Editing Esperanto orthography (section)

== Standard alphabet ==
Standard Esperanto orthography uses the [[Latin script]].

=== Sound values ===
{{Main|Esperanto phonology}}
The letters have approximately the sound values of the [[help:IPA|IPA]], with the exception of ''c'' {{IPAblink|t͡s}} and the letters with diacritics: ''[[ĉ]]'' {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ|t͡ʃ}}, ''ĝ'' {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}, ''ĥ'' {{IPAblink|x}}, ''ĵ'' {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, ''ŝ'' {{IPAblink|ʃ|ʃ}}, ''[[ŭ]]'' {{IPAblink|u̯}}. ''J'' transcribes two sounds, consonantal {{IPAblink|j|j}} (the English ''y'' sound, as in '''''y'''ou'') and vocalic {{IPAblink|i̯|i̯}}.<ref name="PAG17" />

{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;" style=text-align:center
|-
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="29" | '''[[Capital letters|Majuscule forms]]''' (also called '''uppercase''' or '''capital letters''')
|-
| width=15|A || width=15|B || width=15|C || width=15|Ĉ || width=15|D || width=15|E || width=15|F || width=15|G
| width=15|Ĝ || width=15|H || width=15|Ĥ || width=15|I || width=30 colspan=2 |J || width=15|Ĵ || width=15|K || width=15|L
| width=15|M || width=15|N || width=15|O || width=15|P || width=15|R || width=15|S || width=15|Ŝ || width=15|T
| width=15|U || width=15|Ŭ || width=15|V || width=15|Z
|-
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="29" | '''[[Lower case|Minuscule forms]]''' (also called '''lowercase''' or '''small letters''')
|-
|a ||b ||c ||ĉ ||d ||e ||f ||g
|ĝ ||h ||ĥ ||i || colspan=2|j ||ĵ ||k ||l
|m ||n ||o ||p ||r ||s ||ŝ ||t
|u ||ŭ ||v ||z
|-
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="29" | '''Principal IPA values'''<ref>Disregarding [[voicing assimilation]] of [[obstruent]]s</ref>
|-
|{{IPA link|ä|a}} ||{{IPA link|b}} ||{{IPA link|t͜s}} ||{{IPA link|t͜ʃ}} ||{{IPA link|d}} ||{{IPA link|e̞|e}} ||{{IPA link|f}} ||{{IPA link|ɡ}} ||{{IPA link|d͜ʒ}}
|{{IPA link|h}} ||{{IPA link|x}} ||{{IPA link|i}} ||{{IPA link|i̯}} ||{{IPA link|j}} ||{{IPA link|ʒ}} ||{{IPA link|k}} ||{{IPA link|l}} ||{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}} ||{{IPA link|o̞|o}} ||{{IPA link|p}} ||{{IPA link|r}} ||{{IPA link|s}} ||{{IPA link|ʃ}} ||{{IPA link|t}} ||{{IPA link|u}}
|{{IPA link|u̯}} ||{{IPA link|v}} ||{{IPA link|z}}
|}

There is a nearly one-to-one correspondence of letter to sound. Diphthongs such as ''aŭ'' and ''eŭ'' require two letters. {{angbr|J}} has dual consonantal and vocalic use, equivalent to both consonantal {{angbr|v}} and vocalic {{angbr|ŭ}}. For those who consider {{IPA|/d͜z/}} to be a phoneme, Esperanto contains one consonantal [[typographic digraph|digraph]] as well, {{angle bracket|dz}}.<ref>''Plena analiza gramatiko'', §&nbsp;22</ref> Allophony has been noted in the vowels (for example in open vs [[closed syllable]]s) and is found in the place assimilation of {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}, the latter of which for example is frequently pronounced {{IPAblink|ŋ}} before ''g'' and ''k'' for speakers of language backgrounds that do the same.

