Mfumte language

Eastern Grassfields language of Cameroon
Mfumte
RegionCameroon
EthnicityMfumte
Native speakers
(24,700 Mfumte dialect cited 1982)[1]
6,000 Kwaja and Ndaktup (2000), unknown number Fum
Language family
Niger–Congo?
  • Atlantic–Congo
    • Benue–Congo
      • Southern Bantoid
        • Grassfields
          • Eastern
            • Nkambe
              • Mfumte
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
nfu – Mfumte
fum – Fum
kdz – Kwaja (East Mfumte)
Glottologmfum1239  Mfumteic
fumm1238  Fum

Mfumte (Nfumte) is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon. It is not clear if the four varieties spoken by ethnic Mfumte—Ndaktup, Kwaja, Fum and Mfumte proper—are mutually intelligible or distinct languages; ability to communicate may be either due to inherent intelligibility or to bilingualism, while Fum and Mfumte may simply be the Nigerian and Cameroonian names for the same language.

Orthography

The Mfumte alphabet has 40 letters, with 30 consonants and 10 vowels.[2]

Alphabet

Mfumte alphabet[2]
Capital Lowercase IPA
Phoneme Allophones
A a /a/ [a]
B b /b/ [b]
Ch ch /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃ]
D d /d/ [d]
Dz dz /d͡z/ [d͡z]
E e /e/ [e], [ɛ]
Ə ə /ə/ [ə]
F f /f/ [f]
G g /g/ [g]
Gb gb /gb/ [gb]
Gh gh /ɣ/ [ɣ]
H h /h/ [h]
’ ’ [ʔ]
I i /i/ [i]
Ɨ ɨ /ɯ/ [ɯ]
J j /d͡ʒ/ [d͡ʒ]
K k /k/ [k]
Kp kp /kp/ [kp]
L l /l/ [l]
M m /m/ [m]
N n /n/ [n]
Ny ny /ɲ/ [ɲ]
Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/ [ŋ]
O o /o/ [o]
Ɔ ɔ /ɔ/ [ɔ]
Ø ø /ø/ [ø]
P p /p/ [p]
R r /ɾ/ [ɾ]
S s /s/ [s]
Sh sh /ʃ/ [ʃ]
T t /t/ [t]
Ts ts /t͡s/ [t͡s]
U u /u/ [u]
Ʉ ʉ /y/ [y]
V v /v/ [v]
W w /w/ [w]
Wy wy /ɥ/ [ɥ]
Y y /j/ [j]
Z z /z/ [z]
Zh zh /ʒ/ [ʒ]

Multigraphs

In addition to the single phonemes, Mfumte has prenasalized, palatalized, labio-palatalized, labialized, and velarized consonants.

Mfumte multigraphs[2]
Capital Lowercase IPA
Mp mp /ᵐp/
Mb mb /ᵐb/
Nt nt /ⁿt/
Nd nd /ⁿd/
Nk nk /ᵑk/
Ng ng /ᵑɡ/
Nkp nkp /ᵑᵐkp/
Ngb ngb /ᵑᵐgb/
Nts nts /ⁿt͡s/
Ndz ndz /ⁿd͡z/
Nj nj /ⁿd͡ʒ/
Mf mf /ᶬf/
Mv mv /ᶬv/
Ns ns /ⁿs/
Nsh nsh /ⁿʃ/
Ngh ngh /ᵑɣ/
Nh nh /ᵑh/
Py py /pʲ/
By by /bʲ/
Ky ky /kʲ/
Gy gy /gʲ/
Hy hy /hʲ/
Mpy mpy /ᵐpʲ/
Mby mby /ᵐbʲ/
Nky nky /ᵑkʲ/
Ngy ngy /ᵑgʲ/
Mfy mfy /ᶬfʲ/
Nghy nghy /ᵑɣʲ/
Nhy nhy /ᵑhʲ/
Hwy hwy /hᶣ/
Nhwy nhwy /ᵑhᶣ/
Nghwy nghwy /ᵑɣᶣ/
Pw pw /pʷ/
Kw kw /kʷ/
Gw gw /gʷ/
Fw fw /fʷ/
Hw hw /hʷ/
Nyw nyw /ɲʷ/
Nw nw /nʷ/
Nkw nkw /ᵑkʷ/
Ngw ngw /ᵑgʷ/
Nghw nghw /ᵑɣʷ/
Nhw nhw /ᵑhʷ/
Bw bw /bᶭ/
Mbw mbw /ᵐbᶭ/

References

  1. ^ Mfumte at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Fum at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Kwaja (East Mfumte) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c Eyoh, Julius A.; Hedinger, Robert (June 2008). "Mfumte Orthography Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-16. Retrieved March 15, 2018.

External links

  • A Sketch Grammar of the Central Mfumte Language An introduction to the Mfumte language and a description of its grammar rules
  • Conflict Resolution Systems in Wulí’ Culture A description of language conflict including the Mfumte language
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