Tangle Orthography
How Po Tangle is written: its vowels and consonants, syllable structure, elision and a short outline of the grammar.
Tangle Orthography
Tangle has nine vowel sounds thus: / ε /, /ɔ: /, /e/, /i/, /i:/, /ọ/, /o/, /u/, /u:/ as in the following examples:
| Phonetic sign | Orthography | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | kar, ala, para, kalatau | Wall, stick, hunting, community |
| ε | e | Kele, kebe, keru, pethuk | Earthen pot, heart, tie, going out |
| e | ee | Keebe, peere, pee, weena | (will) break, (will) spread, white, (has)got |
| i: | i | Pissi, pip, kina, pidi | Sun, all, money, place |
| i | i | signa, pinon, pidog, pigthe | whirlwind, bath, monkey, awaken |
| ọ | o | Podo, doji, pitho, kolo | Seedlings, tomorrow, tree, cheek |
| ɔ: | o | Dom, worop, wono, pon | Egg, women, yesterday, but |
| u | u | Wula, kutho, pula, dul | Marriage, harmattan, admonition, cold |
| u: | u | Wudde, kuge, kungo, kube | Skinning, hedgehog, beetle, pour |
Consonant sounds
Po-Tangle has twenty eight consonant sounds thus: /b/, /bw/, /d/, /dw/, /g/, /gb/, /j/, /k/, /kw/, /l/, /m/, /mw/, /n/, /nw/, /ŋ/, /ɳ/, /p/, /r/, /rw/, /s/, /∫/, /sw/, /t/, /ð/, /tw/, /w/, /z/, /ʤ/. Nine of the consonant sounds have double letters or signs: bw, dw, gb, kw, mw, nw, rw, sw and tw. The letters/sounds /gb/, /ny/ and /z/ have marginal occurrence in the language. Tangle has no /f/ and /v/ sounds, and /q/ sound is represented by /kw/. The /sh/ sound is a new development borne out of the contemporary influence of Hausa and English. Most old people interviewed demonstrate only the sound /s/. We have however included the /∫/ sound because it is presently used by many Tangle speakers. Some of the letters/sounds, such as /g/, /ŋ/, /ð/ and /ʤ/ can be found only in the middle position of words while /sw/, /ny(w)/ and /tw/ are found only in the initial position.
| Phonetic sign | Orthography | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | b | saba, bana, wube, kabu | Issue, anger, show, cut |
| bw | bw | Bwa, bwalin, bwittil, bwinbwin | Hole, type of fruit, narrow, soft |
| d | d | Dogon, dukka, kada, kwadde | Dream, salt, skin, (will) finish |
| dw | dw | Dwathu, dwaga, dwang, dwane-dwane | Pluck, snail, tamarind, gizzard |
| g | g | Suge, taga, pugut, ranga | Praise, shoe, dirt, crab |
| gb | gb | Gbomo, gbomei | Ten, carrying |
| j | y | Yoblo, yogo, toyyo, boyo | Baptism, air/wind, vanity, porridge |
| k | k | Kaddu, tabbak, iluk, lekke | Pack, tray, soup, sew |
| kw | kw | Kwada, kwakka, kwandu, kwakkal | Riches, baobab, give, contest |
| l | l | Solo, luttu, kule, killip | Begging, bag, haircut, lightning |
| m | m | Mana, kambo, muthem, kelum | House/home, growth, (will not) die, punishment |
| mw | mw | Mwathi, Mwalin, mwinthiling, mwarji | (Will) remain, name, slim, pushed in |
| n | n | Nogji, sene, nune, kenu | Rich, rainy season, mother, enter |
| nw | nw | Nwaii, nwathing, nwannwadak, nwitting | Straight, duck, soft, rough |
| ŋ | ng | Kong, kereng, bungrang, kwing | Good, valley, oval, tight |
| ɳ | ny(w) | Nyee, nywalin, nywa | Slimy, coarse, chaff |
| p | p | Pada, tepuda, silip, lappude | Wound/sickness, discussion, difficult/painful, march on |
| r | r | Tere, rojo, roo, reji, kerek | Moon, neck, near, suffering, bitter/cruel |
| rw | rw | rwakke, rwaddi/rwadde | Scatter, sheave/cut (at the top eg grass) |
| ∫ | s | Sana, lessi, kwas, sidam | Food, agreed, hoe, seedlings |
| ∫ | sh | Shithu, Maisheru, shitha, shino | will come back, name, pepper, rest |
| sw | sw | Swathu, swal, swaddak, swaral, swali | Slap, brook, short, unripe/pale, nagging |
| t | t | Tumar, lattar, tal, kattu | Foolish, flat, far, reduce |
| ð | th | Kutho, batha, buthe, suthe | Harmattan, cornstalk, (will) decay, (will) fear |
| tw | tw | Twan, twale, twaala, twaalji | Axe, pull, baldness, diligence |
| w | w | Waa, kauwe, Wutton, puwad | Thing, fry, Work, five |
| z | z | Liz kebe, bezbeze | Faith, surprise/wonder |
| ʤ | j | Maju, wuji, tuuje, roojo | Ask, cry, horse, neck/greedy |
Tangle Syllable Structure
Po Tangle syllable structure mainly consists of onset (consonant), nucleus (vowel) and a coda. The syllable structure is mostly one of the following types: v. cv, cv, vc, cvc as illustrated below:
| v.cv | cv | vc | cvc | cv.cv | cvc.cv | cv.cvc | cvc.cv.cv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ara, ari, aje, alu, adi, abu | Yi, ta, na, mu, ke | Am, as, ik | Dom, tam, pon, kar, tom | Kina, pula, kenu, tije, maga, mage, kude | Penna, belgo, tagyo, kumbu, kemyo, mikko, taryal | Kalim, yegom, liwin, sidam, karat, kedes | Kerkebe, lizkebe, magmage, pengure, mallade |
In the main, Po Tangle does not have consonant clusters particularly at the onset or coda but for the rare /dw/, /gb/, /nw/, /rw/, /sw/ and /tw/ sounds. Equally there are usually not more than two consonants in the medial position as the medial clusters realized orthographically do not belong to the same syllable. Rather, while one is the coda of the first syllable the other is the onset of the second syllable known as geminate consonants. For example, tel/lu, kel/me, mer/ge, kal/mai, bel/kam/to, bel/ji, kub/le and kel/get.
