Munka language

The Bamunka language, Ŋgieməkɔʼkə Bamunka pronunciation: [ˈŋgiěꜜmə́ˌkɔ̀ʔkə̌],^[2] is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon.

Munka
Bamunka
Ŋgieməkɔʼkə
Native to	Cameroon
Native speakers	31,000 (2008)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Grassfields Ring South Munka
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bvm
Glottolog	bamu1256

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants^[3]

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labial-velar	Glottal
Plosive/ Affricate	Voiceless		/t/	/t͡ʃ/	/k/	/k͡p/	/ʔ/
	Voiced	/b/	/d/	/d͡ʒ/	/g/
Fricative	Voiceless	/f/	/s/	/ʃ/
	Voiced	/v/		/ʒ/	/ɣ/
Nasal		/m/	/n/	/ɲ/	/ŋ/
Approximant			/l/	/j/		/w/

• /b/ and /m/ are bilabial, whereas /f/ and /v/ are labiodental.
• /ɲ/ and /j/ are palatal, whereas /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/, /ʃ/, and /ʒ/ are post-alveolar.

Vowels

Vowels^[3]

	Front	Central	Back
Close	/i/	/ɨ/	/u/
Mid-close	/e/	/ə/	/o/
Mid-open	/ɛ/		/ɔ/
Open	/a/

Tones

In addition, Munka has five phonemic tones: three level tones (high, mid, and low) and two contour tones (rising, and falling).^[3]

Orthography

Ngeloh Takwe proposed this orthography in her post-graduate diploma dissertation in 2002.^[3]

Bamunka alphabet (2002)^[3]

Letters	a	b	c	d	e	ɛ	ə	f	gh	g	h	ɨ	j	k	kp	l	m	n	ny	ŋ	o	ɔ	s	sh	t	u	v	w	y	zh
IPA	/a/	/b/	/t͡ʃ/	/d/	/e/	/ɛ/	/ə/	/f/	/ɣ/	/g/	/ʔ/	/ɨ/	/d͡ʒ/	/k/	/k͡p/	/l/	/m/	/n/	/ɲ/	/ŋ/	/o/	/ɔ/	/s/	/ʃ/	/t/	/u/	/v/	/w/	/j/	/ʒ/

References

1. Munka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Ingle, Jane (2013). The Bamunka Noun Phrase (PDF). Yaoundé: SIL.
3. Ngeloh Takwe, Jeannette (October 2002). Structural Phonology of Bamunka (post-graduate diploma thesis). Yaoundé: The University of Yaoundé I.

Further reading

• Blackwell, Jonathan (2011). SIL (ed.). Proposed revision of Bamunka orthography revised 24 Feb 2011. Yaoundé.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Browne, Ciara (2010). "The Noun Phrase in Bamunka: Towards a Complexity Analysis". The ITB Journal. 11 (2). Institute of Technology Blanchardstown. doi:10.21427/D7VF1T.
• Schaub, Willi (1983). Report on socio-linguistic survey in Ndop Western Grassfields languages (Sociolinguistic survey of Babungo, Bamessing, Babessi, Bamunka). Yaoundé: SIL.
• Sorsamo, Hannu (2006). An introduction to the phonology of Bamunka. Yaoundé: SIL.
• Sorsamo, Hannu (2006). Bamunka Orthography Guide (Provisional). Yaoundé: SIL.
• Sorsamo, Hannu (2006). Observations on the Bamunka phonology and orthography. Yaoundé: SIL.