Yasa language should not be confused with Bongwe language.
| Iyasa | |
| Nativename: | Bongwe |
| States: | Cameroon Equatorial Guinea Gabon |
| Ethnicity: | Yasa and Pygmies |
| Speakers: | 2,400 in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea |
| Date: | 2000–2011 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Speakers2: | unknown number in Gabon |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam4: | Bantoid |
| Fam5: | Bantu (Zone A) |
| Fam6: | Sawabantu (A.30) |
| Fam7: | Kombe? |
| Map2: | Lang Status 60-DE.svg |
| Iso3: | yko |
| Glotto: | yasa1242 |
| Glottorefname: | Yasa |
| Guthrie: | A.33a |
Iyasa (Yasa, Yassa) is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea by the Iyasa and Ndowe coastal fishing peoples. It is also spoken by Pygmies, perhaps Babongo, in Gabon. Approximately 3,000 people speak Iyasa,[1] though some note that this number may be an overestimation.[2]
Iyasa also goes by the names Bongwe, Lyaasa, and Maasa. Dialects are Bweko, Vendo, Bodele, Marry, One, Asonga, Bomui, Mogana, Mooma, Mapanga. It may in turn be a dialect of Kombe. Speakers report that Kombe and Iyasa are almost perfectly mutually intelligible.[3]
Dieu and Renaud (1993) classify Iyasa as a Sawabantu language (A.30 in Guthrie classification).[4]
Iyasa is spoken along the coast of Cameroon south of Kribi, including in the city of Campo. It is also spoken across the Ntem River in Equatorial Guinea.[5] The northernmost Iyasa village is Lolabe, 31 km south of Kribi.
Iyasa has a seven-vowel system:
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ |
It also has 22 phonemic consonants:
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Semivowel | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
Iyasa has 12 noun classes, as outlined in the table below (adapted from Bôt 2011 and Bouh Ma Sitna 2004):
| Class number | Prefix | Allomorphs | Example (IPA) | Translation (French) | Translation (English) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mù- | mʷ- | mù-tʃɛ́tʃɛ́mw-ánà | le bébél'enfant | babychild | |
| 2 | wà- | w- | wà-dó | les femmes | women | |
| 3 | mò- | m-, mʷ-, ŋ- | mò-lóŋ-kɔ́jɛ́ | la fêtele pannier | partybasket | |
| 4 | mè- | m-, mʲ- | mè-kɔ | les panniers | baskets | |
| 5 | ɗì- | ɗ-, i-, dʒ- | ɗì-lɔ̂ì-dàkà | l'oreillela maladie | earillness | |
| 6 | mà- | m- | mà-lɔ̂ | les oreilles | ears | |
| 7 | è- | èj- | è-lɛ́mi | la langue | tongue | |
| 8 | ɓè- | ɓèj- | ɓè-kòndàɓèj-ìmà | les souliersles choses | shoesthings | |
| 9/10 | N- | m-, n-, ŋ-, ɲ-, ø | m-bàdìn-dómì ø-sɔ̀kù | maison(s)père(s) éléphant(s) | house(s)father(s) elephant(s) | |
| 13 | lì- | l- | lì-ɲɔ̀níl-éjì | les oiseauxles soleils | birdssuns | |
| 14 | ɓù- | ɓʷ- | ɓù-dùbʷ-àló | l'ânela pirogue | donkeycanoe | |
| 19 | vi- | v- | vì-ɲɔ̀ní | l'oiseau | bird |