Classical Milanese orthography

Template:Short description The classical Milanese orthography is the orthography used for the Western Lombard language, in particular for the Milanese dialect, by the major poets and writers of this literature, such as Carlo Porta, Carlo Maria Maggi, Delio Tessa, etc. It was first used in the seventeenth century by Carlo Maria Maggi; Maggi first introduced the trigram oeu, while previous authors, like Bonvesin de la Riva (thirteenth century), used Latinizing orthographies. In 1606 G. A. Biffi with his Prissian de Milan de la parnonzia milanesa began the first codification, incorporating vowel length and the use of ou to represent the sound Template:IPAslink. The classical orthography came as a compromise between the old Tuscan system and the French one; the characteristic that considerably differentiates this orthography from effective pronunciation is the method for the distinction of long and short vowels. As of today, because it has become more archaic, it is often replaced by simpler methods that use signs ö, ü for front rounded vowels and the redoubling of vowels for long vowels. The classical orthography was regularized in the 1990s by the Circolo Filologico Milanese for modern use.

The classical Milanese orthography (as edited by Circolo Filologico Milanese) has the following conventions that differ from the Italian alphabet.

General use of accents:

• acute accent: indicates a closed sound in e or o (Template:Angbr Template:IPAslink and Template:Angbr Template:IPAslink respectively, as in Italian)
• grave accent: indicates an open sound in e or o (Template:Angbr Template:IPAslink and Template:Angbr Template:IPAslink respectively, as in Italian)
• circumflex accent: indicates a stressed short o when otherwise would be unstressed (Template:Angbr Template:IPAslink; the circumflex is not used in Italian)

Pronunciation of vowels and false diphthongs:

• Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr represent open and short vowels when followed by doubled consonants or if accented at the end of a word, and close and long when followed by single consonant.
• Template:Angbr represents Template:IPAslink
• Template:Angbr represents Template:IPAslink
• Template:Angbr represents Template:IPAslink; may also represent Template:IPAslink after Template:Angbr or in the diphthong Template:Angbr.

Use of consonants:

• doubling: makes the preceding vowel short and open
• Template:Angbr represents either a voiced or voiceless sibilant; intervocalically, it is always voiced, and voiceless Template:IPAslink is represented with a double Template:Angbr. Word-finally, it is always voiceless.
• Template:Angbr represents historical Template:IPAslink or Template:IPAslink
• Template:Angbr after a vowel and followed by consonant (or word-final) represents the nasalization of the preceding vowel; before another vowel or when written doubled, it represents Template:IPAslink.
• Template:Angbr represents the nasalization of the preceding vowel when followed by consonant or word-final; otherwise it represents Template:IPAslink.
• Template:Angbr represents that the preceding Template:Angbr or Template:Angbr are velar before a front vowel.
• Template:Angbr represents Template:IPAslink
• Template:Angbr represents Template:IPAslink
• Template:Angbr represents /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/

Table of pronunciation

• The stress is normally on the penultimate syllable for words ending in vowel, on the last syllable for these ending in consonant.

Sign	Context	IPA	Notes
a (à)	unstressed, stressed if followed by double consonant, or accented word-finally	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
a (à)	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
aa	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
b	always	Template:IPAslink	devoiced Template:IPAblink word-finally
c	followed by consonant or by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
ci	followed by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
c	followed by e, i or word-finally	Template:IPAslink
ch	followed by e, i or word-finally	Template:IPAslink
d	always	Template:IPAslink	devoiced Template:IPAblink word-finally
e	unstressed	Template:IPAslink
e (è)	followed by double consonant or accented word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed; stress is sometimes indicated with grave accent
e (é)	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	always stressed; stress is indicated with acute accent
ee	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
f	always	Template:IPAslink
g	followed by consonant or by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
gi	followed by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
g	followed by e, i or word-finally	Template:IPAslink	devoiced Template:IPAblink word-finally
gh	followed by e, i or word-finally	Template:IPAslink	devoiced Template:IPAblink word-finally
i (ì)	followed by double consonant or accented word-finally	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
i	preceded by consonant and followed by vowel	Template:IPAslink
i (ì)	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
ii	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
j	when not preceded by consonant	Template:IPAslink
l	always	Template:IPAslink
m	followed by consonant	Template:IPAslink
m	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink
n	when it doesn't form a vowel with the preceding vowel or word-finally when last syllable is unstressed	Template:IPAslink
n	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink
nn	word-finally	Template:IPAslink
o	stressed in a non-final open syllable	Template:IPAslink
o	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink
oo	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
ò	always	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
ô	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
oeu	followed by double consonant	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink	always stressed
oeu	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink	always stressed
p	always	Template:IPAslink
qu	always followed by a vowel other than u	Template:IPAslink
r	always	Template:IPAslink
s	word-finally, followed by voiceless consonant or word-initially	Template:IPAslink
s	intervocalic or followed by voiced consonant	Template:IPAslink
sci	followed by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
sc	followed by e, i or word-finally	Template:IPAslink
s'ci	followed by a, o, u	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/
s'c	followed by e, i	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/
sgi	followed by a, o, u	Template:IPAslink
sg	followed by e, i	Template:IPAslink
ss	between vowels	Template:IPAslink
t	always	Template:IPAslink
u (ù)	followed by double consonant or accented word-finally	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
u	between q or g and a vowel, or as part of a diphthong	Template:IPAslink	never stressed
u (ù)	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	stress is indicated with grave accent
uu	word-finally	Template:IPAslink	always stressed
v	always	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink	devoiced Template:IPAblink word-finally
z	always	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink	variable; always devoiced Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink word-finally