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Special consonants
There are two special consonants in Zarma, which are not found either in English or in French, but, which are represented by consonants to which we give another value. The "c" and "j" are always before an "i", never a "k" or "g" in government spelling. They are a pair and are formed by the middle of the tongue against the middle of the palate, father forwards the "g" of "k", but not so far forwards as in "t" or "d".
C: is without the voice (as are "k" and "t")
J: is voiced (as are "g" and "d").
Don't let the familiar consonant make you mispronounce these two. |
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Consonant |
Pronunciation |
Examples |
C, c
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Is somewhat like a "ky" sound, even in front of a "a", or "o", or "u", "c" = "tk" |
cada, coro, cimi |
J, j
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Is somewhat like "gy" sound, even before "o" or "a" or "e", "j" = "dji". |
jam, jeri, feji |
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Last updated:
29 januari 2006
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