Ghomalaʼ language explained

Ghomala
Nativename:	Ghɔmálá’
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

Ghɔmálá’ or Ghomala is a major Bamileke language spoken in Cameroon, originally in the following departments of the West region:

- Mifi, Koung-Khi and Hauts-Plateaux: most of the three departments (except extreme south and except pockets in the north and west)

- Menoua: east of the department

- Bamboutos: a corner in the south

It is spoken by an estimated 2 million people in two main population groups.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
	voiced	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Affricate	voiceless	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
	voiced	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Fricative	voiceless	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	(pronounced as /ink/)		pronounced as /ink/
	voiced	(pronounced as /ink/)		(pronounced as /ink/)	(pronounced as /ink/)
Nasal		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Approximant	lateral		(pronounced as /ink/)
	central	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
	centralized			pronounced as /ink/

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

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Mid	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Low		pronounced as /ink/

• Sounds pronounced as //ɐ u ɔ// when occurring with a velar nasal pronounced as //ŋ//, can be realized as nasalized vowel sounds pronounced as /[ɐ̃ ũ ɔ̃]/.^[1]

Tone

Tones are marked as high pronounced as /[á]/, low pronounced as /[à]/, mid (unmarked) pronounced as /[a]/, rising pronounced as /[ǎ]/, or falling pronounced as /[â]/.

Notes and References

1. Book: Nissim, Gabriel M.. Le Bamileke-Ghomálá' (Parler de Bandjoun, Cameroun). Paris . Centre National de la Recherche Sciéntifique . 1981.