Nh (digraph)

Nh is a digraph of the Latin alphabet, a combination of N and H. Together with lh and the interpunct, it is a typical feature of Occitan, a language illustrated by medieval troubadours.

African languages

In some African languages, nh, such as Gogo, it's a voiceless /n̥/.

In the pre-1985 orthography of Guinea for its languages, nh represented a velar [ŋ], which is currently written ŋ.

Asian languages

In the Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization of Mandarin Chinese, initial nh- indicates an even tone on a syllable beginning in [n], which is otherwise spelled n-.

Japanese

Early romanizations of Japanese, influenced by Portuguese orthography, sometimes used nh to represent a prepalatal. Today, this is usually written ny.

Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, nh represents a palatal [ɲ] word-initially. It was formerly considered a distinct letter, but is no longer. When this digraph occurs word-finally, its phonetic value varies between dialects:

• In the northern dialect, it represents a velar nasal (ŋ), just as ng does; however, its presence may alter the pronunciation of the preceding vowel. For example, banh is pronounced /baɪŋ/, as opposed to /baŋ/ (bang).
• In the southern dialect, it represents an alveolar nasal (n) and shortens the preceding vowel.

The Vietnamese alphabet inherited this digraph from the Portuguese orthography.

Australian languages

In the transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages, nh represents a dental [n̪]. Due to allophony, it may also represent a palatal [ɲ].

American languages

In Purépecha, it's a velar nasal, [ŋ].

European languages

Occitan

In Occitan, nh represents a palatal [ɲ].

For n·h, see Interpunct#Occitan.

Portuguese

In Portuguese, nh represents a palatal [ɲ]. Due to allophony, it may represent the nasal approximant [ȷ̃] in most Brazilian, Santomean and Angolan dialects. It is not considered a distinct letter. Portuguese borrowed this digraph from Occitan.

Galician

In Galician, there are two diverging norms which give nh differing values.

• According to the Real Academia Galega norm, nh represents a velar [ŋ], while ñ represents a palatal [ɲ].
• According to the reintegrationist norm, mh represents a velar nasal [ŋ], while nh represents a palatal [ɲ].

In both norms, nh is not considered a distinct letter.

Welsh

In Welsh, nh is a voiceless alveolar nasal, /n̥/.

External links

• Practical Orthography of African Languages