Rohingya language

Rohingya
  • 𐴌𐴟𐴇𐴥𐴝𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝
  • 𐴌𐴗𐴥𐴝𐴙𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝
رُحَ࣪ڠۡگَ࣪ࢬ‎, رُآ࣪يڠۡگَࢬ
upright= Portrait of indigenous Rohingya family of Arakan
The word "Rohingya" written in the Hanifi Rohingya script
Native toMyanmar (Rakhine State)
RegionRakhine State (Myanmar) and southeastern Chittagong Division (Bangladesh)
EthnicityRohingya
Native speakers
2.5 million (2017)[1]
Hanifi Rohingya
Perso-Arabic (Rohingya Arabic Alphabet)
Latin (Rohingyalish)
Burmese
Bengali–Assamese (rare)
Language codes
ISO 639-3rhg
Glottologrohi1238
Traditional area of Rohingya speakers
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Rohingya (/rˈɪnə, -hɪn-, -ɪŋjə/; Hanifi Rohingya: 𐴌𐴗𐴥𐴝𐴙𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝, Ruáingga,رُحَ࣪ڠۡگَ࣪ࢬ‎,[2] pronounced [rʊˈɜiɲɟə])[3] is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Rohingya people of Rakhine State, Myanmar.[4][5] It is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese branch, and is closely related to the Chittagonian language spoken in neighbouring Bangladesh. The Rohingya and Chittagonian languages have a high degree of mutual intelligibility.[6]

Phonology

Consonants

Rohingya has primarily the following 25 native consonant phonemes. There are some other consonant phonemes which are from foreign languages such as Arabic, Bengali, Burmese and Urdu.

Rohingya consonants[7][8]
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t ʈ k ʔ
voiced b d ɖ ɡ
Nasal m n (ɳ) ɲ ŋ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ x h
voiced (v) z
Flap ɾ ɽ
Approximant central w j
lateral l
  • A dental fricative [θ] may also be heard in words of Arabic origin.
  • [v] is only used in words of foreign origin.
  • /n/ is heard as [ɳ] when preceding /ʈ, ɖ/.
  • Allophones of /k, ɡ/ can be heard as [c, ɟ].

Vowels

1st analysis[7]
Front Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɔ
Open a
2nd analysis[8]
Front Back
Close i u
Mid e ɔ
Open ɑ
  • Short allophones of /e, a/ are heard as [ɛ, æ], [ʌ, ə]. Allophones of /i, u/ are heard as [ɪ, ʊ].[8]

There are six vowels and several diphthongs in the Rohingya language.[9] They contrast between "open-o" ([ɔ]) and "closed-o" ([o]) by using the different spellings ⟨o⟩/⟨ó⟩ and ⟨ou⟩/⟨óu⟩ respectively. According to another, [o] is interpreted instead as a diphthong [ɔu], leaving only 5 vowels.[8]

Tones

Accented vowels, marked with an acute accent, represent stressed (or "hard" vowels), and repeating a vowel lengthens it.[7] Thus, tonals are marked by arranging the location of a stressed vowel in a lengthened pair, like ⟨aá⟩ and ⟨áa⟩.[7]

Grammar

Definite articles

1. If a noun ends with a vowel then the article is either an or wa if singular, or un or in if plural or uncountable.
Usually wa is used for round-fatty objects, and an for flat-thin objects.

singular plural
Kéti án (the farm) Kéti ún/ín (the farms)
Fothú án (the photo) Fothú ún/ín (the photo)
Fata wá (the leaf) Fata ún/ín (the leaves)
Boro wá (the large tree) Boro ún/ín (the large trees)
Lou ún/ín (the blood)

2. If a noun ends with a consonant then the article is the end-consonant plus án or for singular or ún or ín for plural.

Debal lán (the wall) Debal lún/lín (the walls)
Mes sán (the table) Mes sún/sín (the tables)
Kitap p (the book) Kitap pún/pín (the books)
Manúic c (the man) Manúic cún/cín (the men)

3. If a noun ends with r, then the article is g plus án or for singular or ún or ín for plural.
gún is used for human and gín for non-human.

Tar gán (the wire) Tar gún/gín (the wires)
Duar gán (the door) Duar gún/gín (the doors)
Kuñir g (the dog) Kuñir gún/gín (the dogs)
Faár g (the mountain) Faár gún/gín (the mountains)

Indefinite articles

Indefinite articles can be used either before or after the noun. Uggwá usually is used for roll/round/fatty shaped objects and ekkán is for thin/flat shaped objects.

singular plural
Uggwá fata (a leaf) Hodún fata (some leaves)
Ekkán fothú (a picture) Hodún Fothú (some pictures)
-or- -or-
Fata uggwá (a leaf) Fata hodún (some leaves)
Fothú ekkán (a picture) Fothú hodún (some pictures)

Word order

Rohingya word order-1 is Subject–Object–Verb.

Añí

I

bát

rice

hái

eat.

Añí bát hái

I rice eat.

Ite

He

TV

TV

saá

watches.

Ite TV saá

He TV watches.

