Editing Punic language (section)

==Phonology==
Punic has 22 consonants.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic |first=Stanislav |last=Segert |year=1976 |location=Munich |publisher=Beck |isbn=978-3-406-00724-8 }}</ref> Details of their pronunciation can be reconstructed from Punic and Neo-Punic texts written in Latin or Greek characters (inscriptions, and parts of Plautus's comedy ''Poenulus'', 'The Little Punic').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar (Handbuch der Orientalistik, Vol. 54) |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-1-62837-031-7 |pages=19–37}}(reprint Atlata: SBL, 2014).</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" |Orthography
!  rowspan="2"| Name
!  rowspan="2"| Transliteration
!  rowspan="2"| Pronunciation
!  rowspan="2"| Notes
|-
!Neo-Punic
! colspan="2" |Phoenician
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic alef.png|20px|Aleph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician aleph.svg|20px|Aleph]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤀}}
|[[Aleph|ʾalp]] <small>{{nowrap|later ʾalf}}</small>
| {{big|ʾ}}
|{{IPAslink|ʔ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the [[mater lectionis|indication of vowels]].
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic bet.png|20px|Beth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician beth.svg|20px|Beth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤁}}
|[[Bet (letter)|Bēt]] <small>{{nowrap|later Vēt}}</small>
| b<br />v
|{{IPAslink|b}}<br />{{IPAslink|v}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In Late Punic and in Late Phoenician, {{angle bracket|b}} ({{IPAslink|b}}) underwent a [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] to {{angle bracket|v}} ({{IPAslink|v}}) in the 3rd century BCE.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic gimel.png|20px|Gimel]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician gimel.svg|20px|Gimel]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤂}}
|[[Gimel|Gaml]]
| g
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Some words in Latin transliterations show a [[spirantization]] as {{IPAblink|ɣ}} at the end of the word, written indicated by "ẖ" instead of the usual "gh".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic dalet.png|20px|Daleth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician daleth.svg|20px|Daleth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤃}}
|[[Dalet|Dalt]]
| d
|{{IPAslink|d}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic he.png|20px|He]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician he.svg|20px|He]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤄}}
|[[He (letter)|Hē]]
| h
|{{IPAslink|h}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Under Roman influence often elided but was still pronounced in certain Carthaginian words.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic vav.png|20px|Waw]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician waw.svg|20px|Waw]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤅}}
|[[Waw (letter)|Waw]] <small>{{nowrap|}}</small>
| w
|{{IPAslink|w}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the indication of the vowel "u".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic zayin.png|20px|Zayin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician zayin.svg|20px|Zayin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤆}}
|[[Zayin|Zēn]]
| z
|{{IPAslink|z}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In a few names attested as "sd", like in [[Hasdrubal]] for "ʿazrubaʿl", "esde" for {{lang|xpu|heze}} ("this", used in some Punic dialects), but most texts show a simple "s": "syt" for {{lang|xpu|zut}} ("this", in Late Punic)
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic het.png|20px|Heth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician heth.svg|20px|Heth]]</span>
 |{{script|Phnx|𐤇}}
|[[Heth|Ḥēt]]
| ḥ
|{{IPAslink|ħ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes used as a vowel for "a, e, i, o, u", the sound of Het was weakened, and words written usually with it were often instead written with the letter Alf in Late Punic inscriptions.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tet.png|20px|Teth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician teth.svg|20px|Teth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤈}}
|[[Teth|Ṭēt]]
| ṭ
|{{IPAslink|tˤ}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic yod.png|20px|Yodh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician yodh.svg|20px|Yodh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤉}}
|[[Yodh|Yod]]
| y
|{{IPAslink|j}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the indication of the vowel "i" but mostly in foreign names.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic kaf.png|20px|Kaph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician kaph.svg|20px|Kaph]]</span>
| style="font-size:125%" |{{script|Phnx|𐤊}}
|[[Kaph|Kap]]
| k
|{{IPAslink|k}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Some words in Latin transliterations show a [[spirantization]] as {{IPAblink|x}} at the end of the word, written indicated by "h" instead of the usual "ch".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic lamed.png|20px|Lamedh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician lamedh.svg|20px|Lamedh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤋}}
|[[Lamedh|Lamd]]
| l
|{{IPAslink|l}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic mem.png|20px|Mem]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician mem.svg|20px|Mem]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤌}}
|[[Mem|Mēm]]
| m
|{{IPAslink|m}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic nun.png|20px|Nun]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician nun.svg|20px|Nun]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤍}}
|[[Nun (letter)|Nūn]]
| n
|{{IPAslink|n}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic samekh.png|20px|Samekh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician samekh.svg|20px|Samekh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤎}}
|[[Samekh|Semk]]
| s
|{{IPAslink|s}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic ayin.png|20px|Ayin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician ayin.svg|20px|Ayin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤏}}
|[[Ayin|ʿēn]]
| {{big|ʿ}}
|{{IPAslink|ʕ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Often used for the vowel "a" and "o" in late Punic, mostly for foreign Latin names.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic pe.png|20px|Pe]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician pe.svg|20px|Pe]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤐}}
|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|Pi]] <small>{{nowrap|later Fi}}</small>
| p<br />f
|{{IPAslink|p}}<br />{{IPAslink|f}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In Late Punic and in Late Phoenician, {{angle bracket|𐤐‎}} ({{IPAslink|p}}) underwent a [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] to {{angle bracket|f}} ({{IPAslink|f}}) in the 3rd century BCE. (similar to the [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] that happened to the corresponding Arabic {{angle bracket|ف}} {{IPAslink|f}}).
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tsade.png|20px|Tsadi]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician sade.svg|20px|Sadek]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤑}}
|[[Tsade|Tsadē]]
| ṣ
|{{IPA|/sˤ/}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Attested as "ts" mostly as "s" in Latin and [[Ancient Greek]] and [[Hittite language|Hittite]], [[Lydian language|Lydian]] and [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] texts. Attested in some Latin texts as "st".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic quf.png|20px|Qoph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician qoph.svg|20px|Qoph]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤒}}
|[[Qoph|Qop]] <small>{{nowrap|later Qof}}</small>
| q
|{{IPAslink|q}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic resh.png|20px|Res]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician res.svg|20px|Res]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤓}}
|[[Resh|Rūš]]
| r
|{{IPAslink|r}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic shin.png|20px|Shin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician sin.svg|20px|Shin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤔}}
|[[Shin (letter)|Shin]]
| š
|{{IPAslink|ʃ}} or /s/
| style="text-align:left;" | Pronunciation is debated: some<ref>For example {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Zellig S. |title=A Grammar of the Phoenician Language |date=1936 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=New Haven, Conn. |isbn=0-940490-08-0 |page=22}}</ref> think it was /ʃ/; others<ref>For example Krahmalkov (2001), p. 25-26.</ref> that it was /s/.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tav.png|20px|Taw]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician taw.svg|20px|Taw]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤕}}
|[[Taw]]
| t
|{{IPAslink|t}}
| 
|}

