View source for Ç

{{distinguish | text=the [[The (Cyrillic)|Cyrillic letter Ҫ]]}}
{{about|the Latin script letter|the voiceless palatal fricative represented by ç in the IPA|Voiceless palatal fricative}}
{{short description|Latin letter C with cedilla}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name=Ç
|letter=Ç ç
|variations=(See below)
|image=File:Latin letter C with cedilla.svg
|imageclass=skin-invert-image
|imagesize=200px
|imagealt=Writing cursive forms of Ç
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic and [[Logogram|Logographic]]
|language=[[Old Spanish]] language
|phonemes=[{{IPAlink|s}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|t͡s}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|d͡z}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|ç}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|ɽ}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|ǂ}}]<br>
[{{IPAlink|θ}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|ð}}]<br>[{{IPAlink|ɕ}}]
|unicode=U+00C7, U+00E7
|alphanumber=
|number=
|fam1=<hiero>Z4</hiero>
|fam2=[[File:Proto-semiticZ-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Proto-Sinaitic Zayin]]
|fam3=[[File:Protozayn.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]
|fam4=[[File:Phoenician zayin.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Phoenician Zayin]]
|fam5=[[Image:PhoenicianZ-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|30px]]
|fam6=[[Zeta|Ζ ζ]]
|fam7=[[Old Italic scripts|𐌆]]
|fam8=[[Z]] z
|fam9=[[Visigothic script|Ꝣ ꝣ]]
|usageperiod=~900 to present
|children=None
|sisters= Zz Źź Żż Žž Ƶƶ Ȥȥ Ɀɀ ʐ ʑ ᵶ ᶎ Ẑẑ Ẕẕ Ẓẓ Ⱬⱬ Ʒʒ Ζζ Зз З́з́ Ҙҙ Ӟӟ З̌з̌ Ӡӡ
|equivalents=ch, c, s, ts
|associates=[[List of Latin-script digraphs|c, ch, s, ts]]
|direction=Left-to-Right
}}'''Ç''' or '''ç''' ('''C-cedilla''') is a [[Latin script]] letter used in the [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Manx language|Manx]], [[Tatar language|Tatar]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], and Romance alphabets. [[Romance languages]] that use this letter include [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[French language|French]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], and [[Occitan language|Occitan]], as a variant of the letter ''[[C]]'' with a [[cedilla]]. It is also occasionally used in [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]] and in [[Tajik language|Tajik]] (when written in the Latin script) to represent the {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} sound. It is rarely used in [[Balinese language|Balinese]], usually only in the word "Çaka" during [[Nyepi]], one of the [[Balinese Hinduism]] holidays. It is often retained in the spelling of [[loanword]]s from any of these languages in [[English language|English]], [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and other languages using the Latin alphabet.

It was first used for the sound of the [[voiceless alveolar affricate]] {{IPAslink|t͡s}} in [[Old Spanish]] and stems from the Visigothic form of the letter ''z'' (''Ꝣ''). The [[phoneme]] originated in [[Vulgar Latin]] from the [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalization]] of the plosives {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|k}} in some conditions. Later, {{IPA|/t͡s/}} changed into {{IPAslink|s}} in many [[Romance languages]] and dialects. Spanish has not used the symbol since an [[orthographic reform]] in the 18th century (which replaced ''ç'' with the ''z'', which has now been devoiced into {{IPAslink|θ}} or {{IPAslink|s}}), but it was adopted for writing other languages.

In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], {{IPAslink|ç}} represents the [[voiceless palatal fricative]].

