Al is a Cyrillic digraph used in the Chechen and Ingush scripts to denote an unstressed vowel in the front row of the lower rise [ æ ]. This sound is similar to the sound denoted by the letter I in Russian in the words "mint", "elm". This sound is found in the Ingush and Chechen languages, including at the beginning of the word, which does not allow the use of the letter “I”, which in such cases is an iotated pair of the letter a .
Examples:
- units h. "akha" - "beast"; many h. "okhary".
- many h. “Aznash” - “voices”; units h. "az".
This designation of sound allows you not to go beyond the main Cyrillic alphabet of the Russian alphabet. In the Ingush and Chechen alphabets for "A" there is an iotated pair of Ai (i + ai).
This digraph is used in the system of practical transcription of Turkic languages (“treasury”) .