Phonemic change is perhaps limited to voicing assimilation of [[obstruent]]s, as in the sequence ''kz'' of ''ekzemplo'', ('(an) example') which is 'inevitably' pronounced {{IPA|/ɡz/}} in normal speech, though purists try to pronounce it {{IPA|/kz/}}.<ref>''Plena Analiza Gramatiko de Esperanto'', 4th edition, 1980</ref> In Zamenhof's writing, obstruents with different voicing such as ''k'' and ''z'' do not meet in compound [[lexical word]]s, but rather are separated by an epenthetic vowel, such as ''o'', to avoid such assimilation, though placing such letters together is common among speakers whose language background allows it.

Non-Esperantized names are given an Esperanto approximation of their original pronunciation, at least by speakers without command of the original language. Hard {{angbr|c}} is read as ''k'', {{angbr|qu}} as ''kv'', {{angbr|w}} as ''v'', {{angbr|x}} as ''ks'', and {{angbr|y}} as ''j'' if a consonant, or as ''i'' if a vowel. The English digraph {{angbr|th}} is read as ''t''. When there is no close equivalent, the difficult sounds may be given the Esperanto values of the letters in the orthography or roman transcription, accommodating the constraints of Esperanto phonology. So, for example, ''[[Winchester, England|Winchester]]'' (the English city) is pronounced (and may be spelled) ''Vinĉester'' {{IPA|/vint͜ʃester/}}, as Esperanto ''ŭ'' does not occur at the beginning of ordinary words.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bertilow.com/pmeg/skribo_elparolo/elparolo/ne-esperantaj_vortoj.html|title=PMEG|work=bertilow.com}}</ref> ''[[Changzhou]]'' generally becomes ''Ĉanĝo'' {{IPA|/t͜ʃand͜ʒo/}}, as Esperanto has no ''ng'' or ''ou'' sound. There are no strict rules, however; speakers may try for greater fidelity, for example by pronouncing the ''g'' and ''u'' in ''Changzhou'': ''Ĉangĝoŭ'' {{IPA|/t͜ʃaŋɡd͜ʒou̯/}} (despite there being no ''g'' sound in the Chinese pronunciation). The original stress may be kept, if it is known.

=== Origin ===
{{See also|Proto-Esperanto}}
The script resembles Western Slavic Latin alphabets but uses [[circumflex]]es instead of [[caron]]s for the letters ''ĉ'', ''ĝ'', ''ĥ'', ''ĵ'', and ''ŝ''. Also, the non-Slavic bases of the letters ''ĝ'' and ''ĵ'', rather than Slavic ''dž'' and ''ž'', help preserve the printed appearance of Latinate and Germanic vocabulary such as ''ĝenerala'' "general" (adjective) and ''ĵurnalo'' "journal". The letter ''v'' stands for either ''v'' or ''w'' of other languages. The letter ''ŭ'' of the diphthongs ''aŭ'' and ''eŭ'' resemble the [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] [[Łacinka alphabet]].

Zamenhof took advantage of the fact that typewriters for the French language (which, in his lifetime, served as an international ''lingua franca'' for educated people) possess a [[dead key]] for the circumflex diacritic: thus, anyone who could avail himself of a French typewriter could type ''ĉ ĝ ĥ ĵ ŝ'' and their uppercase counterparts with no problem. French typewriters also include the letter {{angbr|ù}}, which Francophone Esperantists have long used as a substitute for Esperanto ''ŭ''. With the advent of personal computers, French-language keyboards still possess a dead-key ^, but whether it can be used to type Esperanto consonants may depend on the underlying software. Zamenhof's choice of accented letters was familiar to the speakers of some Slavic languages, for instance, Czech and Slovak, where the sounds of Esperanto ''ĉ'' and ''ŝ'' are represented by the letters ''č'' and ''š'', respectively; and Belarusian, because Esperanto ''ŭ'' bears the same relation to ''u'' as Belarusian Cyrillic ''ў'' bears to ''у''.