Ibá

She

sairkél

bicycle

soré

rides.

Ibá sairkél soré

She bicycle rides.

Itará

They

ham ot

to work

za

go.

Itará {ham ot} za

They {to work} go.

Rohingya word order-2 is Subject–Time-Place-Object–Verb.

Ibá

I

beínna

in the morning

gór ot

at home

bát

rice

eat.

Ibá beínna {gór ot} bát há

I {in the morning} {at home} rice eat.

Tará

They

biale

at night

duan ot

at shop

TV

TV

saá

watches.

Tará biale {duan ot} TV saá

They {at night} {at shop} TV watches.

Ite

He

sair gwá báze

at 4pm

hál hañsat

at seaside

sairkél

bicycle

soré

rides.

Ite {sair gwá báze} {hál hañsat} sairkél soré

He {at 4pm} {at seaside} bicycle rides.

Ítara

They

nowá báze

at 9 o'clock

ofís ot

to office

ham ot

to work

zaa

go.

Ítara {nowá báze} {ofís ot} {ham ot} zaa

They {at 9 o'clock} {to office} {to work} go.

Rohingya word order-3 is Subject–Time-[adjective]-Place-Object–[adverb]-Verb.

Tuñí

Subject

You

aijja

Time

today

noya

[Adjective]

new

eskul ot

Place

at school

toratori/toratorigorí

[Adverb]

quickly

paathi

Object

party

goró.

Verb

make.

Tuñí aijja noya {eskul ot} toratori/toratorigorí paathi goró.

Subject Time [Adjective] Place [Adverb] Object Verb

You today new {at school} quickly party make.

Rohingya word order-4 is Subject–Time-[adjective]-Place-Object–[adverb]-Verb_1-Verb_2.

Tuñí

Subject

You

aijja

Time

today

noya

[Adjective]

new

eskul ot

Place

at school

toratori/toratorigorí

[Adverb]

quickly

paathi

Object

party

goittóu

Verb_1

help

modot-goró.

Verb_2

to make.

Tuñí aijja noya {eskul ot} toratori/toratorigorí paathi goittóu modot-goró.

Subject Time [Adjective] Place [Adverb] Object Verb_1 Verb_2

You today new {at school} quickly party help {to make}.

You help to make party quickly at new school today.

More on Time extension:

  1. Aijja Januari 24 tarík ót, cón 2017 beínna 4 gwá báze 15 miníth 5 sekén ót.
    Today January dated 24, year 2017 in the morning at 4 o'clock 15 minutes 5 second.
  2. Hailla Januari 30 tarík ót, cón 2017 ázinna 5 swá báze 25 minith 7 sekén ót.
    Tomorrow January dated 30, year 2017 in the evening at 5 o'clock 25 minutes 7 second.
  3. Goto hailla Oktubor 10 tarík ót, cón 2018 rait or 10 cwá báze 35 miníth 50 sekén ot.
    Yesterday October dated 10, year 2018 in the night at 10 o'clock 35 minutes 50 second.

Tenses

Rohingya distinguishes 3 tenses and 4 aspects, as shown in the examples below. In these tenses, the helping verb félai shows perfect action (comparable to English "has/have") and félaat shows perfect continuous action (compare English "has/have been"). The helping verb táki and táikki are comparable to English "be" and "been".

Verb-form-suffix (basic and/or helping verb) indicate both person and tense. The suffixes ~ir, ~yi, ~lám, ~youm are used for the first person, the suffixes ~or, ~yó, ~lá, ~bá for the 2nd person, and the suffixes ~ar, ~ye, ~l, ~bou for the 3rd person.

Similarly ~ir, ~or, ~ar indicate present continuous tense, ~yi, ~yó, ~ye present perfect tense, ~lám, ~lá, ~l past tense, and ~youm, ~bá, ~bou future tense.


1st person 2nd person 3rd person
present simple present

Añí

hái.

Añí hái.

I eat.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hóo.

s.

Tuñí/Oñne hóo.

Tui hós.

You eat.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

há.

Ite/Ibá/Itará há.

He/She/They eats/eats/eat.

present progressive

Añí

ir.

Añí háir.

I am eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

or.

or.

Tuñí/Oñne hóor.

Tui hóor.

You are eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hár.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hár.

He/She/They is/is/are eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

boi.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái boi.

He/She/They is/is/are eating.

perfect

Añí

hái

félaiyi.

Añí hái félaiyi.

I have eaten.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

félai.

félaiyós.

Tuñí/Oñne hái félai.

Tui hái félaiyós.

You have eaten.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félaiye.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaiye.

He/She/They has/has/have eaten.

perfect continuous

Añí

hái

félair.

Añí hái félair.

I have been eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

féloor.

féloor.

Tuñí/Oñne hái féloor.

Tui hái féloor.

You have been eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félaar.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaar.

He/She/They has/has/have been eating.

Past near past

Añí

háiyi.

Añí háiyi.

I ate.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

háiyo.

háiyós.

Tuñí/Oñne háiyo.

Tui háiyós.

You ate.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

háaiye.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háaiye.

