The Dinka alphabet
There are thirty three letters in the Dinka alphabet. There are thirteen vowels and twenty consonants.
The vowels are divided into two categories: hard or clear vowels and breathy vowels. There are seven hard/clear vowels and six breathy vowels. Breathy vowels are differentiated by the use of a diaeresis over the vowel.
The clear/hard vowels are:
A a E e Ɛ ɛ I i O o Ɔ ɔ U u
The breathy vowels are:
Ä ä Ë ë Ɛ̈ ɛ̈ Ï ï Ö ö Ɔ̈ ɔ̈
The consonants are:
B b C c D d Dh dh G g Ɣ ɣ J j K k L l M m N n Nh nh Ny ny Ŋ ŋ P p R r T t Th th W w Y y
Four of the consonants are digraphs. These are dh, nh, ny and th. The digraphs are treated as single characters. The character h does not exist in Dinka as a single letter.
The modern sort order of the Dinka alphabet is:
a, ä, b, c, d, dh, e, ë, ɛ, ɛ̈, g, ɣ i, ï, j, k, l, m, n, nh, ny, ŋ,
o, ö, ɔ, ɔ̈, p, r, t, th, u, w, y.
The current Dinka orthography indicates specific vowel qualities: the distinction between breathy vowels (Indicated by a diaresis) and hard or clear vowels (vowels without diaeresis).
Long vowels are indicated by doubling the vowel, e.g. a long a is indicated by aa.
Tone and vowel centralisation are not indicated. Since these additional vowel qualities are unindicated in written Dinka. It is very important to listen to native Dinka speakers, and note the distinction they make when pronouncing words.