| Bambalang | |
|---|---|
| Chrambo | |
| Region | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Bamileke |
Native speakers | 29,000 (2008) [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
bmo |
| Glottolog |
bamb1265 |
The Bambalang language, also called Chrambo (Chirambo, Tshirambo) or Mbawyakum (Mboyakum), [2] is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon.
Phonology
Consonants
These phones and phonemes were enumerated by Grove in 2007 and refined by Wright in 2012. [3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/Affricate | Voiceless | / p/ | / pː/ | / t/ | / tː/ | / t͡ʃ/ | / t͡ʃː/ | / k/ | / kː/ | |
| Voiced | / d͡ʒː/ | / gː/ | ||||||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | / f/ | / fː/ | / ʃ/ | / ʃː/ | / h/ | ||||
| Voiced | / v/ | / vː/ | / ɣ/ | |||||||
| Nasal | / m/ | / mː/ | / n/ | / nː/ | / ɲ/ | / ŋ/ | ||||
| Approximant | / l/ | / lː/ | / j/ | / w/ | ||||||
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/Affricate | Voiceless | [ p] | [ pʰ] | [ t] | [ tʰ] | [ t͡ʃ] | [ t͡ʃː] | [ k] | [ kʰ] | [ ʔ] [a] |
| Voiced | [ b] [b] | [ bʰ] | [ d] [c] | [ dʰ] | [ d͡ʒ] [d] | [ d͡ʒː] | [ g] [e] | [ gː] | ||
| Fricative | Voiceless | [ f] | [ fː] | [ ʃ] | [ ʃː] | [ h] | ||||
| Voiced | [ v] | [ vː] | [ ɣ] | |||||||
| Tap | [ ɾ] [f] | |||||||||
| Nasal | [ m]~[ ɱ] [g] | [ mː] | [ n] | [ nː] | [ ɲ] | [ ŋ] | ||||
| Approximant | [ l] | [ lː] | [ j]~[ ʒ] | [ ɥ] [h]~[ w] | ||||||
- ^ [ ʔ] is the allophone of / k/ in a CVCV structure.
- ^ [ b] is an always prenasalized allophone of / p/.
- ^ [ d] is an always prenasalized allophone of / l/.
- ^ [ d͡ʒ] is an allophone of / j/ before / n/.
- ^ [ g] is an allophone of / ɣ/ after a nasal.
- ^ [ ɾ] is an allophone of / l/ in a consonant cluster or a CVCV structure.
- ^ [ ɱ] is an allophone of / m/ before labiodental consonants.
- ^ [ ɥ] is an allophone of / w/ before / i/.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | / i/ / ĩ/ | / ɨ/ / ɨ̃/ | / u/ / ũ/ |
| Close-mid | / e/ | / o/ / õ/ | |
| Mid | / ə/ / ə̃/ | ||
| Open-mid | / ɛ/ / ɛ̃/ | / ɔ/ | |
| Open | / a/ / ã/ |
Diphthongs
In addition to simple oral and nasal vowels, Bambalang also has oral and nasal diphthongs and vowel sequences. [4] Grove and Wright do not specify whether nasal diphthongs are truly diphthongs or vowel sequences.
