Waynah Alphabet

Unified standard for writing Chechen-Ingush letters and sounds

Compatible with any EN keyboard
🎵 Click cards to hear pronunciation

Basic Alphabet (30 letters)

Aa
Sound: [a] - / eɪ /
aga - cradle
(as in father)
Bb
Sound: [b] - / biː /
bay - grass
(as in boy)
Dd
Sound: [d] - / diː /
dama - flour
(as in dog)
Ee
Sound: [e] - / iː /
ela - grand duke
(as in bed)
Ff
Sound: [f] - / ef /
ford - sea
(as in fine)
Gg
Sound: [g] - / dʒiː /
gomash - buffalo
(as in go)
Hh
Sound: [h] - / eɪtʃ /
haj - look
(as in hat)
Ii
Sound: [i] - / aɪ /
itu - iron
(as in machine)
Jj
Sound: [dʒ] - / dʒeɪ /
jijig - meat
(as in adze)
Kk
Sound: [k] - / keɪ /
kutam - chicken
(as in kite)
Ll
Sound: [l] - / el /
lam - mountain
(as in lamp)
Mm
Sound: [m] - / em /
moz - honey
(as in man)
Nn
Sound: [n] - / en /
nuy - oak
(as in net)
Oo
Sound: [o] - / əʊ /
oram - root
(as in not)
Pp
Sound: [p] - / piː /
pen - wall
(as in spin)
Rr
Sound: [r] - / ɑː /
rag'u - shed
(as in red)
Ss
Sound: [s] - / es /
say - deer
(as in sun)
Tt
Sound: [t] - / tiː /
top - hand gun
(as in stop)
Uu
Sound: [u] - / juː /
uram - street
(as in put)
Vv
Sound: [v] - / viː /
vota - drum
(as in voice)
Ww
Sound: [w] - / ˈdʌbəljuː /
wosha - brother
(as in water)
Yy
Sound: [j] - / waɪ /
waynah - Chechen
(as in yes)
Zz
Sound: [z] - / zed /
zayla - pan
(as in zoo)
Ya
Sound: [ja]
yamart - vile
(as in yard)
Ye
Sound: [je]
yehk - comb
(as in yes)
Yo
Sound: [jo]
yol - hay
(as in yoghurt)
Yu
Sound: [ju]
yurg'a - blanket
(as in use)
Ts
Sound: [ts]
tsatsa - sieve
(as in cats)
Ch
Sound: [tʃ]
cham - taste
(as in church)
Sh
Sound: [ʃ]
shovda - source
(as in ship)
⚠️

Important: C, Q, and X are auxiliary letters and are not used independently in the basic vocabulary, except for loanwords.

Waynah Sounds

'

Apostrophe

After letter (Abrupt pronunciation)

a'
a’
winter
g'
g’alg’a
Ingush
k'
k'
sin
p'
p'elg
finger
t'
t'ara
palm
h'
h'o
you
yu'
yu'hk
stump
ts'
ts'azam
strawberry
ch'
ch'ug
ring
Q

Q-modifier is silent

Before letter (Deep sound)

qa
qashkal
shovel
qk
qka
wheat
qo
qozd
polite
qh
qhoa'
egg
kh
khokha
dove
qu
quyri
morning
💡

Reading Rule

Q/q before a letter and an apostrophe (') after it indicate the need for Waynah articulation of the phoneme. When reading, the sound of the main, anchor letter is always realized, which stands after q — (qa) or before the apostrophe (') — (k‘).

Additional Phonetic Reference

The alphabet has 30 letters. Seven graphemes — Ya, Ye, Yo, Yu, Ch, Sh, Ts — are treated as single units in this orthography. Their pronunciation is generally familiar to readers used to the Latin alphabet and closely corresponds to the respective Waynah sounds; however, exact pronunciation is determined by the phonological system of the language.

C / c

Not used in basic orthography, except for the grapheme ch.

Q / q

Silent modifier. Appears only before a, k, o, h, u.

X / x

Used only in borrowed words.

The Waynah language includes 15 phonemic sounds:

  • Fourteen of them are written as modified graphemes: a base letter combined with an apostrophe (’) or a Q/q modifier.
  • One phoneme is denoted by the digraph kh.
Q/q Rule

Q/q has no independent sound value and is not pronounced. It is placed before the base letter and functions as a silent orthographic modifier.

Apostrophe Rule (')

Written after base letters (a’, g’, k’, p’, t’, h’, yu’, ts’, ch’). Both markers (Q/q and ’) signal that the written form represents a specific Waynah phoneme.

Sounds with apostrophe (a’, g’, k’, p’, t’, yu’, ts’, ch’)

Perceived as more abrupt. Include strong consonant emphasis.

Sound H'

A separate modified guttural sound, does not belong to the ejective series.

Sound Kh

Consonant sound, should not be interpreted as fricative [x]. Requires practice.

The word "is"

In Waynah, as in English, it means "this/is" and is read as [iz].

Digital Applicability

Keyboard Compatibility
Mobile Simplicity
IT Integration
Accessibility

Learning the Waynah alphabet based on Latin letters offers a double benefit: mastering phonetics and improving English skills.

Project Rationale

📉

Problem

Currently, we lack a unified writing system, and the language is on the path to extinction. This especially concerns second and third-generation children outside of Russia.

Risk of identity loss.

🚀

Solution

A Waynah alphabet based on English script. This will allow the community to communicate in their native language using a common European basis.

Integration without assimilation.

Key Advantages

English as a base Global communication Ease of teaching children No special symbols Unity of Chechen and Ingush

© 2024 Waynah Alphabet Project. Let's save the language for future generations.