==Usage as a letter variant in various languages==
[[File:Visigothic Z-C cedille.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|200px|right|'''Evolution from Visigoth Z to modern Ç.''']]
In many languages, {{angbr|ç}} represents the "soft" sound {{IPAslink|s}} where a {{angbr|c}} would normally represent the "hard" sound {{IPAslink|k}}. These include:
*[[Catalan language|Catalan]]. Known as ''ce trencada'' ('broken C') in this language, where it can be used before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}} or at the end of a word. Some examples of words with {{angbr|ç}} are ''amenaça'' ('menace'), ''torçat'' ('twisted'), ''xoriço'' ('chorizo'), ''forçut'' ('strong'), ''dolç'' ('sweet') and ''caça'' ('hunting'). The only two words starting with ''ç'' that can be found in the dictionary are ''ço'' ('this') and ''ça'' ('here'), which are rarely used, except for some expressions like ''ço que'' ('which'). A well-known word with this character is ''Barça'', a common Catalan clipping of [[FC Barcelona|Futbol Club Barcelona]]. When writing by hand, Catalans don't write ''ç'' with a cedilla under it, but a symbol similar to a comma, which crosses the ''c'' (called ''trenc'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2024-03-03 |title=D'on ve la ce trencada? Els secrets d'una lletra documentada en català fa més de mil anys |url=https://www.3cat.cat/324/don-ve-la-ce-trencada-els-secrets-duna-lletra-documentada-en-catala-fa-mes-de-mil-anys/noticia/3279891/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=3Cat |language=ca}}</ref> In fact, some scholars like Jesús Alturo claim that ''ce trencada'' evolved from combining ''c'' and ''i'' (written c<sub>i</sub>) instead of the letter ''z''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.3cat.cat/3cat/tania-alaix-i-jesus-alturo-ramon-de-cabo-tenia-una-categoria-cultural-remarcable/video/6139344/ |title=Més 324 - Tània Alaix i Jesús Alturo: "Ramon de Cabó tenia una categoria cultural remarcable" |language=ca |access-date=2024-10-09 |via=3cat}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
*[[French language|French]] (''cé cédille''): ''français'' ('French'), ''garçon'' ('boy'), ''façade'' ('frontage'), ''grinçant'' ('squeaking'), ''leçon'' ('lesson'), ''reçu'' ('received' [past participle]). French does not use the character at the end of a word but it can occur at the beginning of a word (e.g., ''ça'', 'that').<ref name=":0">The [[Académie Française]] online [http://atilf.atilf.fr/academie9.htm dictionary] also gives ''çà'' and ''[[:fr:Shoûdra|çûdra]]''.</ref> It is never used in French where C would denote /s/ (before e, i, y) nor before h.
*[[Occitan language|Occitan]] (''ce cedilha''): ''torçut'' ('twisted'), ''çò'' ('this'), ''ça que la'' ('nevertheless'), ''braç'' ('arm'), ''brèç'' ('cradle'), ''voraç'' ('voracious'). It can occur at the beginning or end of words.
*[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (''cê-cedilha'', ''cê de cedilha'' or ''cê cedilhado''): it is used before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}}: ''taça'' ('cup'), ''braço'' ('arm'), ''açúcar'' ('sugar'). Modern Portuguese does not use the character at the beginning or at the end of a word (the nickname for ''Conceição'' is ''São'', not ''Ção''). According to a Portuguese grammar written in 1550, the letter ç had the sound of /dz/ around that time. Another grammar written around 1700 would say that the letter ç sounds like /s/, which shows a phonetic evolution that is still valid today.
*[[Galician-Portuguese|Old Galician]] used the ç letter, however it is no longer present in the official norm for the [[Galician language]] by the [[Royal Galician Academy]]. However, the unofficial norm for the Galician language by the [[Galician Language Association|AGAL]] reclaims {{angbr|ç}} as part of the language.
*[[Old Spanish]] used {{angbr|ç}} to represent /t͡s/.
*[[Middle Spanish|Early Modern Spanish]] used the letter ç to represent either /θ/ or /s/ before /a/, /o/, and /u/ in much the same way as [[Spanish language|Modern Spanish]] uses the letter z. Middle [[Castilian Spanish]] pronounced {{angbr|ç}} as /θ/. [[Andalusian Spanish|Andalusian]], [[Canarian Spanish|Canarian]], and [[Latin American Spanish]] pronounced {{angbr|ç}} as /s/. A spelling reform in the 18th century eliminated {{angbr|ç}} from [[Spanish orthography]].

