The Yaka alphabet consists of (31) letters :
Five (5) vowels : a e i o u
Sixteen (16) simple consonants : b d f h k l m n p r s t v w y z
and nine (9) digraph consonants : dz mb mv nd ng nh ny nz pf ts
The headwords are presented in alphabetical order in this dictionary, according to the initial letter (not treating the digraphs as separate letters of the alphabet). Below is the alphabet order being used for this dictionary:
a b d f h i k l m n p s t v w y z
Alphabet chart
(The phonetic transcription is shown in brackets.)
Letter | Phonetic pronunciation | Example | Meaning | |
a | A | [ɑ] | wa | neuf |
b | B | [b] | baana | enfants |
d | D | [d] | uduku | suivre |
dz | Dz | [dz] | lidzoo | vantardise |
e | E | [ɛ] | utete | taper |
f | F | [f] | ufulu | souffler |
h | H | [ɣ] | uholo | prendre |
i | I | [i] | itali | métal |
k | K | [k] | kaari | singe |
l | L | [l] | lari | folie |
m | M | [m] | miili | pieds |
mb | Mb | [mb] | mbaa | feu |
mv | Mv | [mbv] | mvulu | pluie |
n | N | [n] | naanga | cheveux |
nd | Nd | [nd] | nduu | ami |
ng | Ng | [ŋg] | nguu | mère |
nh | Nh | [ŋ] | nhanyi | aigre |
ny | Ny | [ɲ] | nyanga | soleil |
nz | Nz | [ndz] | nzo | maison |
o | O | [ɔ] | ndo | sorcellerie |
p | P | [p] | pibi | hache |
pf | Pf | [pf] | pfumu | chef |
r | R | [ɾ] | mbeeri | couteau |
s | S | [s] | isala | travail |
t | T | [t] | taari | serpent |
ts | Ts | [ts] | tsiee | champ |
u | U | [u] | ibu | écorce |
v | V | [v] | uvulu | dépasser |
w | W | [w] | wa | neuf (9) |
y | Y | [j] | yimi | grossesse |
z | Z | [z] | buzitu | gloire |
All long vowels are written with double letters. For example:
bwaari lèpre miili pieds koo main
nguu mère beene sein
The letter w often functions like a semi-vowel in Yaka: that is, it is pronounced as a u between a consonant and a vowel, but it is not syllabic like the u. For example:
makweele mariage bubwe bien, bon bon mutswe tête
Even though the linguists recommend using the semi-vowels w and y before another vowel, Yaka speakers prefer using i rather than y. In Yaka, this results in y being considered a separate consonant except with the digraph ny. For example:
nziali rivière tsiee champ matsieende épines