The Latege alphabet

The Latege alphabet consists of 25 letters:

a b d dz e f g i k l m n ny ŋ o p pf r s t ts u v w y

The Latege-French section of the dictionary is organized alphabetically according to the above order:

A few explanations of the Latege alphabet

The consonants b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w, y are pronounced as in French.

There are only five vowels in Latege: a, e, i, o, u. Here are some example words: kabele – jambe (leg); bulabuli – gûepe (wasp), kalogo – chose (thing); obi – chasseur (hunter); suka – hache (ax).

For long vowel sounds, the letters are doubled: baana – enfants (children); kalaama – préparer (to prepare); mpwoomo – huit (eight).

Vowel combinations consisting of different vowel sounds occur only at the end of the word, never within a word: mai – chat (cat); kapia – attraper (to catch). A syllable can only have one vowel sound, never two. Thus, mai is a two-syllable word while kapia is a three-syllable word.

A consonant used frequently in Latege but not found in French is the velar ŋ as in ŋa – ici (here); kanonoŋo - rompre (to break up) and kakumuŋa – abattre (to tear down).

In Latege, there are also consonant sounds formed from two sounds pronounced almost simultaneously. These are pf: opfu – esprit; pfuba – vol (flight), ts: tsitse – grillon (cricket); katsuga – brûler (to burn), dz: dziri – oeil (eye); kadzila - attendre (to wait), et ny: kanywa – boire (to drink); nyama – viande (meat).

There are also consonants and combinations of consonants that are pronounced with a short nasal sound (n or m) preceding them. These pre-nasalized consonants are distinct, and should be carefully distinguished, from their non-nasal equivalent.  See the following examples:

me ampala – je sors (I leave) vs nde apala – il sort (he leaves);

mba – feu (fire) vs ba – palmier (palm tree);

ontuma – commission (a task, commission) vs otuma – coeur (heart);

ndumu – frère (brother); ndigi – ami (friend); lantende – champignon (mushroom); cf. da – père (father); adolo – argent (money); kadusu – douceur (softness).

nkele – chenilles (caterpillar larva, track) vs kele – bruit (noise);

kayinga – semaine (week) vs kayiga – apprendre (to learn);

me amfula – je demande (I ask) vs nde afula -  il demande (he asks);

mpfuru – tortue (tortoise); mpfira – gorille (gorilla); kampfula – feuille mangeable (etable plant); cf. opfula – sel indigène (local salt); kapfu – comportement; pfuba – vol (flight).

amva – chiens (dogs) vs nde ava – il tombe (he falls);

ntsa – dans (in) vs tsa – etagère (shelf);

ndzia – étranger (stranger) vs dzia – amour (love).

To read about the Latege alphabet and orthography in detail, see the Latege primer: Lalira, latende ma latege

A note on the use of accents in Latege accent marks in the dictionary:

In the normal Latege orthography accent marks do not occur. But, there are accent marks in the dictionary that play a different role than they do in French. Latege is a tonal language, and some words are differentiated by the tones on the vowels, for example between yúlù 'nez' (nose) and yùlú 'ciel' (sky). Here the accents mean: " ´ " high tone, and " ` " low tone.  Circomflex " ^ " means decending tone and " ˇ " means ascending tone.

Important note:

In Latege, the accent marks indicate the tone of the syllable, rather than the quality of the vowel as in French.