Ewondo

Ewondo

Ewondo is a Bantu language with about half a million speakers in
Cameroon. Ewondo has about 100,000 native speakers in and around the
capital of Cameroon, Yaunde (Yaoundé), and a further 470,000 or so
second language speakers in southern Cameroon, where it serves as
a lingua franca.

Ewondo alphabet and pronunciation

Ewondo alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

  • The second pronunciation of M and N is used when they appears
    before consonants in free-standing syllables.
  • On it’s own, the letter P is used in loanwords, especially words from French
  • The letter R is used in loanwords only, and is often replaced by L.

Ewondo is a tonal language with five tones, though they are often omitted
from writing. The high tone is marked with an acute accent (á), while the low tone
is only marked in nasal syllables with a grave accent (à). The tones can be
combined: high-low, marked by a circumflex (â), and low-high, marked by a
caron (ǎ). There is also a middle tone.

Information about Ewondo compiled by Wolfram Siegel

Links

Information about the Ewondo languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewondo_language

Information about languages in Cameroon
http://www.linguistik-online.de/18_04/echu.html

  • Post category:Languages
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