| Orthographic | Phonemic | Phonetic |
|---|---|---|
| ei | /ei/ | [ ei̯] |
| ou | /ou/ | [ ou̯] |
| ao | /ao/ | [ ao̯] |
| əɨ | /əɨ/ | [ə.ɨ] |
| ie | /ie/ | [i.e] |
| ia | /ia/ | [i.a] |
| ua | /ua/ | [u.a] |
| uo | /uo/ | [u.o] |
| aoŋ | /aõ/ | |
| ɛiŋ | /ɛĩ/ | |
| ieŋ | /iẽ/ | |
| iɛŋ | /iɛ̃/ | |
| iaŋ | /iã/ | |
| uoŋ | /uõ/ |
Tone
In addition, Bambalang has both lexical and grammatical tone. [5]
Orthography
A segmental orthography was created for Bambalang in 2007 and revised in 2012. [6]
| Upper | Lower | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | [ a] |
| B | b | [ b] |
| Ch | ch | [ t͡ʃ] |
| D | d | [ d] |
| E | e | [ e] |
| Ɛ | ɛ | [ ɛ] |
| Ə | ə | [ ə] |
| F | f | [ f] |
| G | g | [ g] |
| Gh | gh | [ ɣ] |
| H | h | [ h] |
| I | i | [ i] |
| Ɨ | ɨ | [ ɨ] |
| J | j | [ d͡ʒ] |
| K | k | [ k] |
| L | l | [ l] |
| M | m | [ m], [ ɱ] |
| N | n | [ n] |
| Ŋ | ŋ | [ ŋ], [ ◌̃] |
| O | o | [ ɔ] |
| Ɔ | ɔ | [ ɔ] |
| P | p | [ p] |
| R | r | [ ɾ] |
| Sh | sh | [ ʃ] |
| T | t | [ t] |
| U | u | [ u], [ y] |
| V | v | [ v] |
| W | w | [ w], [ y] |
| Y | y | [ ʒ]~[ j] |
| ’ | [ ʔ] | |
References
- ^ Bambalang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Binam Bikoi (2012)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:5–8)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:15)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:16)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:3)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:5–7)
Works Cited
- Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
- Grove, Dan; Wright, Jennifer (June 2012). "Bambalang (Chrambo) Orthography Guide" (PDF) (Revised ed.). SIL.
Further reading
- Ayafor, Vera. The Structural Phonology of Cirambo (Thesis). Yaoundé: University of Yaoundé I.
- Luider, Jennifer (December 2009). "A Phonological Sketch of the Bambalang (Chrambo) Language" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (2009). "The Noun and Verb Phrase in Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (2011). "Tone in the Verb Phrase in Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (June 2012). "Testing and Revising a Tone Orthography Proposal for Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
 | This article about a language spoken in Cameroon is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about Grassfields Bantu languages is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| Bambalang | |
|---|---|
| Chrambo | |
| Region | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Bamileke |
Native speakers | 29,000 (2008) [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
bmo |
| Glottolog |
bamb1265 |
The Bambalang language, also called Chrambo (Chirambo, Tshirambo) or Mbawyakum (Mboyakum), [2] is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon.
Phonology
Consonants
These phones and phonemes were enumerated by Grove in 2007 and refined by Wright in 2012. [3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/Affricate | Voiceless | / p/ | / pː/ | / t/ | / tː/ | / t͡ʃ/ | / t͡ʃː/ | / k/ | / kː/ | |
| Voiced | / d͡ʒː/ | / gː/ | ||||||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | / f/ | / fː/ | / ʃ/ | / ʃː/ | / h/ | ||||
| Voiced | / v/ | / vː/ | / ɣ/ | |||||||
| Nasal | / m/ | / mː/ | / n/ | / nː/ | / ɲ/ | / ŋ/ | ||||
| Approximant | / l/ | / lː/ | / j/ | / w/ | ||||||
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/Affricate | Voiceless | [ p] | [ pʰ] | [ t] | [ tʰ] | [ t͡ʃ] | [ t͡ʃː] | [ k] | [ kʰ] | [ ʔ] [a] |
| Voiced | [ b] [b] | [ bʰ] | [ d] [c] | [ dʰ] | [ d͡ʒ] [d] | [ d͡ʒː] | [ g] [e] | [ gː] | ||
| Fricative | Voiceless | [ f] | [ fː] | [ ʃ] | [ ʃː] | [ h] | ||||
| Voiced | [ v] | [ vː] | [ ɣ] | |||||||
| Tap | [ ɾ] [f] | |||||||||
| Nasal | [ m]~[ ɱ] [g] | [ mː] | [ n] | [ nː] | [ ɲ] | [ ŋ] | ||||
| Approximant | [ l] | [ lː] | [ j]~[ ʒ] | [ ɥ] [h]~[ w] | ||||||
- ^ [ ʔ] is the allophone of / k/ in a CVCV structure.
