Rotokas alphabet

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The Rotokas alphabet used in writing the Rotokas language is a subset of the Latin alphabet consisting of only the twelve letters:

Majuscule Forms (also called uppercase or capital letters)
A E G I K O P R S T U V
Minuscule Forms (also called lowercase or small letters)
a e g i k o p r s t u v

It is the smallest alphabet in use today. The majority of the Rotokas people are literate in their language.

[edit] Pronunciation

The vowel letters have their IPA values, though they may be written double, aa, ee, ii, oo, uu, for long vowels. The consonant letters have the following values:

  • G: [ɡ] or [ɣ]
  • K: [k]
  • P: [p]
  • R: [d], [ɾ] or [l]
  • S: [ts] or [s] (only occurs before I and in the name Rotokas)
  • T: [t] (never occurs before I)
  • V: [b] or [β]

[edit] Short sample

Osireitoarei avukava iava ururupavira toupasiveira.
"The old woman's eyes are shut."

[edit] See also

  • Pahlavi for a similarly short alphabet of the first millennium.
Languages