He/She/They ate.

far past

Añí

háailam.

Añí háailam.

I ate.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

háai.

háai.

Tuñí/Oñne háai.

Tui háai.

You ate.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

háail.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háail.

He/She/They ate.

past progressive

Añí

at

táikkilám.

Añí háat táikkilám.

I was eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

at

at

táikki.

táikki.

Tuñí/Oñne háat táikki.

Tui háat táikki.

You were eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

at

táikkil.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háat táikkil.

He/She/They was/was/were eating.

perfect

Añí

hái

félailám.

Añí hái félailám.

I had eaten.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

félai.

félai.

Tuñí/Oñne hái félai.

Tui hái félai.

You had eaten.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félail.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félail.

He/She/They had eaten.

perfect continuous

Añí

hái

félaat

táikkilám.

Añí hái félaat táikkilám.

I had been eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

félaat

félaat

táikki.

táikki.

Tuñí/Oñne hái félaat táikki.

Tui hái félaat táikki.

You had been eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félaat

táikkil.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaat táikkil.

He/She/They had been eating.

Future simple future

Añí

háiyoum.

Añí háiyoum.

I will eat.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

háiba.

hái.

Tuñí/Oñne háiba.

Tui hái.

You will eat.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

háibou.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háibou.

He/She/They will eat.

future progressive

Añí

at

tákiyoum.

Añí háat tákiyoum.

I will be eating.

Añí

háiyoum

boi.

Añí háiyoum boi.

I will be eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

at

at

táki.

táki.

Tuñí/Oñne háat táki.

Tui háat táki.

You will be eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

háiba

háibi

goi.

goi.

Tuñí/Oñne háiba goi.

Tui háibi goi.

You will be eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

at

tákibou.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háat tákibou.

He/She/They will be eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

háibou

goi.

Ite/Ibá/Itará háibou goi.

He/She/They will be eating.

perfect

Añí

hái

félaiyoum.

Añí hái félaiyoum.

I will have eaten.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

félai.

félai.

Tuñí/Oñne hái félai.

Tui hái félai.

You will have eaten.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félaibou.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaibou.

He/She/They will has/has/have eaten.

perfect continuous

Añí

hái

félaat

tákiyoum.

Añí hái félaat tákiyoum.

I will have been eating.

Tuñí/Oñne

Tui

hái

hái

félaat

félaat

táki.

táki.

Tuñí/Oñne hái félaat táki.

Tui hái félaat táki.

You will have been eating.

Ite/Ibá/Itará

hái

félaat

tákibou.

Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaat tákibou.

He/She/They will has/has/have been eating.

Pronouns

Number Person Gender Pronouns Possessive
adjectives
Subject Object Possessive Reflexive
Singular 1st m/f (I) añí, mui añáre, moré añár, mor añínize, muinize añár, mor
2nd m/f (you) tuñí
tui
oñne
tuáñre
toré
oñnoré
tuáñr
tor
oñnor
tuñínize
tuinize
oñnenize
tuáñr
tor
oñnor
3rd m (he) ite *
te *
uite **
íte **
itaré
taré
uitaré
ítare
itar
tar
uitar
ítar
itenize
tenize
uitenize
ítenize
itar
tar
uitar
ítar
m/f (he/she) ibá *
uibá **
íba **
ibáre
uibáre
íbare
ibár
uibár
íbar
ibánize
uibánize
íbanize
ibár
uibár
íbar
n (it) yián
ibá
yían **
íba **
yiánóre
ibáre
yíanóre
íbare
yiánór
ibár
yíanór
íbar
yiánnize
ibánize
yíannize
íbanize
yiánór
ibár
yíanór
íbar
Plural 1st m/f (we) añára añáráre añárar añáránize añárar
2nd m/f (you) tuáñra tuáñráre tuáñrar tuáñránize tuáñrar
3rd m/f (they) itará *
tará *
uitará **
ítara **
itaráre
taráre
uitaráre
ítarare
itarár
tarár
uitarár
ítarar
itaránize
taránize
uitaránize
ítaranize
itarár
tarár
uitarár
ítarar
n (they) iín *
íin **
uún
úun **
uuín **
iínóre
íinóre
uúnóre
úunóre
uuínóre
iínór
íinór
uúnór
úunór
uuínór
iínnize
íinnize
uúnnize
úunnize
uuínnize
iínór
íinór
uúnór
úunór
uuínór

Gender: m=male, f=female, n=neuter., *=the person or object is near., **=the person or object is far.

Interrogative

The interrogative is indicated by at the end of the sentence.

Itattú gór ekkán asé ? [Does he have a house?]
Itattú gór ekkán asé. [He has a house.]
Ibá za ? [Does she go?]
Ibá za. [She goes.]
Itará giyé ? [Did they go?]
Itará giyé. [They went.]

Inflection for person

Rohingya verbs indicate person by suffixes.

Present Tense
lek = write (command to you sg.)
lekí = I/we write.
lekó = write (command to you pl.)
lekós = You write (sg./pl.).
leké = He/she/they write(s).

