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SaLon Krio Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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1. Why should I join this group?
   Salon Krio is not a group or club that you have to join. It is a website focused on advocating for the reading and writing of the Krio language. You can sign up on this website so that when you participate by posting questions or comments, everyone can know who you are.  If you choose, you can make donations to support the website and its various projects, or volunteer your time or skills to help manage the site.
    

2. Why can’t we just use the English alphabet for writing Krio?
   The English alphabet is not entirely phonetic and each character can take different sounds depending on their position in a word or the meaning of the word. In Krio, the character set (or orthography) is phonetic which means that each character is always pronounced the same way. When Sierra Leoneans try to write in Krio, they tend to try to use the English rules for spelling and pronunciation, which are non-phonetic. Since there is no standardization, their writings in Krio can be confusing and very difficult to read.
    

3. Where can I find the correct spelling for Krio words?
   This site of course! Otherwise, we recommend the Krio Dictionary by Fyle & Jones. Unfortunately, this dictionary is no longer in print but some printers in Freetown can print a copy since Sierra Leone University Press has the copyright. The Salon Krio group is looking into other possible options for making the dictionary more widely available.
    

4. How can I improve my reading and writing of Krio?
   The mission of the SLK website is to provide training and materials that you can use to learn and improve your reading and writing of Krio. We also plan to provide articles and essays in Krio that you can use to improve your reading and writing of the language.
    

5. I have an English or French name. How do I write it in Krio?
   When writing Krio, it is acceptable to use the original spelling of a name, place or other proper nouns.  However, we also encourage you to use the Krio spelling which will give a more accurate indication of how the word is pronounced in Krio.
    

6. I do not have a keyboard with the Krio symbols, ɛɔŋ. How can I write Krio?
   We recommend that you make a copy of these three letters and copy and paste them into your text as you are writing. If you are writing a long article or a lot of text, we suggest that you use the following as placeholders. Eh for ɛ, or for ɔ and ng for ŋ. When you complete your writing, you can do a global find and replace of these placeholders with the correct symbols.
    

7. Where can I get a Krio keyboard?
   There are a number of options for getting keyboards. Since you only need a few characters, we recommend the simplest and free keyboards. We will keep this list updated as we become aware of other options.

   1. African Keyboard​

   2. Phonetic Keyboard

   3. Kasahorow for Android phones

   4. Nkyea for iPhone

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