Elision
There is elision in Po-Tangle as some sounds are removed when they occur in certain sentences. The examples below demonstrate this fact:
- Merge: going.
Ku weg merg’ ananpina?: Did you see them going? - Kobu: Sip, take a mouthful.
Nan ku kob’ todei: I said you should sip the porridge. - Pelthu: light/put fire on.
Kan min pelth’ wi: We were asked to light the fire. - Mathu: read.
Kodoksili kan ku math takardei: Kodoksili said that you should read the book. - Podo: Seedlings
Mon pod’ mongoro: These are mango seedlings. - Solo: Beg, begging
Ka yajin sol’ nang? What are you begging for?
Some Aspects of Grammar
Inflections
It should be noted that generally Tangle nouns do not pluralize through inflection but rather through adding an appropriate adjective. For example:
- Minin ka pit’ dok: We have one tree.
Minin ka pit’ padau: We have four trees. - Ku annan ku dundi dogu? Did you bring only one pot?
Ku annnan dund’ komo? Did you bring ten pots? - Worop Isan dok. Isa has only one wife.
Worop Isan rap. Isa has two wives. - Illuthan pandi munu: Bring me that stone.
Kadduthan pandi munu. Bring me those stones.
In number four above it is the verb form that indicates that the noun is plural. The verb illu is singular while kaddu indicates plurality.
The few nouns that pluralize through inflection include:
- Lauwo: Child.
Laliwin: Children - Lauyabe: Chick.
Liwinyabe: Chicks - Laukwathak: Boy
Liwinkwathak: Boys - Lautere: Star
Liwintere: Stars
Verbs
Verbs change their tense and number by inflection. For example:
| English | Present | Present continuous | Past | Past perfect | Future | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taste | Lagmu | Lagmei | Lagumgo | Lagumgo | Lagme | lagmadu |
| Buy | Pathu | Pathei | Pathugo | Pathugo | Pathe | Pathadgo |
| Search | Sebadu | Sebadei | Sebadgo | Sebadgo | Sebade | sebadgo |
| Shave | Kulu | Kulei | Kulgo | Kulgo | Kule | Kuladgo |
| Turn | Muru | Murei | Murgo | Murgo | Mure | Muradu |
| Kill | Kwalu | Kwalei | Kwalugo | Kwalugo | Kwale | Kwaladgo |
| Write | Ballu | Ballei | Ballugo | Ballugo | Balle | Balladgo |
| Admonish | Pulu | Pulei | Pulgo | Pulgo | Pule | puladgo |
Adjectives
Like nouns adjectives are not inflected. Their degree of comparison is indicated only by use of the indefinite determiner, yokko (more). For example:
- Mongoro menen dikdik: This mango is sweet.
- Mongoro mene yokku tam munu dikdik. This mango is sweeter than that one.
- Ta kaban mongorei pip, tam mene yokko dikdik. Of all the mangoes this is the sweetest.
Note that it is the use of the adjective pip (all) in the first part of sentence three that equates the Po Tangle dikdik (sweet) with the English superlative ‘sweetest’.
Pronouns
Pronouns have a variety of forms some inflected some not:
- You: ka: masc. sing., shi: fem. sing., maga: pl.neut.
- Yours: mikko: masc. sing, misshi: fem. sing., mikku: pl. neut.
- He: yi; him: yi; she: ta; her: ta; they: yini/ananpena them: yini/anapena; us: mini
- His: minni; hers: mitto; theirs: miuwu.
- Himself: wokini; herself: wokitho; themselves: okiwu/kakiwu.
Negation
The negating adverb, ‘not’ takes the form of /m/ added to a noun, a pronoun or a verb:
- Ma Ashiyo: It is for Ashiyo.
Ma Ashiyom: it is not for Ashiyo. - Mana menen minni: This house is his.
Mana mene minim: This house is not his. - An tam Kudyo wattu: Kudyo will come.
Kudyo wattum: Kudyo will not come.
Source: Po Tangle–English Dictionary and Vocabulary (Wunthu Sab Po Tangle), Nereus Yerima Tadi and Malata Andrew Zakayo, Ahmadu Bello University Press, 2012, pages xi–xvii. See also: Tadi and Zakayo (2008), Po Tangle Orthography, NERDC.