Login
Login

Makaa language

{{Short description|Bantu language spoken in Cameroonn}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Makaa

|states=Cameroon

|ethnicity=Makaa

|speakers=80,000

|date=1987

|ref = e18

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Benue–Congo

|fam4=Bantu (Zone A)

|fam5=Makaa–Njem + Kako (A.80–90)

|fam6=Ndzem–Bomwali

|fam7=Makaa languages

|iso3=mcp

|glotto=maka1304

|glottorefname=Makaa

|guthrie=A.83

|dia1=Bebend

|dia2=Mbwaanz

|dia3=Sekunda

}}

Makaa (Maka), or South Makaa, is a Bantu language of Cameroon. It is not intelligible with the other language spoken by the Makaa people, North Makaa.

Varieties

The central part of the Meka area consists of the three central dialects Bésáp, Bébánde and Mbwas. Byáp in the north and Békol in the south are more geographically peripheral dialects. Byáp and Asón should not be confused with Northern Maka.{{cite book|editor-last=Binam Bikoi|editor-first=Charles|date=2012|title=Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)|trans-title=Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon|volume=1: Inventaire des langues|language=fr|location=Yaoundé|publisher=CERDOTOLA|series=Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC)|isbn=9789956796069}}

Meka covers essentially the entire northern part of Haut-Nyong department (Eastern Region). Bébánde covers the entire northern part of Abong-Mbang commune and also Bebeng commune. Mbwas covers most of the Doumé area (Mbouang and Doumatang communes), and Bésáp covers the north of Nguélémendouka.

Byap occupies the eastern part of Diang commune and Bélabo commune (Lom-et-Djerem department, Eastern Region), west of Bertoua. It extends into the Central and Southern Regions in Nyong-et-Mfoumou (in Akonolinga and Endom communes) and Dja-et-Lobo (in Bengbis and Zoétélé communes) departments.

There are 89,500 speakers.

Phonology

= Consonants =

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

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

!Labial-
velar

!Glottal

align="center"

! rowspan="4" |Plosive

!voiceless

|

|{{IPA link|t}}

|{{IPA link|c}}

|{{IPA link|k}}

|{{IPA link|kp}}

|

align="center"

!voiced

|{{IPA link|b}}

|{{IPA link|d}}

|{{IPA link|ɟ}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ}}

|

|

prenasal vl.

|{{IPA link|ᵐp}}

|{{IPA link|ⁿt}}

|{{IPA link|ᶮc}}

|{{IPA link|ᵑk}}

|

|

prenasal vd.

|{{IPA link|ᵐb}}

|{{IPA link|ⁿd}}

|{{IPA link|ᶮɟ}}

|{{IPA link|ᵑɡ}}

|

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPA link|m}}

|{{IPA link|n}}

|{{IPA link|ɲ}}

|{{IPA link|ŋ}}

|

|

align="center"

! rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|f}}

|{{IPA link|s}}

|{{IPA link|ʃ}}

|

|

|{{IPA link|h}}

align="center"

!voiced

|{{IPA link|v}}

|{{IPA link|z}}

|{{IPA link|ʒ}}

|

|

|

colspan="2" |Lateral

|

|{{IPA link|l}}

|

|

|

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" |Approximant

|

|

|{{IPA link|j}}

|

|{{IPA link|w}}

|

= Vowels =

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

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

align="center"

!Close

|{{IPA link|i}}

|{{IPA link|ɨ}}

|{{IPA link|u}}

Near-close

|{{IPA link|ɪ}}

|

|

align="center"

!Close-mid

|{{IPA link|e}}

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ə}}

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|o}}, {{IPA link|õ}}

Open-mid

|{{IPA link|ɛ}}, {{IPA link|ɛ̃}}

align="center"

!Open

|

|{{IPA link|a}}

|

  • /{{IPA link|o}}, {{IPA link|õ}}/ may have allophones [{{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɔ̃}}] which occur in free variation in many environments.{{Cite book |last=Heath |first=Teresa |title=Makaa (A83) |publisher=London & New York: Routledge |year=2003 |location=In Nurse, Derek and Philippson, Gérard (eds.), The Bantu languages |pages=335-348}}

Writing system

class="wikitable"

|+ Maka alphabet{{cite web |last=Abong |first=Mbang |title=Leçons d’apprentissage de la langue mekaa |publisher=SIL |date=2007 |url=https://www.makaabible.org/sites/www.makaabible.org/files/uploads/Makaa%20lang%20learn%20lessons%20consec%20A5%20pages.pdf |page=3}}

| a

bcde

| ɛ

əfgh

| i

ɨjkl

| m

nnyŋop

| s

shtuʉ

| v

wyzzh

Nasal vowels are indicated using the cedilla ‹ ɛ̧, ɔ̧ ›.

Tones are indicated using diacritics:

  • the high tone with an acute accent;
  • the descending high-low tone with a circumflex accent;
  • the low-high rising tone with a caron;
  • low tone without accent.

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Languages of Cameroon}}

{{Narrow Bantu languages (Zones A–B)}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Makaa-Njem languages

Category:Languages of Cameroon