The Hanga Alphabet

 

There are 24 consonant symbols, including 5 digraphs, and 5 vowel symbols, whose pronunciation varies significantly with the context.

 

The following 18 consonants are pronounced as in English: b ch d f g (as in 'good', but in at least one context it is fricativized) h j k l m n p s (sometimes pronounced sh) t v w y z. The consonant 'r' occurs word-medially.

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In addition there is a palatal nasal (ny), a velar nasal (ŋ) and three labio-velar consonants (gb, kp & ŋm).

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Four consonants can occur in a lengthened form: 'll', 'mm', 'nn', & 'ŋŋ'.

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The way Hanga vowels function is described in the paper 'A Study of Hanga Vowels' by Geoffrey Hunt. If you would like a copy, please email [email protected].

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The Example-to-English part of the dictionary is arranged alphabetically according to the following order:

 

a b ch d e f g gb h i j k kp l m n ny ŋ ŋm o p r s t u v w y z