Present Continuous Tense
lekír = I/we am/are writing.
lekór = You (sg./pl.) are writing.
lekér = He/she/they is/are writing.

Present Perfect Tense
lekífélaiyi = I/we have written.
lekífélaiyo = You (sg./pl.) have written.
lekífélaiyós = You (sg.) have written. (used to very closed people)
lekífélaiye = He/she/they has/have written.

Future Tense
lekíyóum = I/we will write.
lekíbá = You (sg./pl.) will write.
lekíbi = You (sg.) will write. (used to very closed people)
lekíbóu = He/she/they will write.

Past Tense (Immediate/near past)
leikkí = I/we wrote.
leikkó = You (sg./pl.) wrote.
leikkós = You (sg.) wrote. (used to very closed people)
leikké = He/she/they wrote.

Past Tense (Remote past)
leikkílám = I/we wrote long ago.
leikkílá = You (sg./pl.) wrote long ago.
leikkílí = You (sg.) wrote long ago. (used to very closed people)
leikkíl = He/she/they wrote long ago.

Past Tense (If possibility)
lekítám = I/we would have written.
lekítá = You (sg./pl.) would have written.
lekítí = You (sg.) would have written. (used to very closed people)
lekítóu = He/she/they would have written.

Forming Noun, Doer, Tool, Action
lekóon = act of writing.
        e.g. Debalor uore lekóon gom noó. Writing on wall is not good.
lekóya = writer.
        e.g. Itaráttú lekóya bicí. They-have many writers.
lekóni = thing with which you write.
        e.g. Añártú honó lekóni nái. I-have no any writing-thing (i.e. pen, pencil)
lekát = in the action of writing.
        e.g. Tui lekát asós. You are busy-in-writing.

Case

Examples of the case inflection are given below, using the singular forms of the Rohingya term for "hóliba (tailor)" which belongs to Rohingya's first declension class.

  • hólibaye (nominative) "[the] hóliba" [as a subject] (e.g. hólibaye tíai táikke éçe – the tailor is standing there)
  • hólibar (genitive) "[the] hóliba's / [of the] hóliba" (e.g. hólibar nam Ahmed – the tailor's name is Ahmed)
  • hóliballa (dative) "[to/for the] hóliba" [as an indirect object] (e.g. hóliballa hádiya ekkán diyí – I gave a present for the tailor)
  • hólibare (accusative) "[the] hóliba" [as a direct object] (e.g. Aññí hólibare deikkí – I saw the tailor)
  • hólibaloi (ablative) "[by/with/from/in the] hóliba" [in various uses] (e.g. Aññí hólibaloi duan ot giyí – I went to the shop with the tailor).'
  • óu hóliba / hóliba ya (vocative) "[you] the hóliba" [addressing the object] (e.g. "cúkuria tuáñre, óu hóliba (sáb)" – thank you, tailor).

Morphology

Seventy or more different forms are available in Rohingya. A hyphen (-) between letters is to be removed, it is used for initial understanding only — how the word is formed.

