| Glottorefname: | Lamnso'}}| People: | Nsọ | | Language: | Lam-Nsọ’ | | Root: | Nsọ[1] |
Nso (Lamnso, Lamnsɔ’) is the Grassfields language of the Nso people of western Cameroon. A few may remain in Nigeria. It has ten major noun classes.[2] The ISO 639-3 code is lns.[3] Nso is spoken by over 100,000 people.[4]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial-
velar | Glottal |
|---|
| plain | sibilant |
|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
Plosive/
Affricate | voiceless | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
|---|
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|
| prenasal vl. | | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|
| prenasal vd. | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | | (pronounced as /link/) |
|---|
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | | | | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
| prenasal | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | | |
|---|
| Tap | | pronounced as /link/ | | | | | |
|---|
| Approximant | | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
- Stop sounds /b, t, d, k, ɡ/ may have affricated phonetic variants as [b͡v, t͡s, d͡z~ɖ͡ʐ, k͡f, ɡ͡v] when occurring before /ə/. Sounds /ɣ, m/ may have variants as [ɣ͡v, ᶬv] when in the same position.
- Sounds /p/ and /h/ only occur in interjections, ideophones or loanwords.
- /p, t, k/ may also have aspirated allophones [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] in word-initial positions.
- Prenasal fricative sounds /ᶬf, ⁿs, ᶮʃ/ may also have allophones as prenasal affricate [ᶬp͡f, ⁿt͡s, ᶮt͡ʃ] sounds.
- Sounds /d͡ʒ, ʃ, k, ɡ, m, ŋ/ may be labialized as [d͡ʒʷ, ʃʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ, ŋʷ] when before a vowel, and occurring only in the first syllable.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back |
|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | | pronounced as /link/ |
|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/ |
|---|
| Open | | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
- Vowels are lengthened as /iː, eː, əː, aː, oː, uː/.
- Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ may also be heard as close-mid [e, o] in free variation.
- Vowels /i, a, u/ are heard as [ɪ, ɜ, ʊ] when before /ʔ/ or nasal sounds.[5]
Writing System
Nso uses an orthography based on the General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages (AGLC). An orthography had initially been created before being modified to follow the recommendations of the AGLC.[6]
a | b | c | d | e | ə | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | ŋ | o | p | r | s | t | u | v | w | y | z | ʼ | | Nso uses 23 digraphs and 7 trigraphs . Long vowels are indicating by doubling the vowel . Diphthongs are noted .
The high tone is indicated with the acute accent and the low tone with the grave accent on the vowel.
Phrases
- Thank you.
- You are welcome.
- What news? (Greeting).
- No news (Reply) or I am fine.
- Good morning.
- How did you sleep?
- Good afternoon.
- Good evening.
- Sleep well.
- Good bye until tomorrow.
- Sweet dreams.
- And to you.
- God bless you (Greeting).
- Good luck.
- Safe journey.
- Give me.
- Where are you going?
- What is your name?
- My name is Lukong.
- Whose child are you?
- I am Lukong's child.
- Who is the traditional ruler of Nso?
- I am hungry.
- I am thirsty.
- I love you.
- Marry me.
- Where are you going?
- Laisin jaiy wom. Forgive me
- M ker kibam. I have a bag
- Kinga ki te'e. The grass is growing
- Tsehti du šo. Shift it further away
- Dze la ven . Who is this?
- Kikoŋnin ki boŋ. Loving is good
Animal names
- : leopard
- : dog
- : monkey
- : elephant
- : lion
- : duiker
- : goat
- : sheep
- : buffalo
- : squirrel
- : serpent
- : cricket
- : spider
- : tarantula
- : hyena
- : chicken
- : he-goat
- : lizard
- : bat
Other nouns
- : sun
- : water
- : book
- : pineapple
- : house
- : roof
- : floor
- : door
- : chair
- : rug
- : cooking pot
- : (typically a small bowl)
- : cup
- : basket
- : farm
- : firewood
- : pepper
- : spoon
- : junction
- : house of worship (church)
- : vehicle
- : rice
- : roof
- : file
- : Irish potato
- : sweet potato
- : cocoyam
- : banana
- : meat
- : walking stick
- : mom (mother)
- : dad (father)
- : sister (relative)
- : brother (relative)
- : relative (A general sense. Example: * : I am your relative)
Stick insect
Adjectives
- : hot
- : cold
- : Heavy.
- : Dark.
- : White
- : Bitter.
- : Sweet
- nyaaŋ: Calm
Bibliography
- Web site: William . Banyee . Spelling and pronunciation in Lamso . The Nso heritage . 25 November 2015 . 25 June 2021 .
- McGarrity, Laura and Botne, Robert (2001). Between Agreement and Case Marking in Lamnso. IUWPL 3: Explorations in African Linguistics: From Lamnso' to Sesotho (2001), edited by Robert Botne and Rose Vondrasek, pp. 53–70. Bloomington, IN: Noun classes and categorization: Proceedings of a symposium on categorization and noun classification, Eugene, Oregon, October 1983. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins.
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