Tyap/Alphabet

Zwunzwuo a̱lyem Tyap ※ Tyap alphabet

The Tyap alphabet (Zwunzwuo A̱lyem Tyap ji) formerly had 39 letters, as drafted by the Tyap Literacy Committee (TLC) during the early 1990s:

  • Tyap alphabet: previous basic before 2018

Capital Letters

A A̱ B CH CHY D E F G GB GH GHW GHY H I I̱ J JHY K KH KP L M N NG NY O P R S SH SHY T TS U V W Y Z

Small letters

a a̱ b ch chy d e f g gb gh ghw ghy h i i̱ j jhy k kh kp l m n ng ny o p r s sh shy t ts u v w y z

Phonetic value

a ə b t͡ʃ t͡ʃʲ d e f g g͡b ɣ ɣʷ ɣʲ h i ɪ d͡ʒ ʒʲ k x k͡p l m n ŋ ɲ o p r s ʃ ʃʲ t t͡s u v w j d͡z

However, a current development as of 2018, has the Tyap Basic Alphabetical Chart reduced to 24, as follows:

  • Tyap alphabet: new basic

Capital Letters

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Y Z

Small letters

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u w y z

The letter "ch" would henceforth be represented by the symbol "c", without the "h". All others remain the same.

Phonetic value

a b c d e f g h i d͡ʒ k l m n o p r s t u v w j d͡z

Pronounce outrightly as :

ah bee chee dee eh fee gui he ih gee key lee me nee o pee ree see tee uh vee we ye dzee
  • Some Tyap words associated with the alphabet
Letter Name of letter Corresponding sounds as in
a á /a, ɑː/ hat, hot
b bi /b/ bush
c ci /tʃ/ chair
d di /d/ dance
e é /ɛ, eː/ pen
f fi /f/ file
g gi /g/ girl
h hi /h/ hiss
i í /ɪ, iː/ ill
j ji /dʒ/ jug
k ki /k/ king
l li /l/ louse
m mi /m/ man
n ni /n/ near
o ó /ɔ, oː/ hot, old
p /p/ peace
r ri /r/ rat
s si /s/ sun
t ti /t/ tank
u ú /u/ pull
w wi /w/ week
y yi /j/ yes
z zi /dz/ No English equivalent


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