Graphemes for /ʂ/ and Related Phonemes
Retroflex
Section titled “Retroflex”/ʂ/ - voiceless retroflex fricative
| Writing System | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| dv-Thaa | <ށ> | ފެށުން | Linguists have differing views as to whether /ʂ/ or /ᶘ/ is the most appropriate phonetic representation of the Shaviyani character. Dr. Amalia Gnandesikan recommends /ʂ/, which follows current IPA guidelines for representing voiceless retroflex frica |
| ii-Latn | <sh> | sha ‘poor’ | |
| ru-Cyrl | <ж> | кни́жка ‘book’, муж ‘husband’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| ru-Cyrl | <ч> | что ‘what’ | Only in the pronoun ‘что’ and its derivatives |
| ru-Cyrl | <ш> | широ́кий ‘wide’ | Preceding either a vowel, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
Retroflex post-alveolars
Section titled “Retroflex post-alveolars”/ᶘ/ - voiceless retroflex post-alveolar fricative
| Writing System | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| dv-Thaa | <ށ> | ފެށުން | Dr. Bruce Cain argues that /ᶘ/ is the more accurate phonemic representation for Shaviyani ‹ށ›. According to his data, Shaviyani is not pronounced as /ʂ/ in any context, and to render it so inaccurately suggests a similarity to o |