Editing Welsh orthography (section)

== Letter names and sound values ==
"N" and "S" indicate variants specific to the northern and southern dialects of Welsh. Throughout Wales an alternative system is also in use in which all consonant letters are named using the corresponding consonant sound plus a [[schwa]] (e.g. {{lang|cy|cy}} {{IPA|/kə/}} for {{lang|cy|èc}}). In this system the vowels are named as below.
:{| class="wikitable"
! Letter
! Name
! Corresponding sounds
! English approximation
|-
| a
| {{lang|cy|a}}
| {{IPA|/a, ɑː, a:/}}
| f'''a'''ther (long)
|-
| b
| {{lang|cy|bi}}
| {{IPA|/b/}}
| '''b'''at
|-
| c
| {{lang|cy|èc}}
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| '''c'''ase
|-
| ch
| {{lang|cy|èch}}
| {{IPA|/χ/}}
| No English equivalent; similar to lo'''ch''' in Scottish, but pronounced further back.
|-
| d<ref group=* name=si>The sequence ''si'' indicates {{IPA|/ʃ/}} when followed by a vowel; similarly, ''di'' and ''ti'' sometimes indicate {{IPA|/dʒ/}} and {{IPA|/tʃ/}} respectively when followed by a vowel, although these sounds are spelled ''j'' and ''ts'' in loanwords like {{lang|cy|jẁg}} "jug" and {{lang|cy|wats}} "watch".</ref>
| {{lang|cy|di}}
| {{IPA|/d/}}
| '''d'''ay
|-
| dd
| {{lang|cy|èdd}}
| {{IPA|/ð/}}
| '''th'''ese
|-
| e
| {{lang|cy|e}}
| {{IPA|/ɛ, eː/}}
| b'''e'''d (short) / closest to h'''e'''y (long)
|-
| f
| {{lang|cy|èf}}
| {{IPA|/v/}}
| o'''f'''
|-
| ff
| {{lang|cy|èff}}
| {{IPA|/f/}}
| '''f'''our
|-
| g
| {{lang|cy|èg}}
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| '''g'''ate
|-
| ng
| {{lang|cy|èng}}
| {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
| thi'''ng'''
|-
| h<ref group=*>In addition to representing the phoneme {{IPA|/h/}}, ''h'' indicates [[Voice (phonetics)|voicelessness]] in the [[grapheme]]s ''mh'', ''nh'', and ''ngh''.</ref>
| {{lang|cy|aets}}
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| '''h'''at
|-
| i
| {{lang|cy|i}}, {{lang|cy|i dot}} (S)
| {{IPA|/ɪ, iː, j/}}
| b'''i'''t (short) / mach'''i'''ne (long) / '''y'''es (as consonant; before vowels)
|-
| j
| {{lang|cy|je}}
| {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
| '''j'''ump (only found in loanwords, usually from English but still in wide use such as {{lang|cy|'''j'''eli}} ('jelly', {{IPA|cy|dʒɛlɪ|ipa}}) and {{lang|cy|'''j'''îns}} ('jeans', {{IPA|cy|dʒɪnz|ipa}})
|-
| l
| {{lang|cy|èl}}
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| '''l'''ad
|-
| ll
| {{lang|cy|èll}}
| {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| not present in English; a [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]]. A bit like what the consonant cluster "hl" would sound like.
|-
| m
| {{lang|cy|èm}}
| {{IPA|/m/}}
| '''m'''at
|-
| n
| {{lang|cy|èn}}
| {{IPA|/n/}}
| '''n'''et
|-
| o
| {{lang|cy|o}}
| {{IPA|/ɔ, oː/}}
| Short, like "b'''o'''g" in [[received pronunciation|RP]]; long like d'''aw'''n in RP or st'''o'''ve in [[Scottish English]]
|-
| p
| {{lang|cy|pi}}
| {{IPA|/p/}}
| '''p'''et
|-
| ph<ref group=*>The digraph ''ph'' – which indicates the [[Welsh morphology|aspirate mutation]] of ''p'' (e.g. {{lang|cy|ei phen-ôl}}) – may also be found very occasionally in words derived from [[Greek language|Greek]] (e.g. {{lang|cy|Pharo}}), although most words of Greek origin are spelt with ''ff'' (e.g. {{italics correction|{{lang|cy|ffotograff}}}}).</ref>
| {{lang|cy|ffi}}
| {{IPA|/f/}}
| '''ph'''one
|-
| r
| {{lang|cy|èr}}
| {{IPA|/r/}}
| Rolled R
|-
| rh
| {{lang|cy|rhi}}
| {{IPA|/r̥/}}
| Voiceless rolled R
|-
| s<ref group=* name=si />
| {{lang|cy|ès}}
| {{IPA|/s/}}
| '''s'''at
|-
| t<ref group=* name=si />
| {{lang|cy|ti}}
| {{IPA|/t/}}
| s'''t'''ick
|-
| th
| {{lang|cy|èth}}
| {{IPA|/θ/}}
| '''th'''in
|-
| u
| {{lang|cy|u}} (N), {{lang|cy|u bedol}} (S)
| {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː/}} (N),<ref group="*" name=":0">In the North, the letters ''u'' and ''y'' are occasionally pronounced {{IPA|/ɪ, iː/}}, the same as in the South, rather than {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː/}}. This is usually the case when the preceding vowel is {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or when ''y'' is preceded or followed by ''g'' {{IPA|/ɡ/}} or followed by ''w'' {{IPA|/u/}}, forming a diphthong.{{Cite web|url = http://www.geiriaduracademi.org/?page_id=50|title = Morffoleg y Gymraeg|access-date = 25 July 2014|website = Geiriadur yr Academi|publisher = Bangor University}}</ref><br />{{IPA|/ɪ, iː/}} (S)
| for Southern variants: b'''i'''t (short) / mach'''i'''ne (long); in Northern dialects {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː/}} not found in English. Identical to "î" and "â" in [[Romanian language|Romanian]], and similar to the "e" in English ''ros'''e'''s''.
|-
| w
| {{lang|cy|w}}
| {{IPA|/ʊ, uː, w/}}
| p'''u'''sh (short) / p'''oo'''l (long) / '''w'''et (as consonant)
|-
| y<ref group=*>The vowel letter ''y'' indicates {{IPA|/ə/}} in unstressed monosyllabic words (e.g. {{lang|cy|y}} "the", {{lang|cy|fy}} "my") or non-final syllables (regardless of whether these are stressed or not), but {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː/}} (N) or {{IPA|/ɪ, iː/}} (S) in word-final syllables (again, regardless of stress).</ref>
| {{lang|cy|ỳ}}
| {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː, ə/}} (N),<ref name=":0" group="*" /><br />{{IPA|/ɪ, iː, ə, əː/}} (S)
| for Southern variants: b'''i'''t (final syllable, short) / mach'''i'''ne (final syllable, long) <br /> '''a'''bove (other places, short) / ros'''e'''s {{IPA|/ɨ̞, ɨː/}}, found in certain dialects of English that differentiate "Rosa's" and "roses", for example, General American.
|}