Command
  1. lek =write (sg.) Tui yián ehón lek. You write this right now.
  2. lek-ó =write (pl.) Tuñí yián ehón lekó. You write this right now.
  3. lek-á =cause to write Tui/Tuñí John ór áta leká/lekó. You ask John to write.
  4. lek-í-de =help to write Tui/Tuñí ibáre lekíde/lekído. You help John in writing.
Present
  1. lek-í =write (I) Aññí hámicá gór ot lekí. I always write at home.
  2. lek-ó =write (II) Tuñí hámicá gór ot lekó. You always write at home.
  3. lek-ó-s =write (IIa) Tui hámicá gór ot lekós. You always write at home.
  4. lek-é =write (III) Tará hámicá gór ot leké. They always write at home.
Continuous
  1. lek-í-r =writing (I) Aññí ciñçí ekkán lekír. I am writing a letter now.
  2. lek-ó-or =writing (II) Tuñí/Tui ciñçí ekkán lekóor. You are writing a letter now.
  3. lek-é-r =writing (III) Tará ciñçí ekkán lekér. They are writing a letter now.
Perfect
  1. lek-í-féla-iyi =have written (I) Aññí ciñçí lekífélaiyi. I have written a letter.
  2. lek-í-féla-iyo =have written (II) Tuñí ciñçí lekífélaiyo. You have written a letter.
  3. lek-í-féla-iyo-s =have written (IIa) Tui ciñçí lekífélaiyos. You have written a letter.
  4. lek-í-féla-iye =has/have written (III) Tará ciñçí lekífélaiye. They have written a letter.
Past
  1. leik-kí =wrote (I) Aññí ciñçí ekkán leikkí. I wrote a letter.
  2. leik-kó =wrote (II) Tuñí ciñçí ekkán leikkó. You wrote a letter.
  3. leik-kó-s =wrote (IIa) Tui ciñçí ekkán leikkós. You wrote a letter.
  4. leik-ké =wrote (III) Tará ciñçí ekkán leikké. They wrote a letter.
Future
  1. lek-í-youm =will write (I) Aññí ciñçí ekkán lekíyoum. I will write a letter.
  2. lek-í-ba =will write (II) Tuñí ciñçí ekkán lekíba. You will write a letter.
  3. lek-í-bi =will write (IIa) Tui ciñçí ekkán lekkíbi. You will write a letter.
  4. lek-í-bou =will write (III) Tará ciñçí ekkán lekíbou. They will write a letter.
Alternative
  1. leik-kyóum =will write (I) Aññí ciñçí ekkán leikkyóum. I will write a letter.
  2. leik-bá =will write (II) Tuñí ciñçí ekkán leikbá. You will write a letter.
  3. leik-bí =will write (IIa) Tui ciñçí ekkán leikbí. You will write a letter.
  4. leik-bóu =will write (III) Tará ciñçí ekkán leikbóu. They will write a letter.
Passive
  1. lek-á-giye =(passive I, II, III) Ciñçí ekkán lekágiyé. A letter is/was written.
Possibility
  1. lek-á-za =being writable Ciñçí yián leká za. This letter is writable.
  2. lek-á-za-ibou =being writable in future Ciñçí yián leká zaibou. This letter will be writable.
  3. lek-á-di-ya-za =can be made writable Ciñçí yián lekádiyaza. This letter can be made writable.
Noun
  1. lek-á =writing Leká yián bicí cúndor. This writing is very beautiful.
  2. lek-ó-on =act of writing Email beggún óttu lekóon saá. All should write emails.
  3. lek-ó-ya =person who writes Ahmed bála lekóya. Ahmed is a good writer.
  4. lek-ó-ni =thing used to write Añártu honó lekóni ciz nái. I do not have anything to write with.
  5. lek-á-ni =tool used to write Añártu honó lekáni boudh nái. I do not have any writing board.
  6. lek-á-lekí =activities to write Tuáñrár bútore lekáleki tákoon saá. There should be writing between you.
Adjective
  1. lek-é-de =thing used for writing Añártu honó lekéde ciz nái. I do not have any writable thing.
  2. leik-kyá =of written Kitab ibá fura leikká. This book is fully written.
  3. leik-kyé-dé=of that written Añártu honó leikkyéde juab nái. I do not have any written answer.
Adverb
  1. lek-í lek-í =by writing & writing/while writing Ite gór ottu lekí lekí aiyér. He is coming from home while writing.
Immediate present
  1. lek-í-lam =acted to write (I) Aññí habos sán lekílam. I write the letter.
  2. lek-í-la =acted to write (II) Tuñí habos sán lekíla. You write the letter.
  3. lek-í-li =acted to write (II) Tui habos sán lekíli. You write the letter.
  4. lek-í-lou =acted to write (III) Tará habos sán lekílou. They write the letter.
Alternative
  1. leik-lám =acted to write (I) Aññí habos sán lekílam. I write the letter.
  2. leik-lá =acted to write (II) Tuñí habos sán lekíla. You write the letter.
  3. leik-lí =acted to write (II) Tui habos sán lekíli. You write the letter.
  4. leik-lou =acted to write (III) Tará habos sán lekílou. They write the letter.
Long past
  1. leik-kí-lam =had written (I) Aññí habos sán leikkílam. I had written this paper long ago.
  2. leik-kí-la =had written (II) Tuñí habos sán leikkíla. You had written this paper long ago.
  3. leik-kí-li =had written (II) Tui habos sán leikkíli. You had written this paper long ago.
  4. leik-kí-l =had written (III) Tará habos sán leikkíl. They had written this paper long ago.
Remote future
  1. lek-í-youm éri =will write later (I) Aññí habos sán lekíyoum éri. I will write the paper sometime later.
  2. lek-í-ba ri =will write later (II) Tuñí habos sán lekíba ri. You will write the paper sometime later.
  3. lek-í-bi ri =will write later (IIa) Tui habos sán lekíbi ri. You write the paper sometime later.
  4. lek-í-bou ri =will write later (III) Tará habos sán lekíbou ri. They will write the paper sometime later.
Conditional
  1. lek-í-tam =would have written (I) Aññí email lán lekítam. I would have written the email.
  2. lek-í-ta =would have written (II) Tuñí email lán lekíta i. You would have written the email.
  3. lek-í-ti =would have written (IIa) Tui email lán lekíti. You would have written the email.
  4. lek-í-tou =would have written (III) Tará email lán lekítou. They would have written the email.
Alternative
  1. leik-tám =would have written (I) Aññí email lán leiktám. I would have written the email.
  2. leik-tá =would have written (II) Tuñí email lán leiktá. You would have written the email.
  3. leik-tí =would have written (IIa) Tui email lán leiktí. You would have written the email.
  4. leik-tóu =would have written (III) Tará email lán leiktóu. They would have written the email.
Request/allow
  1. lek-ó-na =please write Meérbanigorí lekóna. Please write the letter.
  2. lek-ó-goi =allowed to write Tuñí lekó gói. Let you write.
Alternative
  1. lek-se-ná =please write Meérbanigorí leksená. Please write the letter.
  2. lek-gói =allowed to write Tui lek gói. Let you write.
If
  1. lek-í-le =if (I/II/III) person write Tuñí lekíle gom óibou. It will be good if you write.

