Kirangi (Langi) Alphabet

Kirangi, called Kɨlaangi in Unicode's CLDR Langi locale data (code lag), has seven vowels where Swahili has five. The two extra ones are written with a bar through the letter: ɨ is a vowel between i and e, and ʉ a vowel between u and o. They are full letters, not decorations. In the Rangi alphabet, ɨ follows i and ʉ follows u; acute accents mark high tone selectively rather than forming separate letters. Their capitals are Ɨ and Ʉ, which is why CLDR place names such as Ʉgáanda (Uganda), Ʉjerumáani (Germany) and Ʉfaráansa (France) begin with Ʉ.

The Rangi writing system uses the Latin script, with seven vowels and twenty-two consonants. Consonant spellings include the digraphs ch, ng’, ny and sh; c occurs only in ch, and q and x are not part of the standard orthography. The symbol grid above contains characters used to spell Rangi as well as other Latin characters, the combining acute for ɨ́ and ʉ́, curly quotation marks and the 🇹🇿 flag.

Kirangi accents: high tone and long vowels

Kirangi is tonal. Rangi orthography marks underlying high tone with acute accents selectively, and CLDR’s Langi names include Kéenya, Burúundi and Shilíingi ya Taansanía (the Tanzanian shilling). Long vowels are written by doubling the letter: the aa in Taansanía, the ee in Kéenya. That is why a Langi word can look so different from its Swahili twin: Swahili Kiingereza (English) is Kɨɨngeréesa, Jumapili (Sunday) is Jumapíiri, Somalia is Somália.

The barred vowels can carry high tone too, but Unicode has no single character for ɨ́ or ʉ́. They are built from two code points, the letter followed by U+0301 combining acute accent, as in CLDR’s Dóola ya Amerɨ́ka (US dollar), Kósita Rɨ́ɨka (Costa Rica) and Pwetorɨ́ɨko (Puerto Rico). Copy the accent from the grid and paste it straight after the ɨ or ʉ.

How to type ɨ, ʉ, Ɨ, Ʉ and the accented vowels

The barred letters are on no standard keyboard, so the quickest way is to copy them here. In Microsoft Word on Windows, type the code and press Alt+X: 0268 gives ɨ, 0197 gives Ɨ, 0289 gives ʉ, 0244 gives Ʉ, and 0301 after a letter adds the combining acute. On a Mac, add the Unicode Hex Input source in Keyboard settings, then hold Option and type the same four digits. In HTML write ɨ, Ɨ, ʉ, Ʉ and ́.

The plain accented vowels are easy. On Windows hold Alt and type 0225 for á, 0233 for é, 0237 for í, 0243 for ó, 0250 for ú (0193, 0201, 0205, 0211, 0218 for the capitals), or switch to the US-International layout and press ' before the vowel. On a Mac, press Option+E and then the vowel. On a phone, long-press a, e, i, o or u. For ɨ and ʉ on a phone, save them once as text-replacement shortcuts (iPhone: Settings, General, Keyboard, Text Replacement; Gboard: personal dictionary) so that typing, say, i- turns into ɨ.

Where the Kirangi (Rangi) language is spoken

Kirangi is the language of the Rangi people (Warangi) of Kondoa District in Dodoma Region, central Tanzania, the hill country once known as Irangi, which is why the town still appears as Kondoa Irangi. CLDR estimates roughly 590,000 speakers, all in Tanzania, and many of them also speak Swahili, the national language; Kirangi borrows Swahili words for some modern things and fits them to its own sounds.

Rangi is a Bantu language whose closest relative is Mbugwe, spoken further north near Lake Manyara. Its neighbours around Kondoa are not Bantu at all: the Cushitic languages Burunge and Alagwa, and Sandawe, a language with click consonants. Do not confuse it with the Langi of northern Uganda, whose language, Lango, is Nilotic and unrelated. For the country's flag, the shilling and Tanzanian emoji see the Tanzania collection; other Tanzanian languages on fsymbols, such as Kipare (Asu), Bena and Kimachame, manage with plain letters, which makes Kirangi's ɨ and ʉ stand out.

Kirangi words in Unicode's own data

The days of the week follow Swahili with Kirangi tones and lengths: Jumapíiri, Jumatátu, Jumaíne, Jumatáano, Alamíisi, Ijumáa, Jumamóosi. The months are Kirangi's own: Kʉfúngatɨ, Kʉnaanɨ, Kʉkeenda, Kwiikumi, Kwiinyambála, Kwiidwaata, Kʉmʉʉnchɨ, Kʉvɨɨrɨ, Kʉsaatʉ, Kwiinyi, Kʉsaano, Kʉsasatʉ, January to December. Several of them seem to echo number words: Kʉvɨɨrɨ, Kʉsaatʉ, Kwiinyi and Kʉsaano (August to November) resemble the Bantu words for two, three, four and five (Swahili mbili, tatu, nne, tano), and Kwiikumi (April) resembles kumi, ten.

Quarters of the year are Ncholo ya 1 to Ncholo ya 4, and the era names are Kɨrɨsitʉ sɨ anavyaal (KSA, before Christ) and Kɨrɨsitʉ akavyaalwe (KA, after Christ). Prices are written with the currency first, TSh 1,000.00, with a comma between thousands and a full stop for decimals.