Writing in Mankonː A Guide

There are currently two writing systems in use for the Mankon language. This guide provides a overview of both systems.

The Mankon Alphabet

The Mankon Alphabet is the primary writing system used in modern Mankon language learning materials. It was popularized by Mr. Christopher Che Chi, a major figure in developing written resources for the Mankon language.
Click on the letters below to hear their sounds.

Vowels

Consonants

Writing Basics

Many of the letters in the Mankon Alphabet will appear familiar to English language writers. However, a few characters may be new. Letters that do not appear in the English alphabet are presented below with Mankon word and English word examples to demonstrate the sound the character represents. It is common to struggle at first when writing in a new way, but never fearǃ With consistant practice, writing in Mankon will feel like second nature.

This letter appears in the Mankon word for cloth, "atsɛʔɛ", and the vowel sound appears in the English word "bed".

This letter appears in the Mankon word for fool, "àbərɨ", and the vowel sound appears in the second syllable of the English word "sofa".

This letter appears in the Mankon word for dance, "àbɨ́ŋ". There is no equivalent in American English, however it is pronounced by some British dialects in the word "category".

This letter appears in the Mankon word for clay, "àbɔm ", and the vowel sound appears in the English word "thought".

This letter appears in the Mankon word for shake, "ʧìʔí ", and the sound appears at the beginning of the English word "chess".

This letter appears in the Mankon word for gum, "àʧíɣɨ ", There is no English equivalent.

This letter appears in the Mankon word for thigh, "àtuʔu ", and is pronounced in between the English words "uh-oh"

This letter appears in the Mankon word for Germany, "dʒáman", and sound appears at the beginning of the English word "jump"

This letter appears in the Mankon name Anye, "àɲɛ", and while English speakers typically use a slightly different pronounciation, the sound is approximated in the word "canyon"

This letter appears in the Mankon word for dance, "àbɨ́ŋ", and the sound appears at the end of the English word "song"

This letter appears in the Mankon word for hunting, "àʃwaʔa", and the sound appears at the beginning of the English word "sheep"

This letter appears in the Mankon word for breath, "àʒwi", and the sound appears in the English word "usual"

The Community-Based Teaching and Learning Alphabet (CABTAL)

The CABTAL alphabet, originally used by MALACO, is primarily used to translate the Bible into Mankon. It was adapted from the General Alphabet of Cameroonian Languages. Recently, some MALACO members formed a sub-group, MALACA. MALACA has committed to working with CABTAL and SIL-Cameroon to create it's own Mankon dictionary. CABTAL’s alphabet has the same 9 vowels as the Mankon alphabet. However, it uses letters from the English alphabet to write all consonants.

Vowels

Consonants

Unofficial Consonants

Differences Between the Two Alphabets

  • The Mankon Alphabet uses a 40 letter alphabet. All Mankon phonemes are assigned their own official letter.
  • CABTAL uses a 29 letter alphabet to write Mankon. To achieve this small number, CABTAL does not consider most Mankon phonemes that must be represented by two letters (digraphs) to be official letters. CABTAL still uses these digraphs in Bible translation. Therefore, they must still be learned regardless of which alphabet is used.
  • Mankon uses tʃ while CABTAL uses ch.
  • Mankon uses ʃ while CABTAL uses sh.
  • Mankon uses ʔ while CABTAL uses ' (apostrophe).
  • Mankon uses ɣ while CABTAL uses gh.
  • Mankon uses dʒ while CABTAL uses j.
  • Mankon uses ʒ while CABTAL uses zh.
  • Mankon uses ɲ while CABTAL uses ny.
  • Mankon uses ŋg while CABTAL uses ng.

Notes for Readers

This dictionary will primarily be written using the Mankon Alphabet with CABTAL alternative spellings included where appropriate. Learning the Mankon Alphabet first is recommended for consistency with current and future Mankon learning materials and media.