Writing systems

Rohingya Hanifi script

The Hanifi Rohingya script is a unified script for the Rohingya language. Rohingya was first written in the 19th century with a version of the Perso-Arabic script. In 1975, an orthographic Arabic script was developed, based on the Urdu alphabet.

In the 1980s, (Maolana) Mohammad Hanif and his colleagues created the suitable phonetic script based on Arabic letters; it has been compared to the N’ko script. The script also includes a set of decimal numbers.[10][11]

Layout of the Rohingya virtual keyboard.

A virtual keyboard was developed by Google for the Rohingya language in 2019 and allows users to type in the Rohingya script. Ahkter Husin, a Rohingya software developer developed a keyboard for Android phones which is available on Google Play Store.[12] Ahkter Husin and Kyaw Zay Ya Lin Tun also developed a keyboard app for IOS.[13] Rohingya programmers also developed an online Unicode keyboard converter.[14]

Characters

Rohingya Hanifi script consonants -29
𐴌𐴟𐴇𐴥𐴝𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 𐴇𐴥𐴡𐴌𐴟𐴉𐴢[15]
𐴅 𐴄 𐴃 𐴂 𐴁 𐴀
𐴋 𐴊 𐴉 𐴈 𐴇 𐴆
𐴑 𐴐 𐴏 𐴎 𐴍 𐴌
𐴗 𐴖 𐴕 𐴔 𐴓 𐴒
𐴜 𐴛 𐴚 𐴙 𐴘
Rohingya Hanifi script vowels -7
𐴌𐴟𐴇𐴥𐴝𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 𐴀𐴝𐴉𐴡𐴌 𐴀𐴞𐴉𐴡𐴌𐴢
𐴢 𐴡 𐴠 𐴟 𐴞 𐴝
◌𐴧 ◌𐴦 ◌𐴥 ◌𐴤 𐴣
Rohingya Hanifi script numerals
𐴌𐴟𐴇𐴥𐴝𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 𐴓𐴡𐴔𐴁𐴡𐴌𐴢
𐴰 𐴱 𐴲 𐴳 𐴴 𐴵 𐴶 𐴷 𐴸 𐴹

Rohingya Arabic script

The first Rohingya language texts, written in Arabic script, are claimed to be more than 200 years old, though there is no concrete evidence about it.[16] While Arakan was under British rule (1826–1948), the Rohingya people used mainly English and Urdu for written communication. Since independence in 1948, Burmese has been used in all official communications. Since the early 1960s, Rohingya scholars have started to realise the need for a writing system suited to their own language.

Later in 1975, Rohingya community leaders in Myanmar have chosen to use the Arabic script for modern usage as well. This modern use of the script is called “Rohingya Fonna”. The Rohingya Fonna script is essentially this historic script, but with some extra symbols as the unmodifed Arabic script is unsuited to the Rohingya language. While there is minimal literature using Rohingya Fonna, it does have the approval of the community leaders. One of the most significant advocates of Rohingya Arabic script has been Kyaw Hla Aung, a world-renowned lawyer and civil rights activist.[16]

At present, a Rohingya Unicode font is available. It is based on Arabic letters (since those are far more understood by the people) with additional tone signs.[16][17] Tests that have been conducted suggest that this script can be learned in a matter of hours if the reader has learned Arabic in a madrassa.

The script includes 3 Arabic vowel diacritics, as well as 3 additional diacritics. Six "double diacritics" representing nasal vowels are also present. In addition, Rohingya Fonna also has 3 tone markers. Tone markers act as "modifiers" of vowel diacritics. In simpler words, they are "diacritics for the diacritics". They are written "outside" of the word, meaning that they are written above the vowel diacritic if the diacritic is written above the word, and they are written below the diacritic if the diacritic is written below the word. They are only ever written where there are vowel diacritics. This is important to note, as without the diacritic present, there is no way to distinguish between tone markers and I‘jām i.e. dots that are used for purpose of phonetic distinctions of consonants.

The Rohingya Fonna Unicode keyboard layout as well as a free font can be found here.

Rohingya Arabic script consonants - 39
[16][2][18]
ب پ ت ٹ ث ج
چ ح خ د ڈ ذ
ر ڑ ز س ش
ص ض ط ظ ع غ
ڠ ف ڤ ق ‌ ک‌ گ
‌ ل م ن ں و
ه ي

Letters in yellow boxes are solely used in loanwords. Letters in green boxes are uniquely Rohingya.

Rohingya Arabic script vowels - 6[16][2][18]
Short vowels
◌َ ◌ࣤ ◌ِ ◌ࣦ ◌ُ ◌ࣥ
Postnasalized vowels
◌ً ◌ࣧ ◌ٍ ◌ࣩ ◌ࣱ ◌ࣨ
◌ۡ ◌ّ
Rohingya Arabic script tone markers - 3[16][2][18]
◌࣪ / ◌࣭ ◌࣫ / ◌࣮‎ ◌࣬ / ◌࣯‎

Rohingya Latin script

In 1999 E.M. Siddique Basu was able to simplify the Rohingya writing using Latin letters. It is an intuitive writing system which can be learnt easily and is known as Rohingyalish or Rohingya Fonna that uses only 26 Roman letters, five accented vowels, and two additional Latin characters for retroflex and nasal sounds.

