Tchiroe/Lesson 1
Tchiroe uses the English alphabet, minus Q and X. Most consonants are pronounced as in English except- J is pronounced as an English Y, C as S, S as Z, and Z as English J.
Consonant clusters are:
- ch- Sheep
- dh- These
- sh- Pleasure
- tch- Cheese
- th- With
The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and Y.
- A- Father
- E- Care
- I- Bee
- O- Paw
- U- Boot
- Y- About
- ai- My
- ao- Cow
- ie- Pet
- ii- Bit
- oe- Toe
- oei- Boy
- oeai- Why
Syllables are (C)V(C)
If there is no initial an apostrophe takes its place. If multiple consonants make up the initial or final, an apostrophe goes between it and the next syllable. Only one can be between any two syllables.
A grave accent ( ` ) marks stress, and an acute accent, like on á, marks a rising tone like on English "What?".
| English | Tchiroe |
|---|---|
| Hello, Hi | Bòenav ec. |
| Goodbye (For.) | Ka detu dìa kaibòenav iet lòeic. |
| Goodbye (Infor.) | Kaibòenav lòeic. |
| Good day/night. | Lìnaktoe/Lìdia kaibòenav ec. |
A conversational greeting:
A: Lìdia kaibòenav ec, nó?
B: Ta ec, hè detu dìa ec?
A: Ta ec.
A conversational farewell:
A (who is staying): Ka tu pacakóen tchectòei.
B (who is leaving): Dankoeth, hè ka tu pacakóen tchecvantòei.