Editing Zarma language (section)

== Orthography ==

Zarma is primarily written in either [[Latin alphabet]] or [[Arabic alphabet]] ([[Ajami script|Ajami]]). Zarma as well as other [[Songhay languages]], and other indigenous languages of the [[Sahel]] such as [[Fula language|Fula]] and [[Hausa language|Hausa]] have been written in Arabic alphabet for centuries. The tradition of writing in Arabic dates back to the arrival of Islam via merchants of the [[Trans-Saharan trade]], as early as the 12th century. The tradition of Arabic script in the [[Sahel]] and Sub-Saharan Africa came to be known as [[Ajami script|Ajami]]. [[Ajami script|Ajami]] has its own unique characteristics across various languages that differ from the [[Perso-Arabic script|Perso-Arabic]] tradition or [[Jawi script|Jawi]] tradition of Southeast Asia for example.

Latin alphabet came to be used for Zarma and other indigenous languages of the region in the beginning of the 19th century with the arrival of European Christian Missionaries and colonial administrators.

===Latin alphabet===

Table below illustrates the letters used in the Zarma Latin alphabet:

{|class="wikitable"
|+ Zarma Songhay Latin Alphabet (Niger)
|-
| A a || B b || C c || D d || E e || F f || G g || H h || I i || J j || K k || L l || M m 
|-
| {{IPAblink|a}} || {{IPAblink|b}} || {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}} || {{IPAblink|d}} || {{IPAblink|e}} || {{IPAblink|f}} || {{IPAblink|ɡ}} || {{IPAblink|h}} || {{IPAblink|i}} || {{IPAblink|ɟ}} || {{IPAblink|k}} || {{IPAblink|l}} || {{IPAblink|m}}
|-
| N n || Ɲ ɲ || Ŋ ŋ || O o || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u || W w || Y y || Z z 
|-
| {{IPAblink|n}} || {{IPAblink|ɲ}} || {{IPAblink|ŋ}} || {{IPAblink|o}} || {{IPAblink|p}} || {{IPAblink|r}} || {{IPAblink|s}} || {{IPAblink|t}} || {{IPAblink|u}} || {{IPAblink|w}} || {{IPAblink|j}} || {{IPAblink|z}}
|}

Nasal vowels are written with a tilde or a following {{angbr|n}} or {{angbr|ŋ}}. Officially, the tilde should go under the vowel (''so̰ho̰''), but many current works write the tilde over the vowel (''sõhõ'').<ref name=arrete1999>{{cite web |url=http://www.songhay.org/fr/documents/grammaire/Guide_Niger.pdf |title=Arrêté n°0215/MEN/SP-CNRE du 19 octobre 1999 fixant l'orthographe de la langue soŋay-zarma |last=Hamidou |first= Seydou Hanafiou |date= 19 October 1999 |publisher=Département de linguistique et des langues nationales, Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref> Also, [[v]] may be used in a few words of foreign origin, but many Zarma cannot pronounce it.

Most of the letters are pronounced with the same values as the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)]], the exceptions being {{angbr|j}} {{IPAblink|ɟ}} (approximately English ''j'' but more palatalized), {{angbr|y}} {{IPAblink|j}}, {{angbr|r}} {{IPAblink|ɾ}} (a flap). The letter {{IPAalink|c}} is approximately like English ''ch'' but more palatalized. The palatal nasal {{IPAalink|ɲ}} is spelled {{angbr|ny}} in older works.

Long consonants are written with double letters; {{angbr|rr}} is a trilled {{IPAblink|r}}. Long vowels are sometimes but inconsistently written with double letter. In older works, {{IPA|/c/}} was spelled {{angbr|ky}} or {{angbr|ty}}. Both {{angbr|n}} and {{angbr|m}} are pronounced as a labiodental nasal {{IPAblink|ɱ}} before {{angbr|f}}.

[[Tone (linguistics)|Tone]] is not written unless the word is ambiguous. Then, the standard IPA diacritics are used: ''bá'' ("to be a lot": high tone), ''bà'' ("to share": low tone), ''bâ'' ("to want" or "even": falling tone) and ''bǎ'' ("to be better": rising tone). However, the meaning is almost always unambiguous in the context so the words are usually all written ''ba''.

===Arabic alphabet===

Table below illustrates the Arabic (Ajami) alphabet for Zarma, based on [[UNESCO|UNESCO.BREDA]] report on standardization of Arabic script in published in 1987 in [[Bamako]].<ref name="chtatou">Chtatou, M. (1992). Using Arabic script in writing the languages of the peoples of Muslim africa. Institute of African Studies. [https://www.academia.edu/40381457/Using_Arabic_script_in_writing_the_languages_of_the_peoples_of_Muslim_Africa_Mohamed_Chtatou_1992_]</ref><ref name="unicode">{{cite book | language = en | first1 = Jonathan | last1 = Kew | title = Proposal to encode Arabic-script letters for African languages | date = 2 June 2003  |  url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03168-african-chars.pdf }}</ref>

Arabic alphabet for Songhay languages in [[Niger]] differs in 5 characters from that of [[Mali]]. Otherwise, the two orthographies are the same, especially in how vowels are written.