Rohingya Character Set-28
A a B b C c Ç ç D d E e F f
G g H h I i J j K k L l M m
N n Ñ ñ O o P p Q q R r S s
T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

Q, V, and X are used only for loan-words.[19]

The character set table of the Rohingya writing system uses the Latin letters shown above (ç and ñ with green background). The vowels are written both unaccented (aeiou) and accented (áéíóú). The use of c, ç and ñ is adapted to the language; c represents /ʃ/ (English sh), ç is the retroflex r ([ɽ]),[16] and ñ indicates a nasalised vowel (e.g., fañs /fãs/ 'five'). Crucially, these can all be accessed from an English keyboard, for example by using the English (US) International keyboard.

Names and pronunciation of letters
The names of the letters of the Latin Rohingya alphabet are similar to the names of the letters of the English alphabet.

Basic letters[19]
Grapheme Pronunciation Name
a /a/ ee
b /b/ bii
c /ʃ/ cii
ç /ɽ/ çii
d /d̪/ dii
e /e/ ii
f /f/ ef
g /g/ jii
h /h, x/ eech
i /i/ ai
j /ɟ/ jee
k /k/ kee
l /l/ el
m /m/ em
n /n/ en
ñ /◌̃/ (nasalization)
o /ɔ/ oou
p /p/ pii
q /q/ kyuu
r /r/ er
s /s/ es
t /t̪/ tii
u /u/ yuu
v /v/ vii
w /w/ dblyuu
x /ks/ eks
y /j/ way
z /z/ zed
Digraphs[citation needed]
Grapheme Pronunciation
ch /c/
dh /ɖ/
h' /h/
kh /x/
ng /ŋ/
ny /ɲ/
ou /o/
th /t̪/
ts /t̪/

Long vowels in Rohingyalish are spelled with double vowels: for example, a long /ɔ/ is spelled as "oo", while a long /o/ is spelled as "oou".[19]

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Rohingya of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with English, contrasted with versions of the text in Bengali and Assamese.[20]

