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Feʼfeʼ language

{{Short description|Grassfields language spoken in Cameroon}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Feʼfeʼ

|altname=Nufi, Fotouni, Bafang[http://www.language-archives.org/language/fmp OLAC resources in and about the Feʼfeʼ language]. Open Language Archives.

|nativename=Fèʼéfěʼè

|states =Cameroon

|region=Haut-Nkam (Upper Nkam)

|ethnicity=Bamileke Feʼefeʼe

|speakers=c. 140,000

|date=2005

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Volta-Congo

|fam4=Benue–Congo

|fam5=Bantoid

|fam6=Southern Bantoid

|fam7=Grassfields

|fam8=Eastern Grassfields

|fam9=Mbam-Nkam

|fam10=Bamileke

|script=Latin

|iso3=fmp

|glotto=fefe1239

|glottorefname=Feʼfeʼ

}}

File:Salut_nufi_mbə̄ə̄_lɑ́_flyers_promo.png

Feʼfeʼ or commonly Feʼefeʼe, also known as Nufi or Bafang ({{langx|fmp|Nufi}}), is a Bamileke language spoken in Cameroon, around the town of Bafang. It was one of the four languages selected for option at the Collège Libermann at Douala (along with Duala, Basaa and Ghɔmálá').{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Renaud |chapter=Le Français au Cameroun |title=Le Français hors de France |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Valdman |publisher=Editions Honoré Champion |location=Paris |year=1979}}

Phonology

= Consonants =

Allophones are given in brackets.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+Consonants{{Cite thesis |last=Hyman |first=Larry |date=1972 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of California |location=Los Angeles |title=A Phonological Study of Feʼfeʼ-Bamileke |url=https://linguistics.ucla.edu/images/stories/Hyman.1972.pdf}}

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Dental

!Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPAlink|m}}

|{{IPAlink|n}}

|({{IPAlink|ɲ}})

|{{IPAlink|ŋ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Plosive

!voiceless

|({{IPAlink|p}})

|{{IPAlink|t}}

|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}

|{{IPAlink|k}}

|{{IPAlink|ʔ}}

voiced

|{{IPAlink|b}}

|{{IPAlink|d}}

|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|f}}

|{{IPAlink|s}}

|({{IPAlink|ʃ}})

|{{IPAlink|x}}

|

voiced

|{{IPAlink|v}}

|{{IPAlink|z}}

|({{IPAlink|ʒ}})

|({{IPAlink|ɣ}})

|

colspan="2" |Approximant

|({{IPAlink|w}})

|({{IPAlink|l}})

|({{IPAlink|j}})

|

|

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+Vowels

!

!Front

!Mid

!Back

High

|{{IPAlink|i}}

|{{IPAlink|ɨ}}{{efn|Hyman (1972) uses {{IPAslink|ɯ}}, represented by {{angbr|ʉ}}.{{sfn|Hyman|1972|p=32}}}}

|{{IPAlink|u}}

rowspan="2" |Mid

|{{IPAlink|e}}

| rowspan="2" |(ə){{efn|Hyman (1972) uses {{IPAslink|ɤ}}.{{sfn|Hyman|1972|p=32}}}}

|{{IPAlink|o}}

({{IPAlink|ɛ}})

|({{IPAlink|ɔ}})

Low

|{{IPAlink|a}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ɑ}}

{{noteslist}}

= Tone =

class="wikitable"

|+

!Tone

!Low

!Raised-Low

!Mid

!High

Diacritic

|à

|ẚ

|a

|á

Example

|[pʉà]

|[pʉẚ]

|[pʉa]

|[pʉá]

Translation

|bag

|to bend over

|to go crazy

|two (2)

The language has a complex tone system, carefully described, along with other aspects of the phonology and morphology, in Hyman (1972).

Writing system

class="wikitable"
+ Feʼfeʼ alphabet{{cn|date=May 2023}}

! Uppercase

| A

ⱭBCD

| E

ƏFGGh

| H

IJKL

| M

NŊOP

| S

ShTUɄ

| V

WYZZhʼ
Lowercase

| a || ɑ || b || c || d

| e || ə || f || g || gh

| h || i || j || k || l

| m || n || ŋ || o || p

| s || sh || t || u || ʉ

| v || w || y || z ||zh

| ʼ

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Incubator|code=fmp}}

  • [http://www.language-museum.com/encyclopedia/f/fefe.php Language Museum]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110823191455/http://opherden.com/Nufi_German.htm List of Nufi terms and their German translation]
  • [http://www.resulam.com Résurrection des langues minoritaires]
  • [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.resulam.lalphabam_new&hl=en Alphabet camerounais]

{{Languages of Cameroon}}

{{Grassfields Bantu languages}}

Category:Languages of Cameroon

Category:Bamileke languages

{{Cameroon-lang-stub}}

{{gras-lang-stub}}