The West Frisian alphabet is a Latin‑based script used for writing the West Frisian language (Frysk), spoken primarily in the Dutch province of Friesland. It consists of the 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet, supplemented by diacritic‑marked vowel letters to indicate phonemic length and quality. The diacritics are treated as orthographic variants rather than separate letters in alphabetic ordering.
Basic letters (A–Z)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Diacritic‑marked vowels (used in standard orthography)
| Letter | Diacritic | Typical function |
|---|---|---|
| Â, â | circumflex | Marks a long open‑mid front vowel /aː/ (as in bâd “boat”) |
| Ê, ê | circumflex | Marks a long close‑mid front vowel /eː/ (as in hêd “head”) |
| Î, î | circumflex | Marks a long close front vowel /iː/ (as in lîd “song”) |
| Ô, ô | circumflex | Marks a long close‑mid back vowel /oː/ (as in gôd “good”) |
| Û, û | circumflex | Marks a long close back vowel /uː/ (as in bûr “neighbour”) |
| Á, á | acute | Denotes a stressed short /a/ in loanwords or proper names |
| É, é | acute | Denotes a stressed short /e/ in loanwords or proper names |
| Í, í | acute | Denotes a stressed short /i/ in loanwords or proper names |
| Ó, ó | acute | Denotes a stressed short /o/ in loanwords or proper names |
| Ú, ú | acute | Denotes a stressed short /u/ in loanwords or proper names |
| ÿ, Ÿ | diaeresis | Used rarely to indicate that y is pronounced as a separate vowel rather than part of a diphthong (e.g., pÿd “pike”) |
Digraphs and trigraphs
West Frisian orthography also employs a number of multi‑letter combinations that represent single phonemes. The most common include:
- ch – voiceless velar fricative /x/
- ei – close‑mid front diphthong /ei/
- ij – close front diphthong /ɛi/ (historically written y)
- oe – close‑mid back rounded vowel /ø/ (as in schoe “shoe”)
- ou – close-mid back rounded diphthong /ou/
- ui – close front rounded vowel /y/
These digraphs are treated as sequences of the underlying letters for sorting purposes.
Alphabetical ordering
In collation, the base letters A–Z determine primary order. Letters with diacritics are sorted immediately after their unmarked counterparts (e.g., a < â < á). Digraphs are not separate entries in the alphabetic index; words beginning with a digraph are ordered under the first constituent letter (e.g., ch words follow c).
Historical notes
Earlier West Frisian texts (medieval and early modern) sometimes used additional characters such as þ (thorn) and ȝ (yogh) inherited from Old English and Middle Dutch orthographies. These have been abandoned in contemporary standard spelling.
Official standardization
The current orthographic rules are maintained by the Fryske Akademy (Frisian Academy) and are reflected in official publications, educational materials, and government documents in Friesland. The standard was codified in the late 20th century and aligns with the broader Dutch language policy while preserving Frisian phonological distinctions.
Usage
The alphabet is employed in all domains of written West Frisian, including literature, media, signage, and digital communication. Keyboard layouts for Frisian typically extend the standard Dutch layout with shortcut keys for the diacritic‑marked vowels.
