Aromanian Alphabet

The Aromanian alphabet has 25 letters from the Latin script ^[1]. This includes 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 20 consonants, with the distinctive letter ç (c with cedilla).

The Aromanian alphabet has several distinctive features:

• Uses ç (c with cedilla) to represent the "ch" sound

• Employs grave accents (à, è, ì, ò, ù) to mark stress and pronunciation

• The letter j is pronounced like "y" in English

• Has a trilled "r" sound like other Romance languages

Aromanian is primarily spoken across the Balkans:

• Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia all report Aromanian-speaking communities ^[2]

• Each region preserves local pronunciations and digraphs such as lj, nj, sh, tz, and zh

• UNESCO tracks these communities in its Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger ^[3]

While both are Romance languages, Aromanian belongs to the Eastern/Balkan Romance branch and not to the Italo-Romance group. ^[2]

It keeps its own vowel nasalization, grave-accented vowels, and digraphs, so the alphabet here reflects sounds that differ from Italian spelling.

Aromanian uses grave accents to indicate stress and open vowel sounds:

• à - open "a" sound, stressed

• è - open "e" sound (like "bet"), stressed

• ì - stressed "i" sound (like "see")

• ò - open "o" sound, stressed

• ù - stressed "u" sound (like "food")

These accents help distinguish word meanings and proper pronunciation!

Aromanian has deep cultural importance:

• Oral traditions and ballads rely on accented vowels and digraphs captured in this alphabet

• Listed by UNESCO's Atlas as a language that needs safeguarding, encouraging documentation and teaching projects ^[3]

• Maintains a strong Balkan Romance identity across dispersed communities ^[2]