Beti - Béti
< Berber | Major Languages | Chewa, Nyanja >
Categories: Languages, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, NW CongoRep
On this page... (hide)
- 1. Classification / Classification
- 2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
- 3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
- 4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
- 5. Usage / Utilisation
- 6. Orthography / Orthographe
- 7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
- 8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
- 9. Comments / Remarques
- 10. References / Références
Ewondo, Fang, Bulu, Bebel, Bebil, Eton, Mengisa
1. Classification / Classification
Beti is a language group including several interintelligible languages: Ewondo, Fang, Bulu, Bebel, Bebil, Eton, and Mengisa.
Ethnologue? no longer classifies Beti as a language. It had listed its classification as: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Northwest, A, Yaunde-Fang (A.70)
2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
Ewondo, Bulu, and Eton are spoken in southern Cameroon (Ewondo: parts of Center province and South province; Bulu: parts of South, Center, and East provinces; Eton: part of Center province). (Ethnologue)
Fang is spoken in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Gabon. Some speakers in Congo and Sao Tome e Principe.
Ewondo, a dialect of the Beti language group, is the most widely spoken dialect in Cameroon. (NALRC)
3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
According to information compiled from Ethnologue (accessed 2007):
- Beti: 2,000,000. Population includes Fang, Ewondo, Bulu, Mengisa, etc.
- Ewondo: 577,700 in Cameroon (1982 SIL).
- Fang
- 258,722 in Equatorial Guinea (2000 WCD)
- 110,552 in Cameroon (2000 WCD)
- 61,504 in Gabon (2000 WCD)
- 6,037 in Congo (2000 WCD). Few speakers in Congo
- Population total all countries: 450,586
- Bulu:
- 174,000 in Cameroon (1982 SIL).
- 800,000 second-language speakers (1991 UBS)
- Bebele: 24,000 in Cameroon (1971 Welmers)
- Bebil: 6,000 in Cameroon (1991 SIL)
- Eton: 52,000 in Cameroon (1982 SIL)
- Mengisa: 20,000 in Cameroon (1979 SIL)
Wikipedia cites a figure of 858,000 first-language speakers of Fang.
4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
According to Ethnologue Beti "consists of a set of 'languages' (Bebele, Bebil, Bulu, Eton, Ewondo, Fang, Mengisa) which are partially intelligible but ethnically distinct." These and their dialects are as follows:
- Ewondo
- Badjia (Bakjo)
- Bafeuk
- Bamvele (Mvele, Yezum, Yesoum)
- Bane
- Beti
- Fong
- Mbida-Bani
- Mvete
- Mvog-Niengue
- Omvang
- Yabekolo (Yebekolo)
- Yabeka
- Yabekanga
- Enoah
- Evouzok
- Fang
- Make
- Ntum (Ntumu, Ntoumou)
- Fang (Okak)
- Mvae (Mvan, Mvay)
- Ogowe
- Bulu
- Yelinda
- Yembana
- Yengono
- Zaman
- Bene
- Bebele
- Eki
- Manyok
- Bebil
- Eton
- Essele
- Mvog-Namve
- Mvo-Nangkok
- Beyidzolo
- Mengisa (May be intelligible with Ewondo. The Mangisa people are reported to speak 2 languages: Mengisa Njowi, spoken daily and Leti, a secret language of tradition)
5. Usage / Utilisation
Notes from Ethnologue:
- Beti is a trade language
- Ewondo is a trade language
- Literacy rate among Ewondo and Fang speakers in Cameroon:
- L1: ?
- L2: 15% to 25%
- (Bulu) Language of wider communication. ... Formerly used for education, religion, and commerce, but now in decline as language of wider communication.
6. Orthography / Orthographe
6.1 Status / Statut
Latin-based orthographies. There is apparently some use of diacritics and extended characters (see 6.2, below). Seeking better information.
6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
Alphabets as reported by Hartell (1993) and presented in Systèmes alphabétiques:
- Bulu http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/AfficheTableauOrtho2N.php?choixLangue=bulu
- Ewondo http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/AfficheTableauOrtho2N.php?choixLangue=ewondo
"Language Museum" samples (NB- these may not be standard or official orthographies):
- Beti http://www.language-museum.com/b/beti.php
- Bulu http://www.language-museum.com/b/bulu.php
- Ewondo http://www.language-museum.com/e/ewondo.htm
- Fang http://www.language-museum.com/f/fang.htm
7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
7.1 Fonts / Polices
7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
AKŌK MEMVENDE ENYIŃ A MENGAN BOD (Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Béti Version, 1998) http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=btb (in PDF: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/btb.pdf ). Unicode UDHR project reclassifies this translation under Bulu http://unicode.org/udhr/s/status_btb.html
7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés
Not aware of any.
7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue
Beti
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: -
- ISO 639-3: btb (retired in 2010)
Ewondo
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: ewo
- ISO 639-3: ewo
Fang
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: fan
- ISO 639-3: fan
Bulu
- ISO 639-3: bum
Bebele
- ISO 639-3: beb
Bebil
- ISO 639-3: bxp
Eton
- ISO 639-3: eto
Mengisa
- ISO 639-3: mct
7.6 Locales / Paramètres régionaux
7.7 Other / Autre
8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
8.1 Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)
8.2 Institutions / Institutions
8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile
9. Comments / Remarques
Is Beti a "language" that can be localised for in any context (for instance mobile phone menus)?
SIL International has this note about the ISO 639-3 code for Beti, btb: "Beti is a group name, not an individual language name. Member languages are Bebele [beb], Bebil [bxp], Bulu [bum], Eton [eto], Ewondo [ewo], Fang [fan], and Mengisa [mct], all of which already have their own code elements." The code was "retired" in 2010.
ACALAN had planned for a Vehicular Cross-Border Language Commission on "Béti-Fang" (one of 12 continentwide). (seeking more informaiton)
There is apparently a Beti-based pidgin language? called "Ewondo populaire." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewondo_Populaire
10. References / Références
Chanard, Christian (2006), Systèmes alphabétiques des langues africaines, LLACAN, CNRS, http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/
Hartell, Rhonda L., ed. (1993), The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and SIL. (The French edition, published the same year, is entitled Alphabets de Langues Africaines).
National African Language Resource Center (NALRC?), "Beti & Ewondo" (brochure) http://www.nalrc.indiana.edu/brochures/Beti%20&%20Ewondo_Cameroon.pdf
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Bebele," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/beb
______, "Bebil," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/bxp
______, "Beti," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/btb (retired)
______, "Bulu," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/bum
______, "Eton," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/eto
______, "Ewondo," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ewo
______, "Fang," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/fan
______, "Mengisa," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/mct
SIL International, "Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: btb," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=btb
______, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Beti language" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beti_language
______, "Bulu language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulu_language
______, "Eton language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eton_language
______, "Ewondo language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewondo_language
______, "Fang language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_language
< Berber | Major Languages | Chewa, Nyanja >
Categories: Languages, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, NW CongoRep