{|class="wikitable Unicode" dir="rtl"
|+ Zarma Arabic alphabet (Niger)<ref name="chtatou"/><ref name="unicode"/>
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ا}}</span><br><small>‌( - )</small><br>{{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ب}}</span><br><small>(B b)</small><br>{{IPAblink|b}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݒ}}</span><br><small>(P p)</small><br>{{IPAblink|p}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ت}}</span><br><small>(T t)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t}}   
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ث}}</span><br><small>(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ج}}</span><br><small>(J j)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɟ}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݘ}}</span><br><small>(C c)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ح}}</span><br><small>(H h)</small><br>{{IPAblink|h}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|خ}}</span><br><small>(Kh kh)</small><br>{{IPAblink|x}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|د}}</span><br><small>(D d)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ذ}}</span><br><small>(Z z)</small><br>{{IPAblink|z}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ر}}</span><br><small>(R r)</small><br>{{IPAblink|r}} 
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ز}}</span><br><small>(Z z)</small><br>{{IPAblink|z}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|س}}</span><br><small>(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ش}}</span><br><small>(Š š)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʃ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ص}}</span><br><small>(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ض}}</span><br><small>(D d)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ط}}</span><br><small>(T t)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t}}
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ظ}}</span><br><small>(Z z)</small><br>{{IPAblink|z}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ع}}</span><br><small>( - )</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|غ}}</span><br><small>(G g)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɡ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݞ}}</span><br><small>(Ŋ ŋ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ŋ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ف}}</span><br><small>(F f)</small><br>{{IPAblink|f}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ق}}</span><br><small>(K k)</small><br>{{IPAblink|k}}
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ك}}</span><br><small>(K k)</small><br>{{IPAblink|k}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ل}}</span><br><small>(L l)</small><br>{{IPAblink|l}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|م}}</span><br><small>(M m)</small><br>{{IPAblink|m}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ن}}</span><br><small>(N n)</small><br>{{IPAblink|n}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ٽ}}</span><br><small>(Ɲ ɲ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɲ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ه}}</span><br><small>(H h)</small><br>{{IPAblink|h}} 
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|و}}</span><br><small>(W w)</small><br>{{IPAblink|w}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ؤ}}</span><br><small>( - )</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʔ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ي}}</span><br><small>(Y y)</small><br>{{IPAblink|j}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ئ}}</span><br><small>( - )</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʔ}}   
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowel at the beginning of a word 
|-
! A || E || I || O || U
|-
! colspan="5"|Short Vowels
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اَ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اٜ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اِ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣷ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اُ}}</span>
|-
! colspan="5"|Long Vowels
|-
! Aa || Ee || Ii || Oo || Uu
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|آ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اٜيـ / اٜي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اِيـ / اِي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣷو}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|اُو}}</span>
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowel at the middle or end of a word 
|-
! a || e || i || o ||u
|-
! colspan="5"|Short Vowels
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌َ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ٜ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ِ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣷ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ُ}}</span>
|-
! colspan="5"|Long Vowels
|-
! aa || ee || ii || oo || uu
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌َا / ◌َـا}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ٜيـ / ◌ٜـيـ}}<br>{{Script/Arabic|◌ٜي / ◌ٜـي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ِيـ / ◌ِـيـ}}<br>{{Script/Arabic|◌ِي / ◌ِـي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣷو / ◌ࣷـو}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:160%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ُو / ◌ُـو}}</span>
|}

===Sample text===
Below is a sample text, Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref>Omniglot, Zarma [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/zarma.htm https://www.omniglot.com/writing/zarma.htm]</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! English Translation
| 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.
|-
! Latin Alphabet
| Fayanka kulu no si adamayzey nda care game ra i burcintara nda i alhakey ce-diraw kayandiyaŋ fondo ra da i na i hay. I gonda lakkal, nda laasaabu, kaŋ ga naŋ i ma baafunay ɲayzetaray haali ra.
|-
! Arabic Alphabet
| dir="rtl"|<span style="font-size:130%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|فَيَنْكَ كُلُ نࣷ سِ اَدَمَيْزٜيْ نْدَ ݘَرٜ غَمٜ رَ اِ بُرݘِنْتَرَ نْدَ اِ اَلحَقٜيْ ݘٜدِرَوْ كَيَنْدِیَݞْ فࣷنْدࣷ رَ دَ اِ نَ اِ حَيْ. اِ غࣷنْدَ لَكَّلْ، نْدَ لَاسَابُ، كَݞْ غَ نَݞْ اِ مَ بَافُنَيْ ٽَيْزٜتَرَيْ حَالِ رَ.}}</span>
|}