Geographic names may diverge from English spelling, especially for the letters ''x'', ''w'', ''qu'' and ''gu'', as in ''Vaŝintono'' "[[Washington, D.C.]]", ''Meksiko'' "[[Mexico City]]", and ''Gvatemalo'' "[[Guatemala]]". Other spelling differences appear when Esperanto words are based on the pronunciation rather than the spelling of English place names, such as ''Brajtono'' for [[Brighton]].

=== Variations ===
Since all letters with diacritics are unique,{{NoteTag|There are no letters that are only differentiated by their diacritical marks, as opposed to, e.g. [[French diacritics|French]] {{lang|fr|è}} and {{lang|fr|é}}.}} they are often simplified in [[handwriting]]. The most common diacritic to be simplified is the circumflex, which often appears more like a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] or [[acute accent]] (e.g. ''ḡ'' or ''ǵ'' instead of ''ĝ'').

=== Names of the letters of the alphabet ===
[[L. L. Zamenhof|Zamenhof]] simply tacked an ''-o'' onto each consonant to create the name of the letter, with the vowels representing themselves: ''a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo,'' etc. The diacritics are frequently mentioned overtly. For instance, ''ĉ'' may be called ''ĉo ĉapela'' or ''co ĉapela,'' from ''ĉapelo'' (a hat), and ''ŭ'' may be called ''ŭo luneta'' or ''u luneta,'' from ''luno'' (a moon) plus the diminutive ''-et-.'' This is the only system that is widely accepted and in practical use.

The letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]] not found in the Esperanto alphabet have distinct names, much as letters of the Greek alphabet do. {{angbr|q}}, {{angbr|x}}, {{angbr|y}} are ''kuo, ikso, ipsilono''; {{angbr|w}} has been called ''duobla vo'' (double V), ''vavo'' (using Waringhien's name of ''va'' below), ''vuo'' (proposed by Sergio Pokrovskij), ''germana vo'' (German V), and ''ĝermana vo'' ([[Germanic languages|Germanic]] V).<ref>{{cite book|title=Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto|year=2005|publisher=[[Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda]]|isbn=2-9502432-8-2|url=http://vortaro.net/#%C4%9Dermana%20vo|editor=Gaston Waringhien|editor-link=Gaston Waringhien|access-date=23 January 2014|quote='''duobla vo''' aŭ '''ĝermana vo'''. Nomo de neesperanta grafemo, kun la formo W, w, (prononcata v aŭ ŭ, depende de la lingvoj) ''['''double V''' or '''Germanic V'''. Name of a non-Esperanto [[grapheme]], with the form W, w, (pronounced v or ǔ [that is, with the sound of English "v" or "w"], depending on the language)]'' }}</ref>

However, while this is fine for [[initialism]]s such as ''ktp'' [kotopo] for ''etc.,'' it can be problematic when spelling out names. For example, several consonantal distinctions are difficult for many nationalities, who normally rely on the fact that Esperanto seldom uses these sounds to distinguish words (that is, they do not form many [[minimal pair]]s). Thus the pairs of letter names ''ĵo–ĝo, ĥo–ho'' (or ''ĥo–ko), co–ĉo'' (or ''co–so, co–to), lo–ro'', and ''ŭo–vo'' (or ''vo–bo'') are problematic. In addition, over a noisy telephone connection, it quickly becomes apparent that [[phonation|voicing]] distinctions can be difficult to make out: noise confounds the pairs ''po–bo, to–do, ĉo–ĝo, ko–go, fo–vo, so–zo, ŝo–ĵo,'' as well as the nasals ''mo–no.''

