Raga (Hano) language

Introduction · Alphabet · Word list

Unlike some of Pentecost's languages, Raga has a reasonably well-established orthography, although spellings of words are not fully standardised.

The letters of Raga, with their approximate IPA equivalents, are given below...

Sounds of Raga

There is prenasalisation of b to [^mb], bw to [^mb^w] and d to [ⁿd] where the preceding consonant is nasal. These prenasalisations are never indicated explicitly where they occur between words (write "mwa doron" not "mwa ndoron"), and may or may not be indicated where they occur within words (write either "mabu" or "mambu").

Convention is to represent [x] (the sound in Scottish "loch") with g, [] (the sound in English "sing") with n-macron , and [ ngg ] (approximately the sound in English "finger") with g-macron . In media where the letters and are difficult to reproduce (including this web site, where I have to insert a special picture wherever I want them to appear), ng and ngg can be used as substitutes. In informal writing, many locals (influenced by the bad example of English spelling) use ng for both sounds.

Some older sources represent [b^w] with q and [m^w] with an italicised m.

Raga speakers do not discriminate between [b] and [p], nor between [v] and [f]. Convention is to write these letters as b and v respectively, but p and f occasionally turn up in written sources.

Avoiuli

Followers of the Turaga kastom movement have rejected the Western alphabet, and instead write in Raga using Avoiuli, a local alphabet with letters inspired by designs in sand-drawings.

Here is a sample:

AVOANA AROROA - "Pentecost languages"