Latin writing system
Toaq is most commonly written using a modified Latin writing system, with diacritics on the vowels to mark tone.
Alphabet
The alphabet, in native order, is:
| m | b | p | f | n | d | t | z | c | s | r | l | nh | j | ch | sh | q | g | k | ' | h | a | u | ı | o | e | y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /m/ | /b/ | /pʰ/ | /f/ | /n/ | /d/ | /tʰ/ | /d͡z/ | /t͡sʰ/ | /s/ | /ɾ/ | /l/ | /ɲ/ | /d͡ʑ/ | /t͡ɕʰ/ | /ɕ/ | /ŋ/ | /g/ | /kʰ/ | /ʔ/ | /h/ | /a/ | /u/ | /i/ | /o/ | /ɛ/ | /ə/ |
In semi-native order, the consonants are ordered in the Latin/Unicode way (b, c, ch, d…) while the vowels are still at the end, in a, u, ı, o, e, y order.
In non-native or Latin order, the whole alphabet is ordered like the Latin alphabet: a, b, c, ch, d…
The vowel ı is written without its dot, to avoid confusion with the diacritics below.
Diacritics
The following diacritics are placed on the first vowel (a, u, ı, o, e, y) of a word to mark non-neutral tone on the whole word:
| Nr. | Mark | On "a" | Diacritic | Unicode | Tone name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  |
á | acute accent | U+0301 | rising tone |
| 3 |  |
ä | diaeresis | U+0308 | rising-creaky tone |
| 4 |  |
ả | hook above | U+0309 | falling tone |
| 5 |  |
â | circumflex accent | U+0302 | rising-falling tone |
| 6 |  |
à | grave accent | U+0300 | mid-falling tone |
| 7 |  |
ã | tilde | U+0303 | falling creaky tone |
A Toaq text may choose not to mark the most common tone, , as a verb can never carry the neutral tone. This is called sparse tone marking style. This practice is acceptable in informal writing but is discouraged in educational materials.
See also
- "Symbols and sounds" in the Reference grammar.
- Vietoaq, an ASCII-only Latin writing system.
- Hoelai, the major non-Latin writing system.