Language/Borana-arsi-guji-oromo/Grammar/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Introduction to the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo Language → Alphabet and Pronunciation

Introduction

Welcome to the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo course! In this lesson, we will be focusing on the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet and pronunciation.

As a Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I'm excited to share with you the beauty of the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo language and its culture. In this lesson, you'll learn how to read, write and pronounce Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letters and sounds.

The Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo Alphabet

In the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo language, we use a modified Latin alphabet with 32 letters. The letters are as follows:

Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo	Pronunciation	English
A a	/a/	a
B b	/b/	b
C c	/tʃ/	ch
D d	/d/	d
E e	/e/	e
F f	/f/	f
G g	/g/	g
H h	/h/	h
I i	/i/	i
J j	/dʒ/	j
K k	/k/	k
L l	/l/	l
M m	/m/	m
N n	/n/	n
Ñ ñ	/ɲ/	ny
O o	/o/	o
P p	/p/	p
Q q	/ʔ/	glottal stop
R r	/r/	r
S s	/s/	s
T t	/t/	t
U u	/u/	u
V v	/v/	v
W w	/w/	w
X x	/ʃ/	sh
Y y	/j/	y
Z z	/z/	z
'	/ʔ/	glottal stop
-	/-/	hyphen

Vowels

The Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet has five vowel letters: A, E, I, O, and U. Each vowel has a short and long form. For example, the short "a" sound is written using the letter "a" while the long "a" sound is written using the letters "aa". Here's a table summarizing the vowels:

Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo	Pronunciation	English
A a	/a/	a
AA aa	/a:/	aa
E e	/e/	e
EE ee	/e:/	ee
I i	/i/	i
II ii	/i:/	ii
O o	/o/	o
OO oo	/o:/	oo
U u	/u/	u
UU uu	/u:/	uu

Consonants

Consonants are the letters of the alphabet that are not vowels. Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo has 27 consonant letters. Some consonant sounds are unique to the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo language, and some are similar to those in English. Here's a table summarizing the consonants:

Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo	Pronunciation	English
B b	/b/	b
C c	/tʃ/	ch
D d	/d/	d
F f	/f/	f
G g	/g/	g
H h	/h/	h
J j	/dʒ/	j
K k	/k/	k
L l	/l/	l
M m	/m/	m
N n	/n/	n
Ñ ñ	/ɲ/	ny
P p	/p/	p
Q q	/ʔ/	glottal stop
R r	/r/	r
S s	/s/	s
T t	/t/	t
V v	/v/	v
W w	/w/	w
X x	/ʃ/	sh
Y y	/j/	y
Z z	/z/	z

Diacritical Marks

A diacritical mark is an accent added to a letter to change its sound. In Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo, the two diacritical marks you'll encounter are the macron (¯) and the apostrophe ('), which have the following effects:

- Macron (¯): Placed over a vowel to indicate a long vowel sound. For example, "aa" with a macron means the "a" sound is longer.

- Apostrophe (' ): Placed after a consonant to indicate a pause or a glottal stop. For example, the letter "q" with an apostrophe after it indicates a glottal stop.

Pronunciation Tips

Here are some tips on how to pronounce the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet:

- The letters "b, d, f, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z" are pronounced the same as in English.

- The letters "c" and "j" are similar to the English letters "ch" and "j".

- The letter "g" is similar to the English letter "g" in "get". When followed by the vowel "a", the letter "g" is pronounced like the "g" in "game".

- The letters "q" and "'" represent a glottal stop, which is a consonant that represents a pause or interruption in speech. It is similar to the sound between the syllables of "uh-oh".

- The letters "x" and "z" are similar to the English letters "sh" and "z" respectively.

- The letter "ñ" is pronounced like the "ny" in "canyon".

Practice Exercises

Now it's time to practice your Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet and pronunciation skills. Here are some exercises to help you get started:

Exercise 1: Vowels

1. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the vowel sound in the English word "hat".

2. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the vowel sound in the English word "heat".

3. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the vowel sound in the English word "hot".

Exercise 2: Consonants

1. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the consonant sound in the English word "big".

2. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the consonant sound in the English word "jump".

3. Write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo letter corresponding to the consonant sound in the English word "red".

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've completed the first lesson on the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet and pronunciation. In this lesson, you learned how to read and write the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo alphabet, the pronunciation of its vowels, consonants, and two diacritical marks. Make sure to practice regularly to develop your Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo pronunciation skills.

In the next lesson, we'll be learning the basic sentence structure of the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo language, including subject, verb, and object order. See you soon!

Table of Contents - Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Introduction to the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo Language

• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Basic Sentence Structure

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Greetings and Introductions

• Common Greetings
• Self-Introduction

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Oromo Culture and Traditions

• Traditional Festivals
• Traditional Music and Dance

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Nouns and Pronouns

• Singular and Plural Nouns
• Personal Pronouns

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Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-20
• Telling Time

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Oromo Cuisine

• Traditional Dishes
• Eating Customs

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Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

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Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

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Oromo Wedding Traditions

• Wedding Ceremonies
• Wedding Attire

Other Lessons

• Questions
• 0 to A1 Course
• Past Tense
• Negation
• How to Use Have
• Personal Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Give your Opinion
• Basic Sentence Structure

Sources

• Borana-arsi-guji-oromo Pronunciation
• Borana-arsi-guji-oromo