===Table of consonant phonemes===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="4" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]<br>/ [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]] /<br>[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | <small>plain</small>
! colspan="2" | <small>[[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]]</small>
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: none;" rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|p}}~{{IPA link|f}}
| style="border-left: none;" rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|b}}~{{IPA link|v}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|t}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|tˤ}}|| style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|k}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|q}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|s}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|sˤ}}|| style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ħ}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ʕ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|h}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|r}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
|}

=== Vowels ===
The [[vowel]]s in Punic and Neo-Punic are: short ''a, i,'' and ''u''; their long counterparts ''ā, ī,'' and ''ū''; and ''ē'' and ''ō'', which had developed out of the [[diphthong]]s ''ay'' and ''aw'', respectively (for example Punic ''mēm'', 'water', corresponds to Hebrew ''mayim'').

Two vowel changes are noteworthy. In many cases a stressed long ''ā'' developed into /''o''/, for example in the third person masculine singular of the suffixing conjugation of the verb, ''baròk'', 'he has blessed' (compare Hebrew ''baràk''). And in some cases that /''o''/ secondarily developed into ''ū'', for example ''mū'', 'what?', < ''mō'' < ''mā'' (cf. Hebrew ''māh'', 'what?').

In late Punic and Neo-Punic the [[glottal stop]] and [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] and [[laryngeal consonant]]s were no longer pronounced. The signs’'', ‘, h,'' and ''ḥ'' thus became available to indicate vowels. The ‘ayn (''‘'') came to be regularly used to indicate an /''a''/ sound, and also ''y'' and ''w'' increasingly were used to indicate /''i''/ and /''o, u''/, respectively. But a consistent system to write vowels never developed.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 19, 27-37.</ref>