Lopit Consonant & Vowel Book

Lopit Consonant & Vowel Book Authors: Valente Otwari Ladu (Dorik) Achaha Samuel Nartisio (Ŋotira) Caesar Ongorwo Bong (Lomiaha) Philip Oriho Odingo (Lohutok) John Kerim Fabiano (Lohutok) Paul Ahatar Gilbert (Loloŋo) Trial Edition SIL-South Sudan This book is used to teach how to better read and write Lopit. Contact Address: c/o SIL-South Sudan P.O. Box 64 Juba South Sudan © 2015, Lopit Language Committee and SIL South Sudan Trial Edition February 2014 Trial Edition July 2015 Publisher: SIL-South Sudan Place of Publication: Juba Introduction This book shows how to write words so that readers can more easily know the correct meaning. We will learn four rules that help reading and writing, as well as all the sounds that join together to make words. This book is for all Lopit readers. It is especially important for those writing books and translating Scripture to understand the lessons of this book. In the past, Lopit speakers of certain dialects made books that helped teach reading and writing. These books are helpful to those speaking the dialect of those books. However, the time has come for books that combine all the dilaects. This book does not teach one dialect of Lopit. Instead, it teaches all Lopit speakers how to read and write a combined Lopit language for all the dialects. The authors on the cover page of this book are listed along with the dialect they speak. There is an author for each of the five dialects represented in this book. In the Lopit Grammar Workshops of 2013 and 2015 in Torit, these authors agreed on how to write many words in a combined Lopit language. This book uses the spelling of these words. Each of the Lopit words in this book are listed in the Alphabet Word List at the end of this book, in five different Lopit dialects. If you need to check how a word is said in one of the dialects, you can look for the word at the end of this book. Many of the words are taken from Lopit stories. These stories are at the end of the Lopit Grammar Book. There are English words in this book that may be new to you. Each new word is underlined and explained when it is first used. If you later see the word and forget what it means, you can also find it explained in the Glossary at the back of this book. This book can be taught to participants in a workshop. A person can also use this book to teach himself/herself without a workshop or instructor. You should read each lesson and then immediately do the exercise following the lesson. The exercise will help you test your understanding of the lesson. The Answers to Exercises are in the back of the book. After completing an exercise, immediately check your answers to see how well you have understood. For each of your incorrect answers, try to understand the correct answer. Ask other Lopit if you need help. Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Contents .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Lopit Alphabet .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Syllables .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Consonants and Vowels ........................................................................................................................... 7 Light (Single) and Heavy (Doubled) Consonants .................................................................................. 10 Vowels .................................................................................................................................................... 11 Mixed Vowels ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Doubled vowels ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Letters i, w Next to Consonants ............................................................................................................. 15 Which Dialect Word is Lopit? ............................................................................................................... 18 Letters and Rules Reviewed ................................................................................................................... 19 Alphabet Word List ................................................................................................................................ 21 Lopit Villages in Dialect Areas .............................................................................................................. 34 Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 34 Answers to Exercises ............................................................................................................................. 35 Lopit Alphabet The first step in learning to read and write Lopit is learning the alphabet. The Lopit language has 24 letters, as shown in the following list of words. Lopit Alphabet A a [a] awoŋ monkey B b [b] batak pig C c [c] cieŋi bird D d [d] demi knife E e [ɛ] efir he is fat, big F f [f] fotir warthog G g [g] goro gourd jug H h [h] hidoŋ drum I i [i] itak ostrich J j [ɟ] jani local broom K k [k] kebu hoe L l [l] leime lion M m [m] moti pot N n [n] noŋorwo wife Ny ny [ɲ] nyaŋi crocodiles Ŋ ŋ [ŋ] ŋidony monkey O o [ɔ] oromo digging P p [p] por mancala game R r [ɾ] rabolo bananas S s [s] sohoti palm tree T t [t] tome elephant U u [u] buhu shield W w [w] wolo dove Y y [j] yani tree The Lopit word list at the end of this book has the same order as the list above. Exercise 1 Write each of the words in the list above next to the letters below. Say each word as you write them. Listen to the sound each letter makes. a ____________________ i ____________________ o ____________________ b ____________________ j ____________________ p ____________________ c ____________________ k ____________________ r ____________________ d ____________________ l ____________________ s ____________________ e ____________________ m ____________________ t ____________________ f ____________________ n ____________________ u ____________________ g ____________________ ŋ ____________________ w ____________________ h ____________________ ny ____________________ y ____________________ Syllables Now we learn how Lopit letters are joined together in words. Words can be divided into syllables, or beats. Each of the words below have three syllables. They can be divided into three separate beats as shown. Three-syllable words logule lo gu le elbow tuluhu tu lu hu squirrel ikarrak i ka rrak water turtle nyahuto nya hu to mettal boloroŋ bo lo roŋ hippo Each of the words below have two syllables. They can be divided into two separate beats as shown. Two-syllable words kori ko ri giraffe jiore jio re big rocks wotti wo tti cow dung jati ja ti uncooked green vegetables itak i tak ostrich huŋu hu ŋu knee tamot ta mot bull garai ga rai bush, dry grassy area hauwe hau we arrow nyawa nya wa utter boŋo bo ŋo piece of clothing ŋijim ŋi jim chin moloŋ mo loŋ baboon Each of the words below have one syllable. They cannot be divided into more than one beat. One-syllable words gus skin wor river, stream ker sheep raŋ bow pir point of spear or arrow ciaŋ animal Exercise 2 Say each word below and listen to the number of beats in each word. Write the number of syllables (1, 2, or 3) in the blank ___ to the left of each word. Then divide the word into syllables in the blanks to the right of each word. Write one syllable on each blank. Do not fill more blanks than the number of syllables. The first one has been done as an example. number of syllables divided into syllables _2_ suhe su he _____ chest _____ doŋe _____ _____ _____ mountain _____ ciwali _____ _____ _____ flute _____ mugu _____ _____ _____ granary _____ noŋorwo _____ _____ _____ wife _____ itak _____ _____ _____ ostrich _____ por _____ _____ _____ game _____ solo _____ _____ _____ spoon _____ fofoŋi _____ _____ _____ cactus tree _____ rofan _____ _____ _____ roof frame _____ igolo _____ _____ _____ bell _____ farai _____ _____ _____ leaf _____ doroŋ _____ _____ _____ barren land _____ hai _____ _____ _____ rain _____ ŋama _____ _____ _____ grains _____ hohoro _____ _____ _____ chicken _____ munu _____ _____ _____ snake Consonants and Vowels Some letters are consonants and some letters are vowels. In the word rofan ‘roof frame’, the letters r, f and n are consonants and o and a are vowels. Consonants usually begin syllables and sometimes end syllables. Vowels are in the middle of syllables and often end syllables. In the syllable ro, the consonant r begins the syllable, and the vowel o ends the syllable. In the syllable fan, the consonant f begins the syllable, the consonant n ends the syllable, and the vowel a is in the middle of the syllable. In a few words such as itak ‘ostrich’, the first vowel i is a syllable by itself. A vowel can be a syllable by itself, but a consonant cannot be a syllable by itself. In a few words such as ciaŋ ‘animal’, there are two vowels i, a in the middle of the syllable. Even though the word has 4 letters, the entire word is only one syllable. The

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