Qubee, answered

Qubee is the Latin-based alphabet used to write Afaan Oromo, the language of the Oromo people. It was formally adopted in 1991 and replaced the older Ge'ez-based spelling, which is why Oromo today is read and written in Qubee.

Qubee has 31 letters: the 26 Latin letters plus five digraphs — CH, DH, NY, PH and SH. Each digraph is one letter with one sound, so it is learned and traced as a single unit.

The Qubee alphabet runs A, B, C, CH, D, DH, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, NY, O, P, PH, Q, R, S, SH, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Each digraph sits right beside its plain letter, so C and CH are neighbours.

Afaan Oromo is spoken by more than 45 million people, mainly in Oromia in Ethiopia and also in Kenya and the diaspora, which makes it one of the largest languages in Africa.

Orominia is made for children learning their first letters, and for heritage learners of any age who want to read Qubee. Tracing gives a young child a big letter to follow with a finger, and the quiz and word games grow with a child who already knows the letters.

No. Every letter is spoken out loud and every word has a picture, so a child can play from the sound alone. The words are shown in Qubee, with the English meaning underneath for the parent.

Yes. Tracing, the letter sounds and progress live on the phone and work with no connection. Only the parent's email report needs the internet, and the app keeps that progress until it can send it.

The letter A is free to play all the way to the end. The rest of the letters unlock with one purchase or a subscription, and there are no ads inside the app.

Orominia is being prepared for the App Store on iPhone and iPad and for Google Play on Android. In the meantime the first letters play in your browser, so you can try the tracing and the sounds today.