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Question: The Vai language of Liberia (West Africa): What type of writing system does Vai use [alphabetic, logographic, syllabic]?

11 Oct 2022,1:53 AM

 

QUESTION 1

  1. In learning to describe the consonants of English, we referred to the concepts of place of articulation and voicing.
    • In your own words, describe how these two ideas relate to how consonants are pronounced [6pts].
    • Give a pair of English consonants (you must use IPA symbols) that illustrates two different places of articulation (be sure to label them) [2pts]
    •  and another pair of consonants that illustrates a difference in voicing (again, be sure to label them) [2pts].

To type IPA symbols, use this IPA keyboard online app: https://westonruter.github.io/ipa-chart/keyboard/

    • Note that the chart accounts for all the sounds that are attested in natural languages, and it contains way more symbols than you need to know, make sure to refer to the table that you find in relevant lecture slides.
    • When you see two symbols in one cell, the one on the right side is voiced, and the other one is voiceless.

QUESTION 2

  1. One manner of articulationthat we discussed in lecture and recitation is called fricatives.
    • Explain how the idea of “frication (or turbulence)” is relevant in describing the class of consonants that we have called fricatives [5pts].
    • Provide three English words that contain a fricative consonant at the beginning of the word [3pts].
      • Each word that you provide should have a different fricative consonant. That is, if you provide two words that begin with the same fricative sound, it will be penalized.
    • Provide two additional English words that contain a fricative consonant at the end of the word [2pts].
      • Again, if you provide two words that end with the same sound, it will be penalized.

QUESTION 3

  1. We have learned that some writing systems are alphabetswhile others are logographic. Describe in your own words the major difference between the two types of writing systems.

QUESTION 4

  1. The Vai language of Liberia (West Africa) utilizes the writing systems shown just below where, instead of symbols representing a single sound or a whole word, they represent a unit composed of two or more sounds in a sequence.

 

    • What type of writing system does Vai use [alphabetic, logographic, syllabic]? Briefly justify your answer. [4pts]

Using the lecture slides, identify another language that uses the same types of system [1pts].

Expert answer

 

The Vai writing system is syllabic. Each letter or symbol represents a syllable, which is why it can be difficult to learn for English speakers who are not used to this type of writing system. The Vai language is spoken by the Vai people, who are located in Liberia (West Africa). According to Ethnologue, there are about 71,000 speakers of Vai. The majority of Vai speakers (69%) live in Liberia, while a small number (3%) live in Sierra Leone.

 

The Vai writing system consists of 20 consonants and 11 vowels. The consonants are:

 

b, d, ɗ, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, z

 

The vowels are:

 

a , e , i , o , u , ɛ , ɔ

 

There are four tones in Vai: high, low, falling, and rising. The tones are indicated with diacritics above or below the letter. For example, a high tone is indicated with a line above the letter, while a low tone is indicated with a line below the letter.

 

Vai is written from left to right and there is no standard way to write Vai words in Latin script. However, some common conventions are used, such as using "v" for the consonant /w/ and using "y" for the vowel /i/.

 

The Vai writing system was developed by Samory Toure, who was the first ruler of the Mandingo Empire. Toure adapted an existing Arabic alphabet to create the Vai alphabet. The Vai alphabet was first used in the early 19th century and has been used to write the Vai language ever since.

 

Vai is not currently taught in schools, but there are efforts to revive the language and its writing system. In 2012, a Vai literacy project was launched with the goal of teaching 1,000 children how to read and write in Vai. The project is also working on creating new teaching materials and developing a Vai dictionary.

 

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