بّ)

In Spanish language, the letter "B" has two allophones. If the letter is at the beginning of the word, or after a nasal consonant ("m" or "n"), it is pronounced as [b]. Otherwise, it is pronounced as [v~β]. The letter "v" also is pronounced as [v~β] regardless of position in the word.

In Aljamiado, no distinction is made between any one of these. The letter "baʾ" (ب) is used for all cases.^[11]

In Judeo-Spanish, distinction is made between these two allophones. Cases of [b] are written with the letter "beth" "ב". Whereas the sounds [v~β] are written with the letter "beth" with Rafe or Geresh "בﬞ (ב׳‎)".^[12][16]US Government Guide on Romanization of Ladino ^[17]

As Arabic alphabet lacks a letter for the equivalent to the letter "P", the sound [p], in Aljamiado, a digraph has been created. This digraph consists of the letter "baʾ" and a shadda, "بّ".^[11]

This is not an issue in Judeo-Spanish, as the letter "Pe" has two possible pronunciations of [p] and [f]. Thus for the sound [p], the letter "pe" (פ) is used. For the sound [f], the letter "pe" plus Rafe or Geresh (פﬞ (פ׳‎) / ף) is used.^[12][16]

G, J (ج and خ) and Ch (جّ)

In Spanish, the letter "G" represents two pronunciations. If "G" is followed by "e", "i", or "y", it will have a "soft" pronunciation [x]. Otherwise, it will have a hard pronunciation [g].

In Spanish, the letter "J" has pronunciation identical with "soft G". In old Spanish, these two were pronounced as [ʒ‍~d͡ʒ]. Thus, the Aljamiado letter for both these sounds is reflective of this historic sound. The letter "jim" (ج) is used, as opposed to "khaʾ" (خ).^[11]

Similarly in Judeo-Spanish, the letter "gimel" plus Rafe or Geresh (גﬞ (ג׳‎)) has historically been used. In Modern Judeo-Spanish (Ladino), unlike varieties of Spanish, this historic pronunciation has been preserved. However, due to contact and influence from other languages, namely Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, and French, a distinction between [ʒ‍] and [d͡ʒ] in orthography has come to dominance. Namely that the former ([ʒ‍]) are shown with "zayn" Rafe or Geresh (זﬞ (ז׳‎)).^[12][16]

D (د and ذ)

Similar to the letter "B", the letter "D" represents two allophones in Spanish. If the letter is at the beginning of the word, or after a nasal consonant ("m" or "n"), it is pronounced as [d]. Otherwise, it is pronounced as [ð].

While this is not reflected in Latin alphabet, in Aljamiado manuscripts, as well as in Judeo-Spanish (not universally) is shown.

In instances where the pronunciation is [d], the letter "dal" (د) has been used in Aljamiado, and the letter "dalet" (ד) Judeo-Spanish.^[11][12]

In instances where the pronunciation is [ð], the letter "ḏal" (ذ) has been used in Aljamiado, and the letter "dalet" plus Rafe or Geresh (דﬞ (ד׳‎)) Judeo-Spanish.

R (ر) and Rr (رّ)

In Spanish Latin Alphabet, "r" versus "rr" denotes a difference in pronunciation, with the former being [ɾ] (Voiced alveolar tap), and the latter [r] (Voiced alveolar trill). This distinction is used in Aljamiado too with the use of shadda. The letter "r" being shown with "raʾ" (ر), and the "rr" with "raʾ-shadda" (رّ).^[11]

This distinction is not shown in Judeo-Spanish. Both cases are shown with a single "resh" (ר). In some regional varieties of Ladino, the distinction in pronunciation had ceased to exist as well.^[12]

Z (ز), Ç (س), S (ش), and X (شّ)

One of the notable evolutions in the Spanish language has been with respect to fricative-coronal consonants.

In old Spanish, the letter "z" was pronounced as [d͡z]. It is thus written in Aljamiado with the letter "zaʾ" (ز). In Judeo-Spanish, the letter "zayin" (ז) is used. However, in modern Spanish, the pronunciation of the letter "z" has evolved in two manners. In most dialects of European Spanish, the letter "z" today is pronounced identically as the soft pronunciation of the letter "c", as [θ]. In Latin American dialects, the letter "z" is pronounced identically as the letter "s" and the soft pronunciation of the letter "c", as [s].^[11][12]

The letter "c" has two pronunciations in Spanish, based on rules and factors, hard and soft C. "c" is pronounced "soft" if it is followed by "e", "i", or "y", or if it is given a cedilla accent (ç). In other cases, "c" is pronounced as "hard", as a [k].

In old Spanish, the soft pronunciation of "c" was as [t͡s]. In Aljamiado, this letter was uniquely assigned the letter "sin" (س). In Judeo-Spanish, the letter "samech" (ס) was used.^[11][12]

However, in modern Spanish, the soft pronunciation of the letter "c" has evolved in two manners. In most dialects of European Spanish, the letter "c" today is pronounced identically as the letter "z", as [θ]. In Latin American dialects, the soft pronunciation of the letter "c" is pronounced identically as the letter "s" and "z", as [s].

In old Spanish, the letter "s" was pronounced as [s] or [z], distinct from the soft pronunciation of the letter "c". The digraph "ss" represented [s] as well, but has since been replaced with a single "s" in Spanish orthography. To reflect the difference between "s" and soft pronunciation of "c", in Aljamiado, the letter "shin" (ش) was given a new association and sound, and was used to write "s". Similarly, in Judeo-Spanish, letter "shin" (ש) was used.^[11][12]

In modern Judeo-Spanish, in the centuries after expulsion of Jews from Spain, as the pronunciations of "c" and "s merged independently of Spanish, confusion ensued for a few decades, with both "samech" (ס) and "shin" (ש) being used interchangeably. Today, the letter "samech" (ס) has won out and is used exclusively.

In old Spanish, the letter "x" had a pronunciation as [ʃ]. In Aljamiado, the letter "shin" with shadda (شّ) was used, the shadda distinguishing between [s] and [ʃ]. In Judeo-Spanish, the letter "shin" has been used, historically with niqqud Rafe or Geresh (שﬞ (ש׳‎)). But in modern times, without any (ש).

In modern Spanish, the pronunciation of "x" has evolved. In most cases, it is now pronounced as the letter "j" would, [x]. This is reflected in orthography as well. In Judeo-Spanish, the original pronunciation has been retained.

In some instances, especially in beginning of words as "ex-", the letter "x" has preserved an [s] sound, or a [ks] sound. In Judeo-Spanish this is reflected mostly by "gimel+zayin" (גז) and in some other words as "koph+samech" (קס).