There have been several proposals to resolve this problem. [[Gaston Waringhien]] proposed changing the vowel of voiced [[obstruent]]s to ''a'', so that at least voicing is not problematic. Also changed to ''a'' are ''h, n, r'', distinguishing them from ''ĥ, m, l''. The result is perhaps the most common alternative in use:

::''a, ba, co, ĉo, da, e, fo, ga, ĝa, ha, ĥo, i, jo, ĵa, ko, lo, mo, na, o, po, ra, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, va, za''
However, this still requires overt mention of the diacritics, and even so does not reliably distinguish ''ba–va, co–so, ĉo–ŝo,'' or ''ĝa–ĵa''.

The proposal closest to international norms (and thus the easiest to remember) that clarifies all the above distinctions is a modification of a proposal by [[Kálmán Kalocsay]]. As with Zamenhof, vowels stand for themselves, but it follows the international standard of placing vowel ''e'' after a consonant by default ''(be, ce, de, ge),'' but before [[sonorant]]s ''(el, en)'' and [[voiceless]] [[fricative]]s ''(ef, es).'' The vowel ''a'' is used for {{angbr|h}} and the voiceless [[plosives]] {{angbr|p}}, {{angbr|t}}, {{angbr|k}}, after the international names ''ha'' for {{angbr|h}} and ''ka'' for {{angbr|k}}; the French name ''ĵi'' is used for {{angbr|ĵ}}, the Greek name ''ĥi (chi)'' for {{angbr|ĥ}}, and the English name ''ar'' for {{angbr|r}}. The letter {{angbr|v}} has the ''i'' vowel of ''ĵi,'' distinguishing it from {{angbr|b}}, but the other voiced fricative, {{angbr|z}}, does not, to avoid the problem of it [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalizing]] and being confused with ''ĵi.'' The diphthong offglide {{angbr|ŭ}} is named ''eŭ,'' the only real possibility given Esperanto [[phonotactics]] besides ''aŭ,'' which, as the word for "or", could cause confusion. The letter {{angbr|m}} is called ''om'' to distinguish it from {{angbr|n}}; the vowel ''o'' alliterates well in the alphabetical sequence ''el, om, en, o, pa.'' There are other patterns to the vowels in the [[Alphabet song|ABC rhyme]]: The lines start with ''a i a i'' and finish with ''a a e e.'' The letters with diacritics are placed at the end of the rhyme, taking the place of ''w, x, y'' in other Latin alphabets, so as not to disrupt the pattern of letters many people learned as children. All this makes the system more easily memorized than competing proposals. The modified Kalocsay [[abecedary]] is:

:::::''a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha,''
:::::''i, je, ka, el, om, en, o, pa,''
:::::''ar, es, ta, u, vi, ĉa, ĝe,''
:::::''ĥi kaj ĵi, eŝ, eŭ kaj ze,''
:::::''plus ku', ikso, ipsilono,''
:::::''jen la abece-kolono.''

''(kaj'' means "and". The last line reads: ''here is the ABC column)''

Where letters are still confused, such as ''es'' vs ''eŝ'' or ''a'' vs ''ha,'' mention can be made of the diacritic ''(eŝ ĉapela),'' or to the manner of articulation of the sound ''(ha brueta'' "breathy aitch"). Quite commonly, however, people will use the ''aitch as in house'' strategy used in English.

=== Spelling alphabets ===
Another strategy is to use a [[spelling alphabet]] (''literuma alfabeto''), which substitutes ordinary words for letters. The following words are sometimes seen:

From a German–Esperanto dictionary by [[Erich-Dieter Krause]]:<ref>http://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/oa-vortecaj_vortetoj/liternomoj.html<br />Although this source claims these words are "used by" the World Esperanto Association, it was in fact simply reprinted in the 1995 edition of the ''Jarlibro'' (p. 93).</ref>

