Ngwe language

Not to be confused with Hungworo language.
Ngwe
Native to Cameroon
Native speakers
 73,000 (2001)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nwe
Glottolog ngwe1238[2]

Ngwe (Ŋwe, Nweh) is a Niger–Congo language that is spoken in Cameroon. As of 2001, Ngwe had 73,200 speakers, which was an increase from the numbers of previous censuses. It is part of the Bamileke dialect continuum, and its closest relatives are Yemba and Ngiemboon. It has at least thirteen vowels, /i y e ɛ æ ɐ ɑ ɔ o u ɯ ɤ ʌ/.[3] /ɤ ʌ/ are centralized.[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

  1. ↑ Ngwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Ngwe". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. 1 2 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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