;Notes
<references group=* />

=== Diphthongs ===
:{| class="wikitable"
! Orthography
! Northern dialects
! Southern dialects
! English (approximation only)
|-
| rowspan=2 | ae
| {{IPA|/ɑːɨ̯/}} <ref group=*>final or only syllable, e.g. ''chwar'''ae''''', ''c'''ae'''th''</ref>
| {{IPA|/ai̯/}}
| '''eye'''
|-
| {{IPA|/ɛi̯/}} <ref group=*>non-final syllable. e.g. ''chwar'''ae'''''wr, ''c'''ae'''thwas''</ref>
| {{IPA|/eːɨ̯/}}
| m'''ay'''
|-
| ai
| {{IPA|/ai̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ai̯/}}
| '''eye'''
|-
| au
| {{IPA|/aɨ̯/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}
| {{IPA|/ai̯/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
| '''eye'''. Realised as b'''e'''t (south) and c'''a'''t (north) in plural endings.
|-
| aw
| {{IPA|/au̯, ɑːu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/au̯/}}
| h'''ow'''
|-
| ei
| {{IPA|/ɛi̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɛi̯/}}
| As in '''ei'''ght
|-
| eu
| {{IPA|/əɨ̯/}}
| {{IPA|/əi̯/}}
| As in h'''eigh'''t
|-
| ew
| {{IPA|/ɛu̯, eːu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɛu̯/}}
| Roughly like ''Edward'' with the ''d'' removed: '''''E'w'''ard'', or Cockney pronunciation of ''-ell'' in words like ''w'''ell''''', ''h'''ell'''''.
|-
| ey
| {{IPA|/e.ɨ̯/}}
| {{IPA|/e.ɪ/}}
| Two distinct vowels.
|-
| iw
| {{IPA|/ɪu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɪu̯/}}
| similar to Cockney pronunciation of ''-ill'' in words like ''b'''ill''''', ''f'''ill'''''
|-
| oe
| {{IPA|/ɔɨ̯, ɔːɨ̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɔi̯/}}
| b'''oy'''
|-
| oi
| {{IPA|/ɔi̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɔi̯/}}
| b'''oy'''
|-
| ou
| {{IPA|/ɔɨ̯, ɔːɨ̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɔi̯/}}
| b'''oy'''
|-
| ow
| {{IPA|/ɔu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɔu̯/}}
| g'''oa'''l
|-
| uw
| {{IPA|/ɨu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɪu̯/}}
| Southern {{IPA|/ɪu̯/}}: see "iw" above. Northern {{IPA|/ɨu̯/}}: not present in English.
|-
| wy <ref group=*>In some other words containing the letter combination "wy", instead of this being a diphthong, the "w" is a consonant ({{IPA|/w/}}). In these cases, the pronunciation of the "y" can then vary as shown in the previous table. For example: short final in "gwyn" ({{IPA|/ɡwɨ̞n/}} (N), {{IPA|/ɡwɪn/}} (S)), long final in "gwych" ({{IPA|/ɡwɨːχ/}} (N), {{IPA|/ɡwiːχ/}} (S)), non-final in "gwynion" ({{IPA|/ˈɡwənjɔn/}}).</ref>
| {{IPA|/ʊ̯ɨ, u̯ɨ/}}
| {{IPA|/ʊ̯i/}}
| not present in English; closest to g'''ooey'''
|-
| yw <ref group=*>where yw is followed by a vowel, e.g. ''cywir'', ''tywod'', ''tywydd'', this does not contain the ''yw'' diphthong, but a non-final ''y'' (hence {{IPA|/ə/}}, see above) followed by a consonantal ''w'' {{IPA|/w/}}</ref>
| {{IPA|/ɨu̯/}}
| {{IPA|/ɪu̯/}}
| see "uw" above
|}

;Notes
<references group=* />