:''Asfalto, Barbaro, Centimetro, Ĉefo, Doktoro, Elemento, Fabriko, Gumo, Ĝirafo, Hotelo, Ĥaoso, Insekto, Jubileo, Ĵurnalo, Kilogramo, Legendo, Maŝino, Naturo, Oktobro, Papero, Kuo, Rekordo, Salato, Ŝilingo, Triumfo, Universo, Universo-hoketo, Vulkano, Ĝermana vo, Ikso, Ipsilono, Zinko''{{NoteTag|A few of these words may be difficult to distinguish from other Esperanto words in noisy conditions, such as ''gumo – kubo, naturo – maturo – daturo, maŝino – baseno, vulkano – bulgaro,'' and ''zinko – ŝinko'', and so may not be easily recognizable if the system is not known.}}

A proposal by [[Simon Edward Adrian Payne]] in ''[[Monato]]'':<ref>''Monato, internacia magazino sendependa'', numero 1996/01, paĝo 22: 'Bonvolu l-i-t-e-r-umi!'</ref>
:''akvo, baldaŭ, cedro, ĉirkaŭ, dolĉa, eĥo, fajfi, golfo, ĝis, hejme, ĥoro, iĝi, jaĥto, ĵuri, korpo, lingvo, morgaŭ, nokto, ofte, pelvo, kuo, riĉa, sankta, ŝaŭmi, tempo, uzi, ŭa-ŭa, vespo, vavo, ikso, ipsilono, zorgi''{{NoteTag|A few of these words may also be difficult to distinguish from other Esperanto words or, in the cases of ''golfo'' and ''korpo'', also ''ŭa-ŭa'' and ''vavo'', even from each other.}}

A proposal by [[Gerrit François Makkink]], in which most words are tetrasyllabic so that the syllable beginning with the letter in question receives secondary stress (though only in ''Varsovio'' do both stressed syllables begin with the letter):<ref>G F Makkink: ''Nia Fundamento sub lupeo''</ref>
:''Akademio, bondeziro, centjariĝo, Ĉe-metodo, delegito, Esperanto, Fundamento, gramatiko, ĝisrevido, harmonio, ĥorkantado, internacia, jubileo, ĵurnalisto, kalendaro, Ludoviko, modernigo, necesejo, okupita, propagando, kuo, redaktoro, sekretario, ŝatokupo, telefono, universala, u-supersigno, Varsovio, vuo, ikso, ipsilono, Zamenhofo''

The [[International League of Esperantist Radio Amateurs]] (ILERA) uses the following adaptation of the [[International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet]] (ICAO and NATO "phonetic" alphabet):
:''alfa, bravo, carli, delta, eko, fokstrot, golf, hotel, india, juliet, kilo, lima, majk, november, oskar, papa, kebek, romeo, siera, tango, uniform, viktor, ŭiski'' ~ ''viski, eksrej, janki, zulu''

ILERA also modifies the numerals ''ses'' '6' and ''sep'' '7' to ''sis'' and ''sepen'' to make them more distinct, and uses the nominal form ''nulo'' for zero.

=== ASCII transliteration ===
{{Main|Substitutions of the Esperanto alphabet}}
There are two common conventions for inputting and typesetting Esperanto in the ISO basic Latin alphabet when proper orthography is inconvenient. Zamenhof had suggested replacing the circumflex letters with [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] in ''h'', the so-called "h-system", thus: ''ch, gh, hh, jh, sh'' for ''ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ'' and ''u'' for ''ŭ'', with an apostrophe or hyphen to disambiguate actual sequences of these letters (e.g. ''ses-hora'').<ref name="ILERA" /> With the advent of computer word-processing, the so-called "x-system", with digraphs in ''x'' for all diacritics, has become equally popular:{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} ''cx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux''. The words ''ŝanĝi'' "to change" and ''ĵaŭde'' "on Thursday" are written ''shanghi'', ''jhaude'' and ''sxangxi'', ''jxauxde'', respectively, in the two systems. The h-system has a more conventional appearance, but because the letter ''x'' does not occur in Esperanto, it is fairly straightforward to automatically convert text written in the x-system into standard orthography; it also produces better results with alphabetic sorting.