Garay alphabet

Last updated
Garay
𐵹𐵊𐵾𐵊𐵼
Garay (Systeme d'ecriture).jpg
Script type
alphabet
CreatorAssane Faye
Created1961
DirectionRight to left
Languages Wolof
ISO 15924
ISO 15924 Gara(164),​Garay
Unicode
Unicode alias
Garay
U+10D40–U+10D8F
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Garay alphabet was designed in 1961, as a transcription system "[marrying] African sociolinguistic characteristics" according to its inventor, Assane Faye. This alphabet has 25 consonants and 14 vowels. [1] It is used in particular for the writing of the Wolof language, spoken mostly in Senegal, although that language is more often written in the Latin alphabet and to a lesser extent in the Arabic (Wolofal) alphabet. It is written from right to left, and distinguishes letter case.

Contents

Letters

Consonants

The consonants are written as standalone letters and are not joined as in Arabic.

There is a mark above some letters to show pre-nasalization. The letter labeled alif is used like its counterpart in Arabic, coming before an initial vowel. Extra to the standard Wolof set is /ħ/, available for Arabic loan words. Lacking is /q/, but /k/ may suffice for that. Also lacking is /nk/, but that may easily be formed with a mark above, like /mb/ etc. [2]

In Garay, uppercase letters are distinguished from lowercase letters by a swash added to one side or the other of the letter. Each sentence begins with a capital letter. Personal names are likewise capitalized. [3]

Nasals Prenasalized plosives
IPA m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨ñ⟩ ŋ ⟨ŋ⟩ m b ⟨mb⟩ n d ⟨nd⟩ ɲ ɟ ⟨nj⟩ ŋ ɡ ⟨ng⟩
Lowercase Garay M lowercase.png Garay N lowercase alt.png
(modern form)
Garay N lowercase.png
(old form)		 Garay N lowercase.png Garay ng lowercase.png Garay MB lowercase.png Garay ND lowercase.png Garay NJ lowercase.png Garay NG lowercase.png
Uppercase Garay M uppercase.png Garay N uppercase alt.png
(modern form)
Garay N uppercase.png
(old form)		 Garay N uppercase.png Garay ng uppercase.png Garay MB uppercase.png Garay ND uppercase.png Garay NJ uppercase.png Garay NG uppercase.png
Voiced plosives Voiceless plosives
IPA b ⟨b⟩ d ⟨d⟩ ɟ ⟨j⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩ p ⟨p⟩ t ⟨t⟩ c ⟨c⟩ k ⟨k⟩
Lowercase Garay B lowercase.png Garay D lowercase.png Garay J lowercase.png Garay G lowercase.png Garay P lowercase.png Garay T lowercase.png Garay C lowercase.png Garay K lowercase alt.png
(modern form)
Garay K lowercase.png
(old form)
Uppercase Garay B uppercase.png Garay D uppercase.png Garay J uppercase.png Garay G uppercase.png Garay P uppercase.png Garay T uppercase.png Garay C uppercase.png Garay K uppercase alt.png
(modern form)
Garay K uppercase.png
(old form)
Fricatives Liquids and semivowels
IPA f ⟨f⟩ s ⟨s⟩ x ~ χ ⟨x⟩ ħ ⟨h⟩ r ⟨r⟩ w ⟨w⟩ l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩
Lowercase Garay F lowercase.png Garay S lowercase.png Garay X lowercase.png Garay H lowercase.png Garay R lowercase.png Garay W lowercase.png Garay L lowercase.png Garay Y lowercase.png
Uppercase Garay F uppercase.png Garay S uppercase.png Garay X uppercase.png Garay H uppercase.png Garay R uppercase.png Garay W uppercase.png Garay L uppercase.png Garay Y uppercase.png
Null consonant (alif): carrier of initial vowels
Lowercase Garay alif lowercase.png
Uppercase Garay alif uppercase.png

Vowels

a ⟨a⟩ i ⟨i⟩ ɛ ⟨e⟩ ɔ ⟨o⟩
Garay A.png Garay I.png Garay E.png Garay O.png
ə ⟨ë⟩ih~ii ⟨ih⟩ e ⟨é⟩ u ⟨u⟩
Garay Schwa.png Garay U.png Garay E.png Garay U.png

Numbers

Garay numbers.png

Unicode

The Garay alphabet was added to the Unicode Standard in September 2024 with the release of version 16.0.

The Unicode block for Garay is U+10D40–U+10D8F:

Garay [1] [2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+10D4x𐵀𐵁𐵂𐵃𐵄𐵅𐵆𐵇𐵈𐵉𐵊𐵋𐵌𐵍𐵎𐵏
U+10D5x𐵐𐵑𐵒𐵓𐵔𐵕𐵖𐵗𐵘𐵙𐵚𐵛𐵜𐵝𐵞𐵟
U+10D6x𐵠𐵡𐵢𐵣𐵤𐵥𐵩𐵪𐵫𐵬𐵭𐵮𐵯
U+10D7x𐵰𐵱𐵲𐵳𐵴𐵵𐵶𐵷𐵸𐵹𐵺𐵻𐵼𐵽𐵾𐵿
U+10D8x𐶀𐶁𐶂𐶃𐶄𐶅𐶎𐶏
Notes
1. ^ As of Unicode version 16.0
2. ^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

  1. ↑ The Garay alphabet can contribute to the rebirth of Africa, according to its inventor , Birane Hady Cissé, on fr.allafrica.com (April 21, 2009, accessed November 7, 2018).
  2. ↑ Garay script for Wolof, Ian James, March 2012
  3. ↑ Garay Alphabet: a Wolof Script Archived 2020-01-18 at the Wayback Machine , 6 May 2019

Bibliography


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