In other languages, it represents the [[voiceless postalveolar affricate]] {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} (like {{angbr|ch}} in English ''chalk''):
*[[Albanian language|Albanian]]
*[[Turkish language|Turkish]]
*[[Friulian language|Friulian]] (''c cun cedilie'') before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}} or at the end of a word.

*[[Balinese language|Balinese]] Ç usually used to commemorate the Nyepi holiday only used in the word 'Çaka', for example:
*:"Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi tahun Çaka 1945"
*:(Happy Nyepi Day in Çaka 1945)
:The pronunciation is similar to the slavic S.

* In [[Manx language|Manx]] it is used in the [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] {{angbr|çh}}, which also represents {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}}, to differentiate it from normal {{angbr|ch}}, which represents {{IPAslink|x}}.

===In loanwords only===
*In [[Basque alphabet|Basque]], {{angbr|ç}} (known as ''ze hautsia'') is used in the loanword ''[[Curaçao]]''.
*In [[Dutch language|Dutch]], it can be found in some words from French and Portuguese, such as ''façade'', ''reçu'', ''Provençaals'' and ''Curaçao''.
*In [[English alphabet|English]], {{angbr|ç}} is used in loanwords such as ''façade'' and ''[[limaçon]]'' (although the [[cedilla]] mark is often dropped: ''facade'', ''limacon'').

==As a separate letter in various languages==
It represents the [[voiceless postalveolar affricate]] {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}} in the following languages:

*the 4th letter of the [[Albanian alphabet]].
*the 4th letter of the [[Azerbaijani alphabet]].
*the 4th letter of the [[Dobrujan Tatar alphabet]].
*the 4th letter of the [[Turkish alphabet]].
*the 3rd letter of the [[Turkmen alphabet]].
*the 4th letter of the [[Kurmanji alphabet]] (also known as Northern Kurdish).
*the 4th letter of the [[Zazaki|Zazaki alphabet]].
[[File:Carrer de França, el Catllar.jpg|thumb|Catalan way for writing ''Ç''.]]
In the 2020 version of the [[Kazakh alphabet|Latin Kazakh Alphabet]], the letter represents the [[voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate]] {{IPAslink|tɕ}}, which is similar to {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}}.

It previously represented a [[voiceless palatal click]] {{IPAslink|ǂ}} in [[Juǀʼhoansi]] and [[Naro language|Naro]], though the former has replaced it with {{angle bracket|ǂ}} and the latter with {{angle bracket|tc}}.

The similarly shaped letter [[the (Cyrillic)|the]] (Ҫ&nbsp;ҫ) is used in the Cyrillic alphabets of [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]] and [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]] to represent {{IPAslink|θ}} and {{IPAslink|ɕ}}, respectively.

In [[Tatar language|Tatar]], ç represents {{IPAslink|ɕ}}.

It also represents the [[retroflex flap]] {{IPAslink|ɽ}} in the [[Rohingya language#Roman script|Rohingya Latin alphabet]].

[[Janalif]] uses this letter to represent the [[voiced postalveolar affricate]] {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}}

[[Old Malay]] uses ç to represent {{IPAslink|dʒ}} and {{IPAslink|ɲ}}.

==Computer==
* {{unichar| 00C7 }}
* {{unichar| 00E7 }}

* {{unichar| A762 }}
* {{unichar| A763 }}
 


===Input===

On Albanian, Belgian, European French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Turkish and Italian keyboards, {{key press|Ç}} is directly available as a separate key. On most other keyboards, [[Unicode input |other methods must be used]].

==See also==
*[[Ҹ]]
*[[Ḉ]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|Ç|ç}}

{{Latin script}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:C}}
[[Category:Latin letters with diacritics|C-cedilla]]
[[Category:Phonetic transcription symbols]]
[[Category:Polish letters with diacritics]]