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Ghomalaʼ language

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

{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=fr|otherarticle=Ghomalaʼ|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Ghomala

| nativename = {{lang|bbj|Ghɔmáláʼ}}

| region = West Region (Cameroon)

| ethnicity = Bamileke

| speakers = 350,000

| 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

| iso3 = bbj

| glotto = ghom1247

| glottorefname = Ghomálá{{'}}

| states = Cameroon

| script = Latin

}}

{{lang|bbj|Ghɔmáláʼ|italic=no}} or Ghomala is a major Bamileke language spoken in Cameroon, originally in the following departments of the West region:

It is spoken by an estimated 2 million people in two main population groups.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

Phonology

= Consonants =

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

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

rowspan="2" |Plosive

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|p}}

|{{IPAlink|t}}

|

|{{IPAlink|k}}

|{{IPAlink|ʔ}}

voiced

|{{IPAlink|b}}

|{{IPAlink|d}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|

rowspan="2" |Affricate

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|p͡f}}

|{{IPAlink|t͡s}}

|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}

|

|

voiced

|{{IPAlink|b͡v}}

|{{IPAlink|d͡z}}

|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}

|

|

rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPAlink|f}}

|{{IPAlink|s}}

|({{IPAlink|ʃ}})

|

|{{IPAlink|h}}

voiced

|({{IPAlink|v}})

|

|({{IPAlink|ʒ}})

|({{IPAlink|ɣ}})

|

colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPAlink|m}}

|{{IPAlink|n}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ŋ}}

|

rowspan="3" |Approximant

!lateral

|

|({{IPAlink|l}})

|

|

|

central

|{{IPAlink|w}}

|

|{{IPAlink|j}}

|

|

centralized

|

|

|{{IPAlink|ɥ̈}}

|

|

  • The glottal stop {{IPA|/ʔ/}} only occurs as word-final.
  • Sounds {{IPA|[v l ʃ ʒ ɣ]}} are alternative consonant sounds of {{IPA|/b͡v d t͡ʃ d͡ʒ ɡ/}}.
  • {{IPA|/t d/}}, when occurring before close front-central vowel sounds /i ʉ/, can sound palatalized as {{IPA|[tʲ dʲ]}}.
  • Sounds {{IPA|/p b t d k/}}, when preceding a {{IPA|/h/}} sound, are realized as affricated {{IPA|[p͡ɸ b͡β t͡θ d͡ð k͡x]}}.
  • {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, when occurring before central vowel sounds {{IPA|/ə ɐ/}}, may sound affricated as {{IPA|[ɡ͡ɣ]}}.
  • A word-final {{IPA|/k/}} sound, may be realized as uvular sounds {{IPA|[q χ]}}.

= Vowels =

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

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

High

|{{IPAlink|i}}

|{{IPAlink|ʉ}}

|{{IPAlink|u}}

rowspan="2" |Mid

|{{IPAlink|e}}

|{{IPAlink|ə}}

|{{IPAlink|o}}

{{IPAlink|ɛ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɐ}}

|{{IPAlink|ɔ}}

Low

|

|{{IPAlink|a}}

|

  • Sounds {{IPA|/ɐ u ɔ/}} when occurring with a velar nasal {{IPA|/ŋ/}}, can be realized as nasalized vowel sounds {{IPA|[ɐ̃ ũ ɔ̃]}}.{{Cite book|last=Nissim|first=Gabriel M.|title=Le Bamileke-Ghomálá' (Parler de Bandjoun, Cameroun)|location=Paris |publisher=Centre National de la Recherche Sciéntifique |year=1981}}

= Tone =

Tones are marked as high {{IPA|[á]}}, low {{IPA|[à]}}, mid (unmarked) {{IPA|[a]}}, rising {{IPA|[ǎ]}}, or falling {{IPA|[â]}}.

References

{{Reflist}}

{{incubator|code=bbj}}

{{Languages of Cameroon}}

{{Grassfields Bantu languages}}

Category:Languages of Cameroon

Category:Bamileke languages

{{Cameroon-lang-stub}}

{{gras-lang-stub}}