́́[Note: The text for this post is taken from an OLDA (previously OLDC) brochure intended for distribution with the ABC Chart.]
For Oroko speakers
who are literate in English or Duala, reading
Oroko need not be difficult. This pamphlet has been designed to accompany the
chart ABC wa Oroko, explaining the
alphabet and some basic spelling rules. More complete lessons will be available
in a Reading and Writing Manual.
The Oroko alphabet has a total of 27 letters
- 7 vowels and 20 consonants. It has been designed to create a unified writing
system for all Oroko clans. Of course, some letters will be said differently
based on the clan or village of the speaker. Each reader is encouraged to
maintain their unique way of speaking. However, it is very important that all
writers use the common writing system presented in this paper to facilitate
communication.
The following
letters are familiar from English:
A a akpana ‘yellow
cocoyam’
E e ebongo ‘chair’
I i iëiba ‘stream’
O o ko ‘rat mole’
U u muna ‘door’
K k kuma ‘python’
M m mokondo ‘tail’
N n naëende ‘type of grass’
S s sombo ‘drill monkey’
T t toko ‘spoon’
W w wana ‘mouth’
Y y iyóbi ‘hook’
Ch ch
chóó ‘very dark’
The following consonant combinations are not in English,
but the individual parts are:
Mb mb
mboëi ‘goat’
Nd nd ndóndi ‘fish’
Nj nj njanga ‘crayfish’
Ny ny nyaka ‘cow’ [nà in old Duala]
Ng ng
ngóndá ‘moon’
The remaining
sounds have a unique Oroko pronunciation. Sometimes the pronunciation varies
between Oroko dialects. Say the key word for each letter to see how it should
be pronounced in your dialect. Then, no matter how you pronounce the sound, use
these symbols when you write.
Ɛ ɛ Ɛnɛ! ‘See!’
Pronounce like the <e> in ‘bed’.
[Written
as <e> in old Duala.]
Ɔ ɔ kɔ ‘snail’
Pronounce like the <aw> in ‘hawk’.
[Written
as <o> in old Duala.]
F
f fiko ‘kidney’
Pronounce /f/ or /p/.
Some dialects pronounce this letter
as /f/ just like in English. Other dialects pronounce this sound by
incompletely closing the lips as if one is about to say /p/.
B
b bana ‘children’
Pronounce /b/ or /B/.
This letter is usually said the same
as an English /b/ at the beginning of words. In the middle of words it is
usually pronounced with the lips incompletely closed. This “soft” /b/ is not the same as /w/ and
should still be written<b>.
Kp kp ikpa ‘salt’
Pronounce /kw/ or /kp/.
The sound of this letter varies by
both word and speaker. Sometimes it is said as /kw/ and sometimes as /kp/. No
matter how it is said, it should be spelled <kp>.
Ŋ ŋ ŋana ‘child’
Pronounce like the <ng> in “sing”, or like the <ng> in “sing” plus
<w>, or <m>.
[Written as<n.> in old Duala.]
In some dialects, this letter sounds
like /ng/ in the English word ‘sing’ and in other dialects a /w/ sound also
follows behind. For the Ekombe clan, this letter is usually pronounced /m/.
Ngb ngb ngba ‘dog’
Pronounce /ñmgb/, /nv/, /nf/ or /ñgw/
The sound represented by this symbol
varies considerably across the dialects. Each dialect will keep their unique
pronunciation but everyone should use the same spelling.
Ɗ ɗ ɗisɔ ‘eye’
Pronunciation is similar to /l/, /r/ and
/d/, depending on the dialect and word.
The small tail on the top of this
special letter has been added to show that this is not an English <d>.
Instead, it is a unique Oroko sound that includes the sounds of the English
letters /l/, /r/, and /d/. This symbol has been designed to look like the
combination of all three. Say “stream” or "water" in your dialect to hear how this letter
sounds in the middle of a word.
J
j eja(ni) ‘leaf’
Pronunce /ch/, /y/, or /j/.
