I have started writing in Afaan Oromo. I actually have written in it since the beginning of my tutoring sessions with my language partner. When we are in our sessions, I have a notebook with me and in it, I write the sentences, and vocabulary we practice. However, because I am writing fast in order to keep up some of my writing is not correct. What I found works for me is to go back to what I've written and vocalize the sentences and rewrite them correctly, and then check my work. This helps me associate certain phonetic sounds with letters. For example, at the beginning of the semester, the Afaan Oromo sound of "dh", which is only seen in three other languages, was incredibly difficult for me to hear let alone write. As time went on, I found myself identifying the places where, when I or my language partner spoke, the sound was used. Right now, I have difficulty differentiating between the "k" and "q" sounds which consequently affects my writing. With that being said, I have not really started to write and form my own complex sentences-which is in alignment with language goals because writing was my last priority in terms of prioritizing speaking, listening, reading, and writing. From my experience with writing Afaan Oromo however, I have picked up on the structures that permeate the language. I am lucky that my target language uses the Latin alphabet referred to as 'Qubee" which makes learning to write and read significantly less difficult. In writing, there are 'long vowels' and 'short vowels' which is indicative of if when writing if it is written with a double vowel or one vowel. Additionally, unlike English, Oromiffia is structured as a 'subject-object-verb' whereas in English the verb precedes the object. In Oromiffia, an adjective comes after the noun it is describing unlike in English where the adjective comes before. Here is some writing I have done in Afaan Oromo:
Ganama ganam saatii sagal kaa'a, ilkan ragahde, fi fuula dhiquada. Sanaboda ufata koo jijiredegn, chireko nyada, fi mana barumsa koo deemia.
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