Sgaw Karen

Introduction

Characters

Page 1

Consonant Clusters

Vowels

Tones

Page 2

Reference Page

g
-k
- gh
- hk
- ng
-s
- hs
- sh
- ny
-t
- ht
-d
-n
-p
- hp
-b
-m
-y
-r
-l
-w
- th
-h
- (not written)
- ahh

-r
- ch
-j
-l
-y
- mw
- hsg
- hpw
- sg
- pw
- bw
-w
- gh
- di
- maw
- uh
- ah
- eh
- ay
- ee
- oo
-u
- oh
- aw
no vowel - a
Page 3

Exercise 1
Handwriting Practice 1- Consonants
Directions: Write each consonant 10 times. Repeat the consonant sound after writing each
character.

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Page 4

______________________________
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Page 5

Exercise 1
Handwriting Practice 2 - Consonant Clusters and Vowels
Directions: Write each consonant 10 times. Repeat the consonant sound after writing each
character.

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______________________________
_____________________________
______________________________
_______________________________
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______________________________
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______________________________
Page 6

________________________________
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Page 7

Exercise 2
Directions: Put the characters in there correct order. Try to repeat each letter out loud
as you write them down.

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Page 8

Exercise 3
Directions: Fill in the missing characters. Don't forget to repeat each character sound
as you fill in the characters.

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Page 9

__

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Exercise 4
Directions: Put these characters in alphabetical order. Reapeat each character as you
write them.

__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
Page 10

Lesson 1
Letter, vowel, and tone pronunciation
A consonant always ends in a vowel sound. If a vowel is attached to the consonant it
will end with the attached vowel sound. If NO tone and no vowel the consonant will end
in an "UH" sound. If there is a tone and no vowel the consonant will end in an "AH"
sound.

Tones
When the following tones are added it will look as follows phonetically in English.

= gee
= gee
= gee
= gee
_
= gee

Example:
g

gaw
+ aw = gaw

(consonant and tone)

g +
(consonant and NO tone)

(tone)

gah
= g + ah = gah
__

guh
+ (no tone) = g + uh = guh

Page 11

Exercise 1
Practicing Sounds 1
Directions: Each example will have a consonant and vowel sound. Write each example
out phonetically. Practice the sound out loud while looking at the Karen characters. Feel
free to use your reference page on page 3.
Example:

l + ah = lah
___ + ___ =
___ + ___ =

___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =

___+___= ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
___ + ___ = ___ + ___ =
Page 12

Exercise 1 cont.
Practicing Sounds 2
Directions: Each example will have a consonant or consonant and tone. Write each
example out phonetically. Remember when a consonant does not have a tone it will
end in an "uh" sound. If the consonant has a tone it will end in an "ah" sound. Do not
forget to place the correct accent mark when a tone follows a character. Remember,
after you write out the word phonetically look at the Karen word and repeat the
pronunciation of the word.
Example:

g + (tone) = gah
___ + ___ = ____

___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____

___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
___ + ___= ___ + ___ = ____
Page 13

Exercise 2
Spelling Words
Directions: Write out each example phonetically in. Make sure you have the correct
consonant and vowel sound. Place the correct accent for each tone that is added. This
exercise will help you to read Karen words. Remember, after you write out the word
phonetically look at the Karen word and repeat the pronunciation of the word.
________

Example:

yuh hoh wah

_______________ (dog)
________________ (and; with)
__________________ (go)
________________ ( I; me)
_________________ (many)
__________________ (see)
__________________ (have) (to have in your possesion)
__________________ (can) (you can do something)
__________________ (come)
_________________ (all)
__________________ (person)
_________________ (how)
_________________ (moon, month)
__________________ (flower)

Page 14

Lesson 2

Greetings
ghaw luh uh ghay
Good morning! Because there is no formal word for hello, it is the
custom to greet a person based on the time of day. Good morning is commonly used
between sunrise and 12:00 p.m.

Exercise 1 -

Write

Directions: Write the phrase "good morning" as written. Practice repeating out
loud as you complete each phrase.

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Page 15

Exercise 2
Circle the correct letters
Directions: Circle the correct letters that complete to phrase
Make sure you remember to look for the correct letters, vowels, and tones.

Page 16

Exercise 3

Greetings
nee luh uh ghay

Good afternoon! This phrase is commonly used between the hours of

12:00p and 3:00p.

Directions: Write the phrase "good afternoon" as written. Practice repeating out loud as

you complete each phrase.

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Page 17

Exercise 4
Directions: Fill in the missing letters.
Remember to look for consonants, vowels, and
or tones.
Here is the phrase:

Directions: Circle the following phrase that is spelled incorrectly. Make sure you look
carefully.

__ _
_ __ __ __ _

__

__ __

__ _

Page 18

__ __ _

Exercise 5

Greetings
hah luh uh ghay

Good evening! This phrase is commonly used between the hours of

3:00p and 7:00p.
Directions: Write the phrase "good evening" as written. Practice repeating out loud as
you complete each phrase.

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Page 19

Exercise 6
Directions: WORD SEARCH. Find the phrase
can.

Page 20

as many times as you

Exercise 7

Greetings
nah luh uh ghay
Good night! In the English language this phrase is used to say
goodbye or sleep well. This is not how it is used in the Karen language. This term is
simply another form of good evening and is commonly used after 7:00p.
Directions: Write the phrase "good night" as written. Practice repeating out loud as you
complete each phrase.

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Page 21

Exercise 8
Directions: For each picture write the correct greeting underneath.

Page 22

Lesson 3
Introductions

What is your name?

My name is

My name is Eh Mu.

My name is Eh Ku Paw.

My name is Mah Theh

Page 23

Exercise 1

Write the following phrases.

means My
means Name
means is

Fill in the blank: What is your name?

Write your name here.

Page 24

My name is

Exercise 2
Fill the missing words.

Page 25