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| A with tilde | |
|---|---|
| Ã ã | |
 | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Latin script |
| Language of origin | Portuguese Kashubian Silesian Guaraní Taa Aromanian Vietnamese Greenlandic (obsolete) Hindi[1] |
| In Unicode | U+00C3, U+00E3 |
| History | |
| Time period | 16th century to present |
| Other | |
| Writing direction | Left-to-right |
A with tilde (majuscule:Ã,minuscule:ã) is a letter of theLatin alphabet formed by addition of thetildediacritic over the letterA. It is used inPortuguese,Kashubian[2],Silesian,Guaraní,Aromanian,Taa, andVietnamese. In the past, it was also used inGreenlandic.
InPortuguese, it represents anasalnear-open central vowel ([ɐ̃]), though it varies fromnear-open tomid-central vowel according to dialect. It also appears as a part of the diphthongsãe, pronounced as /ɐ̃j̃/, andão, pronounced as /ɐ̃w̃/.
InKashubian, the letter is generally pronounced asnasalizedopen front unrounded vowel ([ã]). In the dialect present incounties ofPuck andWejherowo, it is pronounced asnasalizedopen-mid front unrounded vowel ([ɛ̃]). Its the 3rd letter of theKashubian alphabet.[2]
InSilesian, the letter represents a wide assortment of sounds and clusters, depending on region and dialect. In the northern and central parts ofUpper Silesia pronounced broadly as anasalized or unnasalizedopen front unrounded vowel ([ã] or [a]). InMiędzybórz pronounced as aclose-mid central unrounded vowel ([ɘ]) and in theLach dialects - aclose back unrounded vowel ([u]). The letter represents the clusters /am/ inRacibórz and the villagePaczyna, /ɘm/ in theCieszyn dialect, and /ɛm/ in theJabłonków dialect.[3]
InGuaraní andTaa, it is pronounced asnasalizedopen front unrounded vowel ([ã]).
InAromanian, it is pronounced asmid-central vowel ([ə]) orclose central unrounded vowel ([ɨ]).
InVietnamese, it is pronounced aslongopen front unrounded vowel ([aː]) in a high breaking-risingtone.
It is also used as a phonetic symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet, where its lower case (ã), represents thenasalizedopen front unrounded vowel.
Formerly, the letter was also used in theGreenlandic to representlongopen front unrounded vowel ([aː]) next to ageminated consonant, but now it is replaced with Aa.
The letter is also used inBelter Creole, aconstructed language made byNick Farmer forThe Expanse television sci-fi series. In the language, it represents thenasalizednear-open front unrounded vowel ([æ̃]) sound, for example in the wordshãsa, which meanschance.