Quickstart Guide to Reading Oroko

́́[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 3^rd 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.