Ą

Ą (minuscule: ą) is a letter in the Polish, Kashubian, Lithuanian, Creek, Navajo, Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Gwich'in, Tutchone, and Elfdalian alphabets. It is formed from the letter "a" and an ogonek and usually denotes a nasal a sound.

Polish

In Polish and Kashubian ą is right after "a" in the alphabet but it never appears at the start of a word.

Originally ą was a nasal "a" but in modern times the pronunciation of this vowel has shifted to a nasal "o" sound.

Unlike those in French, nasal vowels in Polish are "asynchronous", meaning that they are pronounced as an oral vowel + a nasal semivowel, or a nasal vowel + a nasal semivowel. For instance, ą might be more accurately represented as IPA| [ɔw̃] but for the sake of simplicity, it is usually represented as IPA|/ɔ̃/.

Some examples,
* "obowiązek ("duty", "obligation")", pronounced IPA-pl| [ɔbɔˈvjɔ̃zɛk]
* "robią ("They are making")", pronounced IPA-pl| [ˈrɔbjɔ̃]
* "wciąż ("still")", pronounced IPA-pl| [ˈftɕɔ̃ʂ]

Before all stops and affricates, it is pronounced as an oral vowel + nasal consonant. The nasal consonant may be either "m" (before "p" or "b") or "n" (all other cases). For example,
* "kąpać ("to bathe")" is pronounced IPA-pl| [ˈkɔmpatɕ]
* "pająk ("spider")" is pronounced IPA-pl| [ˈpajɔnk]
* "Bądź cierpliwy! ("Be patient!")" is pronounced IPA-pl| [ˈbɔntɕ]
* "oglądając ("(by) watching")" is pronounced IPA-pl| [ɔglɔnˈdajɔnts]

History

Polish ą evolved from long nasal "a" of medieval Polish, which developed into a short nasal "o" in the modern language. This medieval vowel, along with its short counterpart, evolved in turn from the merged nasal *ę and *ǫ of Late Proto-Slavic.

Alternations

ą often alternates with ę, for example:
* "tooth": ząb → zęby ("teeth"), "thousand": tysiąc → tysięcy ("thousands"), "snake": wąż → węże ("snakes")
* "husband" in nominative: mąż → z mężem ("with husband", in instrumental case)
* "row" in nominative: rząd → cztery razy z rzędu ("four times in a row", in genitive case)
" [but note that in words derived from rząd ("government") the vowel does not change] "
* "weight": ciężar → ciążyć ("to weigh down, to be a burden"), "month": miesiąc → miesięczny ("monthly")

Audio examples

* ("snake")
* ("husband")

Lithuanian

In Lithuanian, it formerly indicated a nasal a but the nasal quality has since been lost. In the modern language ą is pronounced as a long a.

The Americas

In some indigenous languages of the Americas, ą denotes a nasal a sound.
* Creek
* Navajo
* Western Apache
* Chiricahua
* Mescalero
* Gwich'in
* Tutchone

Elfdalian

Computer use

See also

* Ę
* Polish phonology
* Polish alphabet
* Ogonek