- ^ [ b] is an always prenasalized allophone of / p/.
- ^ [ d] is an always prenasalized allophone of / l/.
- ^ [ d͡ʒ] is an allophone of / j/ before / n/.
- ^ [ g] is an allophone of / ɣ/ after a nasal.
- ^ [ ɾ] is an allophone of / l/ in a consonant cluster or a CVCV structure.
- ^ [ ɱ] is an allophone of / m/ before labiodental consonants.
- ^ [ ɥ] is an allophone of / w/ before / i/.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | / i/ / ĩ/ | / ɨ/ / ɨ̃/ | / u/ / ũ/ |
| Close-mid | / e/ | / o/ / õ/ | |
| Mid | / ə/ / ə̃/ | ||
| Open-mid | / ɛ/ / ɛ̃/ | / ɔ/ | |
| Open | / a/ / ã/ |
Diphthongs
In addition to simple oral and nasal vowels, Bambalang also has oral and nasal diphthongs and vowel sequences. [4] Grove and Wright do not specify whether nasal diphthongs are truly diphthongs or vowel sequences.
| Orthographic | Phonemic | Phonetic |
|---|---|---|
| ei | /ei/ | [ ei̯] |
| ou | /ou/ | [ ou̯] |
| ao | /ao/ | [ ao̯] |
| əɨ | /əɨ/ | [ə.ɨ] |
| ie | /ie/ | [i.e] |
| ia | /ia/ | [i.a] |
| ua | /ua/ | [u.a] |
| uo | /uo/ | [u.o] |
| aoŋ | /aõ/ | |
| ɛiŋ | /ɛĩ/ | |
| ieŋ | /iẽ/ | |
| iɛŋ | /iɛ̃/ | |
| iaŋ | /iã/ | |
| uoŋ | /uõ/ |
Tone
In addition, Bambalang has both lexical and grammatical tone. [5]
Orthography
A segmental orthography was created for Bambalang in 2007 and revised in 2012. [6]
| Upper | Lower | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | [ a] |
| B | b | [ b] |
| Ch | ch | [ t͡ʃ] |
| D | d | [ d] |
| E | e | [ e] |
| Ɛ | ɛ | [ ɛ] |
| Ə | ə | [ ə] |
| F | f | [ f] |
| G | g | [ g] |
| Gh | gh | [ ɣ] |
| H | h | [ h] |
| I | i | [ i] |
| Ɨ | ɨ | [ ɨ] |
| J | j | [ d͡ʒ] |
| K | k | [ k] |
| L | l | [ l] |
| M | m | [ m], [ ɱ] |
| N | n | [ n] |
| Ŋ | ŋ | [ ŋ], [ ◌̃] |
| O | o | [ ɔ] |
| Ɔ | ɔ | [ ɔ] |
| P | p | [ p] |
| R | r | [ ɾ] |
| Sh | sh | [ ʃ] |
| T | t | [ t] |
| U | u | [ u], [ y] |
| V | v | [ v] |
| W | w | [ w], [ y] |
| Y | y | [ ʒ]~[ j] |
| ’ | [ ʔ] | |
References
- ^ Bambalang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Binam Bikoi (2012)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:5–8)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:15)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:16)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:3)
- ^ Grove & Wright (2012:5–7)
Works Cited
- Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
- Grove, Dan; Wright, Jennifer (June 2012). "Bambalang (Chrambo) Orthography Guide" (PDF) (Revised ed.). SIL.
Further reading
- Ayafor, Vera. The Structural Phonology of Cirambo (Thesis). Yaoundé: University of Yaoundé I.
- Luider, Jennifer (December 2009). "A Phonological Sketch of the Bambalang (Chrambo) Language" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (2009). "The Noun and Verb Phrase in Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (2011). "Tone in the Verb Phrase in Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
- Wright, Jennifer (June 2012). "Testing and Revising a Tone Orthography Proposal for Chrambo (Bambalang)" (PDF). SIL.
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|
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