Ngwe language

Ngwe
Ngwe
Native to	Cameroon
Native speakers	73,000 (2001)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Grassfields Eastern Grassfields Mbam-Nkam Bamiléké West Bamileke Bamboutos Ngwe; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nwe
Glottolog	ngwe1238

Ngwe (Ŋwɛh, Nweh) is a Bamileke language spoken predominantly in Lebialem, Cameroon. As of 2001, Ngwe had 73,200 speakers, which was an increase from the numbers of previous censuses. Its closest relatives are Yemba and Ngiemboon.

Writing system

Ngwe Alphabet ^[2]
a	b	c	d	e	ə	ɛ	f	g	gh	'	h	i	j	k	kh	l
m	n	ŋ	o	ɔ	p	pf	r	s	t	ts	u	ʉ	v	w	y	z

Phonology

Vowels

It has at least thirteen vowels, /i y e ɛ æ ɐ ɑ ɔ o u ɯ ɤ ʌ/.^[3] /ɤ ʌ/ are centralised.^[3] /y/ sounds somewhat like [ø] or [œ] and has a tongue position similar to that of /ɑ/, but with the jaw raised and the lips very close together.^[3]

References

^ Ngwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ The Languages of Cameroon Series.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ladefoged, Peter. A Phonetic Study of West African Languages: An Auditory-instrumental Survey. Cambridge University Press, 1968, pp. 33–36.

External links

Ayotte, Michael & Ayotte, Charlene. 2002. "Sociolinguistic Language Survey of Ngwe." SIL International

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[e18-1] Ngwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[FOOTNOTEThe_Languages_of_Cameroon_Series-2] The Languages of Cameroon Series.

[PhoneticStudyOfWestAfricanLanguages-3] Ladefoged, Peter. A Phonetic Study of West African Languages: An Auditory-instrumental Survey. Cambridge University Press, 1968, pp. 33–36.

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