For some dialects, this symbol will
sound exactly like <y>. For other dialects, it will be pronounced /ch/ or
/j/.
Practice Reading Oroko:
Bunya
wɔkɔ ngia emonangaka iyɔ. Fonda ngia enange iyɔ, ama yenyoɛ ɗitokoa,
em‘ɛnɛ etoɗo ebiaka. Ngia emoboka fiɗi.
Em’aka ɗibanda etoɗo.
Etoɗo
emokeka ama “Nga osaɗeɗi mba, nga osaboɗo
mba, bunya ma mbok’ongoɛnɛ.”
Ngia
em’ɔyɔ ɗɔɗɔ. Emomata etoɗo.
Em’aka.
Basɔngɔ bamobanda ngia. Bam’anja mekoɗi, bamokata na ngia o tina ja weɗe.
Ngia ekakekaka. Etoɗo
emoboka mokekako ŋa ngia. Etoɗo emofɔ. Em’ɛnɛ ɗinaɗama
ngia emakataba o tina ja weɗe.
Emoboteá ɗiɗena
na mesinga masonga ime. Emisá ɗiɗena mesinga bi.
Emoboteɛ ɗitubɛɗɛ ngia ama, “Bunya wa
omobande mba, nam’ɔmeɛ owa ɗinaɗama nga osaɗeɗi mba, ma
mbok’ongoɛnɛ bunya, waboteɛ ɗin’ɔyeɛ ɗɔɗɔ.” “Yɔboni osam’ijoa
ɗinaɗama etoɗo ma ek’ongoɛnɛ oma
ngia?”
Punctuation Rules
Punctuation
should be the same as in English. Two special rules should be noted:
1. The
near past verb prefix <moà> should be marked with an accent above the
<o>. This is to make it different from the far past verb prefix
<mo> which will be unmarked.
Practice Reading:
Jana,
ko emoɗa besumbu.
‘Yesterday, a rat-mole ate grass.’
Ko
emóɗa besumbu.
‘A rat-mole ate grass.’ (Recent past)
2. When
a letter has been deleted, an apostrophe will be used just as in English. For
example, <a> + <mo> + <ɛnɛ> ‘He saw’ should be written as <am’ɛnɛ.> Note: If the
<o> of <mó> is deleted, there will no longer be an accent mark to
indicate near past.
Spelling
Rules
Long Vowels:
o For adverbs where the vowel sound is
longer than normal, a double vowel will be written. For example, <chɔɔ> ‘dark’.
o For the infinitives of verbs which
begin with a vowel (like <ɗ‘aka> ‘to
go’), an apostrophe will be written to show that the <i> of the
infinitive prefix <ɗi-> has been deleted.
o For verbs conjugated in the 3rd
person whose root begins with a vowel, such as <ɛɛnɛkɛ> ‘he is seeing’, the first vowel of the
root will be preceded by an apostrophe. This will avoid confusion between statements (e.g.
'Ɛnɛkɛ inɔ. ‘He sees a bird.’) and
commands (e.g. Ɛnɛkɛ inɔ! ‘See the bird!’)
Word
breaks
Write
prepositions separately if the noun that follows is a valid word, as in <o
boso> ‘in front of’. If what
follows is not a valid word by itself, write it together, as in <ose> ‘down’.
The endings
<tɛ> and <fɛ> are found after many different words or phrases.
Write these as separate words (e.g. Moto tɛ aɗingi ŋana. ‘Everyone likes a child.’)
Words of the
same grammatical category should not be broken up. For example, a noun will be one word, and a
verb will be one word, even if each has many prefixes and suffixes.
Practice writing Oroko:
‘He wants to eat fish.’
Asakaka ɗiɗa ndóndi.
‘He looked for snails.’
(far past)
Amosaka kɔ.
‘Every child likes to
play.’
Ŋana tɛ aɗingi ɗisa/ɗitonda etondi.
Written by the OLDC Literacy
Sub-Committee
and published by the Oroko Language
Development Committee (OLDC), Nov 2004.
