Bamileke - Bamiléké
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Categories: Languages, Cameroon
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
Fe'fe', Ghomálá', Kwa', Medumba, Mengaka, Nda'nda', Ngiemboon, Ngomba, Ngombale, Ngwe, Yemba (Dschang)
1. Classification / Classification
The language/dialect cluster known as Bamileke belongs to the group that has been termed "Eastern Grassfields Bantu" or, more currently, "Mbam-Nkam," which is a branch of Benue-Congo. (Webbook?)
Bamileke is a term somewhat arbitrarily referring to some of the grassfields languages spoken in the French side of Cameroon, excluding related languages on the English side (e.g. the Ngemba dialects) (Larry Hyman, personal communication, 1986). (Webbook)
Ethnologue? lists the classification as: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Wide Grassfields, Narrow Grassfields, Mbam-Nkam, Bamileke
2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
Cameroon. (See also nos. 1 and 4)
3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
According to information compiled from Ethnologue:
- Fe'fe': 123,700 (1982 SIL)
- Ghomálá': 260,000 (1982 SIL)
- Kwa': 1,000 (2000 SIL)
- Medumba: 210,000 (1991 UBS)
- Mengaka: 20,000 (1993 SIL)
- Nda'nda': 10,000 (1990 SIL)
- Ngiemboon: 100,000 (1987 SIL)
- Ngomba: 63,000 (1999 SIL)
- Ngombale: 45,000 (1993 SIL)
- Ngwe: 73,200 (2001 SIL)
- Yemba (Dschang): 300,000
4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
LACITO has been researching the Bamileke languages/dialect situation for several years. Larry Hyman groups "what passes as 'Bamileke'" into four groups: Fe'fe', Ghomala, Medyumba, and Dschang. (Webbook)
According to information compiled from Ethnologue there are 11 major tongues and various subdialects under the Bamileke classification:
- Fe'fe'
- Central Fe'fe'
- Fa' (Bafang)
- Nka' (Banka)
- Nee (Bana)
- Njee-Poantu (Bandja-Babountou)
- North Fe'fe'
- Ntii (Fondanti)
- Mkwet (Fondjomekwet)
- La'fi (Balafi)
- Tungi' (Fotouni)
- Ngam (Bangan)
- Ca'
- Central Fe'fe'
- Ghomálá'
- Ghomálá' Central (Bandjoun, Jo, We, Hom, Yogam, Baham)
- 4 subdialects
- Ghomálá' North (Fusap, Lang)
- 2 subdialects
- Ghomálá' South (Te, Pa, Dengkwop)
- Bameka
- Bansoa
- Balessing
- Ngemba (Bamenjou, Fu'da, Sa, Monjo, Meka, Mugum)
- 5 subdialects
- Ghomálá' Central (Bandjoun, Jo, We, Hom, Yogam, Baham)
- Kwa'
- Kwa' (Bekwa', Bakoua, Babwa, Mipa)
- Mbyam
- Medumba
- Batongtou
- Mengaka (Lexical similarity 91% among villages, but speakers report no dialect differences)
- Bagam
- Bamendjing (Bamendjin)
- Nda'nda'
- Undimeha (East Nda'nda')
- Batoufam
- Ungameha (West Nda'nda'-South Nda'nda')
- Undimeha (East Nda'nda')
- Ngiemboon (Bamileke-Ngyemboon) (Distinct from Ngemba)
- Batcham
- Balatchi
- Bamoungong
- Ngomba
- Bamendjinda
- Bamenkumbo
- Bamesso
- Babete (Bamete)
- Bamendjo
- Ngombale
- Babadjou (Basso, Nchobela)
- Bamessingue (Bassing)
- Ngwe (Part of a language cluster which includes Yemba and Ngiemboon)
- Yemba (Dschang)
- Yemba
- Foreke Dschang (Dschang, Tchang)
5. Usage / Utilisation
Bamileke is a local language. Radio transmissions in Bamileke are heard on Radio Douala in Cameroon. (Webbook)
Notes from Ethnologue (accessed 2007):
- Literacy rate of Fe'fe', Ghomálá', and Ngiemboon speakers:
- L1: ?
- L2: 25% to 50%
- Literacy rate of Medumba, Nda'nda', and Ngombale speakers:
- L1: ?
- L2: 15% to 25%
- (Ghomálá') Taught informally to adults since the early 1900s. Adopted by UNESCO in the 1960s and 1970s as one of 9 languages of wider communication for Cameroon. Taught formally in 6 Roman Catholic schools since 1995.
- (Mengaka) Interest in language development for schools and individual literacy. Bagam script.
- (Ngiemboon) Vigorous. All domains. Oral use in traditional religion, oral and written in church, oral use in commerce. Positive language attitude.
- (Ngomba, Ngombale) Interest expressed in language development
6. Orthography / Orthographe
6.1 Status / Statut
Orthographies are Latin-based and use extended characters.
No information on standardisation (although these probably use the Cameroon alphabet).
6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
Alphabets as reported by Hartell (1993) and presented in Systèmes alphabétiques:
- Fe'efe'fe http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/AfficheTableauOrtho2N.php?choixLangue=fe%27efe%27fe
- Yemba http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/AfficheTableauOrtho2N.php?choixLangue=yemba
"Language Museum" sample (NB- This may not be standard or "official" orthography):
7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
7.1 Fonts / Polices
Fonts with extended Latin ranges would be necessary.
7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés
Not aware of any.
7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue
Bamileke languages / langues bamilékés
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: bai
- ISO 639-3: -
Fe'fe'
- ISO 639-3: fmp
Ghomálá'
- ISO 639-3: bbj
Kwa'
- ISO 639-3: bko
Medumba
- ISO 639-3: byv
Mengaka
- ISO 639-3: xmg
Nda'nda'
- ISO 639-3: nnz
Ngiemboon
- ISO 639-3: nnh
Ngomba
- ISO 639-3: jgo
Ngombale
- ISO 639-3: nla
Ngwe
- ISO 639-3: nwe
Yemba (Dschang)
- ISO 639-3: ybb
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
Comité national du Ghomala
8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile
Latin & diacritic character picker http://people.w3.org/rishida/scripts/pickers/latin/
9. Comments / Remarques
The evident complexity of the dialect situation of Bamileke poses difficult choices for localisation. To what extent is Ghomálá' accepted as a language of wider communication among speakers of other varieties of Bamileke (per note in no. 5, above)?
10. References / Références
Chanard, Christian (2006), Systèmes alphabétiques des langues africaines, LLACAN, CNRS, http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/hiermenu.html (page on "Bamileke," http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/Bamileke-root.html )
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).
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Fe'fe'," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/fmp
______, "Ghomálá'," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/bbj
______, "Kwa'," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/bko
______, "Medumba," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/byv
______, "Mengaka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/xmg
______, "Nda'nda'," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/nnz
______, "Ngiemboon," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/nnh
______, "Ngomba," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/jgo
______, "Ngombale," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/nla
______, "Ngwe," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/nwe
______, "Yemba," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ybb
SIL International, "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, "Bamileke languages," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamileke_languages
______, "Langues bamiléké," https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_bamiléké
______, "Línguas bamileke," https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Línguas_bamileke
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