Rohingya in Rohingya Latin alphabet :Manúic beggún azad hísafe, ar izzot arde hók ókkol ót, fúainna hísafe foida óiye. Fottí insán óttu honó forók sára elan ot aséde tamám hók ókkol arde azadi ókkol loi fáaida goróon ór hók asé. Ar, taráre dil arde demak diyé. Ótolla, taráttu ekzon loi arekzon bái hísafe maamela goróon saá.
Rohingya in Hanifi Script .𐴔𐴝𐴕𐴟𐴤𐴞𐴐 𐴁𐴠𐴒𐴧𐴟𐴤𐴕 𐴝𐴎𐴝𐴊 𐴇𐴞𐴤𐴏𐴝𐴉𐴠,. 𐴝𐴌 𐴞𐴎𐴧𐴡𐴃𐴝𐴌𐴊𐴠 𐴇𐴡𐴤𐴑 𐴡𐴤𐴑𐴧𐴡𐴓 𐴡𐴤𐴃, 𐴉𐴟𐴤𐴝𐴞𐴕𐴧𐴝 𐴇𐴞𐴤𐴏𐴝𐴉𐴠 𐴉𐴡𐴞𐴊𐴝 𐴡𐴤𐴞𐴘𐴠. 𐴉𐴡𐴃𐴧𐴞𐴤 𐴞𐴕𐴏𐴝𐴤𐴕 𐴡𐴤𐴃𐴧𐴟 𐴇𐴡𐴕𐴡𐴤 𐴉𐴡𐴌𐴡𐴤𐴑. 𐴏𐴝𐴤𐴌𐴝 𐴠𐴓𐴝𐴕 𐴡𐴃 𐴀𐴏𐴠𐴤𐴊𐴠 𐴃𐴝𐴔𐴝𐴤𐴔 𐴇𐴡𐴤𐴑 𐴡𐴤𐴑𐴧𐴡𐴓 𐴝𐴌𐴊𐴠 𐴝𐴎𐴝𐴊𐴞 𐴡𐴤𐴑𐴧𐴡𐴓 𐴓𐴡𐴞 𐴉𐴝𐴥𐴞𐴊𐴝 𐴒𐴡𐴌𐴡𐴥𐴕 𐴡𐴤𐴌 𐴇𐴡𐴤𐴑 𐴝𐴌, 𐴃𐴝𐴌𐴝𐴤𐴌𐴠, 𐴊𐴞𐴓 𐴝𐴌𐴊𐴠 𐴊𐴠𐴔𐴝𐴑 𐴊𐴞𐴘𐴠𐴤. 𐴡𐴤𐴃𐴡𐴓𐴧𐴝, 𐴃𐴝𐴌𐴝𐴤𐴃𐴧𐴟 𐴠𐴑𐴎𐴡𐴕 𐴓𐴡𐴞. 𐴝𐴌𐴠𐴑𐴎𐴡𐴕 𐴁𐴝𐴤𐴞 𐴇𐴞𐴤𐴏𐴝𐴉𐴠 𐴔𐴝𐴧𐴔𐴠𐴓𐴝 𐴒𐴡𐴌𐴡𐴥𐴕 𐴏𐴝𐴦.
Rohingya in Rohingya Arabic Script مَنُ࣪شۡ بࣦگُّ࣪نۡ اَزَدۡ حِ࣭سَفࣦ، اَرۡ عِزّࣤتۡ اَرۡدࣦ حࣤ࣪قۡ اࣤ࣪كّࣤلۡ اࣤ࣪تۡ، فُ࣪وَ࣪نَّ࣪ࢬ حِ࣭سَفࣦ فࣤيۡدَ اࣤ࣪يّࣦ. فࣤتِّ اِنۡسَ࣪نۡ اࣤ࣪تُّ هࣤنࣤ࣪ فࣤرࣤ࣪كۡ سَ࣪رَ࣪ عࣦلَنۡ اࣤتۡ اَسࣦ࣭دࣦ تَمَ࣪مۡ حࣤ࣪قۡ اࣤ࣪كّࣤلۡ اَرۡدࣦ اَزَدِ اࣤ࣪كّࣤلۡ لࣤيۡ فَ࣫يۡدَ࣪ گࣤرࣤ࣫نۡ اࣤ࣪رۡ حࣤ࣪قۡ اَسࣦ࣭. اَرۡ، تَرَ࣪رࣦ࣭ دِلۡ اَرۡدࣦ دࣦمَكۡ دِيࣦ࣭ اࣤ࣪تࣤ࣪لَّ، تَرَ࣪تُّ࣪ اࣦك زࣤنۡ لࣤيۡ اَرۡ اࣦكۡزࣤنۡ بَ࣪يۡ حِ࣭سَفࣦ مَامَلَ گࣤرࣤ࣫نۡ سَ࣬.
English original: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Bengali in Latin script Shômosto manush shadhinbhabe shôman môrjada ebong odhikar niye jônmogrohon kôre. Tãder bibek ebong buddhi achhe; shutorang shôkoleri êke ôporer proti bhratrittoshulobh mônobhab niye achôron kôra uchit.
Assamese in Latin script Xôkôlû manuhê sadhinbhawê xôman môrzôda aru ôdhikar lôi zônmôgrôhôn kôrê. Xihôtôr bibêk aru buddhi asê aru xihôtê pôrôspôr bhratrittôrê asôrôn kôribô lagê.

References

  1. ^ Rohingya at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b c d Muhammad Ibrahim, (2013) Rohingya Text Book I. رُحَ࣪ڠۡگِ࣭ࢬ فࣤنَّ࣪رۡ كِتَفۡ لࣤمۡبࣤ࣪رۡ (١), Published by Rohingya fonna
  3. ^ "Rohingya". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ What is Rohingyalish or Rohingya Language?, RohingyaLanguage.com, archived from the original on 31 July 2012, retrieved 11 June 2012
  5. ^ Rohingya Language, WorldLanguage.com, archived from the original on 25 March 2012, retrieved 11 June 2012
  6. ^ "The Linguistic Innovation Emerging From Rohingya Refugees." by Christine Ro. Forbes. 13 September 2019.Archived October 5, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d "Rohingya Language Rules". Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d "A brief grammar of Rohingya - Learn Rohingya". Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  9. ^ Kazi Mujibuddin bin Abul khair. روهنغيا قائده (in Arabic) – via Scribd.
  10. ^ "Rohingya alphabets, pronunciation and language". Omniglot. Simon Ager. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  11. ^ James, Ian (5 July 2012). "Hanifi alphabet for Rohingya". Sky Knowledge. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. ^ Rohingya Keyboard Pro
  13. ^ Rohingya Keyboard
  14. ^ Rohingya Virtual Keyboard
  15. ^ "Rohingya Language Academy". Archived from the original on 7 August 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Priest, Lorna A; Hosken, Martin; SIL International (12 August 2010). "Proposal to add Arabic script characters for African and Asian languages" (PDF). pp. 13–18, 34–37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2023.
  17. ^ Pandey, Anshuman (20 June 2012). "Preliminary Proposal to Encode the Rohingya Script" (PDF). Expanding Unicode. Anshuman Pandey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  18. ^ a b c Wolfram Siegel (2022-02-19) Rohingya Scripts https://omniglot.com/charts/rohingya.pdfArchived 2023-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ a b c "Rohingya alphabets, pronunciation and language". www.omniglot.com.
  20. ^ "OHCHR | Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Rohingya". OHCHR. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

External links

  • Rohingya Language Academy website
  • Rohingya Language Foundation website
  • English–Rohingya Dictionary
  • Rohingya font download
  • Tri-orthographic dictionary application Google Playstore
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