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
| 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.
| 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
- ^ 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) - ^ 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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This page was last edited on 26 January 2024, at 22:43