View source for Latin alpha

{{short description|Latin letter similar to Alpha}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name=Latin alpha
|letter=Ɑ ɑ
|variations=
|image=Latin_letter_Alpha.svg
|imagesize=200px
|imagealt=The letter Latin alpha with a script-a shape, as in the International phonetic alphabet
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=alphabet
|language=[[International Phonetic Alphabet]], [[General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages]]
|phonemes=[{{IPAlink|ɑ}}]
|unicode=U+2C6D, U+0251
|alphanumber=
|number=
|fam1=[[A|A a]]/[[Alpha|Α α]]
|usageperiod=1890s to present
|children=
|sisters=[[A]], [[Latin turned alpha|Ɒ]]
|equivalents=
|associates=
|direction=Left-to-Right
|typedesc=ic}}
[[File:Latin alpha in GACL.svg|thumb|right|The letter Latin alpha with a lowercase Greek alpha shape, as in the [[African reference alphabet]] or the [[General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages]]]]

'''Latin alpha''' ([[majuscule]]: '''Ɑ''', [[minuscule]]: '''ɑ'''), '''script a''', or '''single-story a''' is a letter of the [[Latin alphabet]] based on one lowercase form of [[a]], or on the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] lowercase [[alpha]] (α).

==Usage==
Although {{gph|ɑ}} is normally just an [[allograph]] of {{angbr|a}}, there are instances in which the two letters are distinguished:
* In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], {{angbr IPA|ɑ}} represents an [[open back unrounded vowel]], while {{angbr IPA|a}} represents an [[open front unrounded vowel]]. It has the shape of a script-a.
* Also in the [[General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages]], {{angbr|Ɑ&nbsp;ɑ}} usually represents an [[open back unrounded vowel]], while {{angbr|A&nbsp;a}} represents an [[open front unrounded vowel]].  The former is used in the orthographies of several languages of Cameroon, including:
** [[Feʼfeʼ language|Feʼfeʼ]]<ref>{{cite web | last1=Priest | first1=Lorna A. | last2=Constable | first2=Peter G. | year=2005 | title=Proposal to Encode Additional Latin Phonetic and Orthographic Characters | url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/N2945.pdf | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=L'alphabet camerounais leçon 1.2 | language=French | url=http://www.resulam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=138 | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref>
** [[Mbembe language|Mbembe]]<ref>{{cite web | author1=EYOH, Julius A. | author2=Echebi Emmanuel SANDAMU | year=2009 | title=Mbembe Orthography Guide | url=http://www.silcam.org/languages/languagepage.php?languageid=237 | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref>
** [[Mbo language (Cameroon)|Mbo]] (?): but not Akoose, though it does have phonemes /aa/ and /ɑɑ/;<ref>{{cite web | author=HEDINGER, Robert | year=2011 | title=Akoose | quote=Among the short vowels the two '''a'''-sounds and the two '''o'''-sounds are in complementary distribution and therefore do not have to be distinguished in the orthography. However, there is a problem in the long vowels where the two pairs of sounds distinguish between distinct words. Up to now they have not been distinguished and it seems this doesn’t cause any problem to readers. <!-- | missing-parameter-name=Orthography Guide --> | url=http://www.silcam.org/languages/languagepage.php?languageid=63 | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref> nor Bakaka.<ref>{{cite web | author=SPIELMANN, Kent | year=1998 | title=Mkaa' Orthography Review (Bakaka) | url=http://www.silcam.org/languages/languagepage.php?languageid=305 | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref>
** in some languages, the script-a form (also called literacy form) of the letter {{angbr|A&nbsp;a}}, with the lowercase much like the IPA {{angbr|ɑ}}, is used and should not be confused with the Latin alpha {{angbr|Ɑ&nbsp;ɑ}} of the GACL; for example, in [[Muyang language|Muyang]], the literacy {{angbr|A&nbsp;a}} represents an [[open-mid central unrounded vowel]] but it is not {{angbr|Ɑ&nbsp;ɑ}}; the Latin alpha is not used.<ref>{{cite web | author=SMITH, Tony | year=2001 | title=Alphabet et orthographe Muyang | language=French | url=http://www.silcam.org/languages/languagepage.php?languageid=200 | accessdate=March 17, 2013 }}</ref>
*In typography, it is sometimes referred to as the [[A#Typographic variants|single-story a]], to distinguish it from double-story a. 

In Cameroon languages, {{angbr|Ɑ&nbsp;ɑ}} must look like the classical lowercase Greek alpha to better differentiate it from the letter a in script form.

{{Unichar|1D45|MODIFIER LETTER SMALL ALPHA}} is used in the [[Uralic Phonetic Alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS|date=2002-03-20|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|authorlink1=Michael Everson|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

{{Unichar|AB30|LATIN SMALL LETTER BARRED ALPHA}} is used in the [[Teuthonista]] phonetic transcription system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11202-n4081-teuthonista.pdf|title=L2/11-202: Revised proposal to encode "Teuthonista" phonetic characters in the UCS|date=2011-06-02|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Alois|last2=Dicklberger|first3=Karl|last3=Pentzlin|first4=Eveline|last4=Wandl-Vogt}}</ref>

{{Unichar|AB64|LATIN SMALL LETTER INVERTED ALPHA}} is used in [[Americanist phonetic notation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12266r-two-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/12-266: Proposal for Two Phonetic Characters|date=2012-07-31|first1=Luanne von|last1=Schneidemesser|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

==Typography==
[[File:Latin-a-and-Latin-alpha-and-Greek-alpha-in-different-fonts.svg|thumb|none|upright=3| [[A|Latin a]], Latin alpha, and Greek [[alpha]], using the fonts: [[Arial]], [[Times New Roman]], [[Gentium]], [[Doulos SIL]], [[Cambria (typeface)|Cambria]], [[Linux Libertine]], Andron Mega Corpus, [[Courier New]], and [[Consolas]]. Second row: [[italics]], using the same fonts.]]

==<span lang="aeb" dir="ltr">Encoding</span> and forms==
In [[Unicode]], "Latin alpha" ([[File:Latin uppercase alpha.svg|x15px]][[File:Latin lowercase alpha.svg|x15px]]) and "Latin script a" ([[File:Latin uppercase script a.svg|x15px]][[File:Latin lowercase script a.svg|x15px]]) are considered to be the same character, which has an uppercase and a lowercase form and is referred to as "Latin letter alpha".

{{charmap
| 2C6D | name1 = LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ALPHA
| 0251 | name2 = LATIN SMALL LETTER ALPHA
}}

==See also==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Latin alpha-article.ogg|date=2023-06-25}}
*[[Latin turned alpha]]
*[[G]], which also has two distinct minuscule forms

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Latin script|a
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpha, Latin}}
[[Category:Latin-script letters|A, Latin alpha]]
[[Category:Phonetic transcription symbols]]
[[Category:Vowel letters]]
{{Latin-script-stub}}
{{phonetics-stub}}