// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Mfumte language say to its friend? You're mute to me.
| Mfumte | |
|---|---|
| Region | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Mfumte |
Native speakers | (24,700 Mfumte dialect cited 1982)[1] 6,000 Kwaja and Ndaktup (2000), unknown number Fum |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:nfu – Mfumtefum – Fumkdz – Kwaja (East Mfumte) |
| Glottolog | mfum1239 Mfumteicfumm1238 Fum |
Mfumte (Nfumte) is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon. It is not clear if the four varieties spoken by ethnic Mfumte—Ndaktup, Kwaja, Fum and Mfumte proper—are mutually intelligible or distinct languages; ability to communicate may be either due to inherent intelligibility or to bilingualism, while Fum and Mfumte may simply be the Nigerian and Cameroonian names for the same language.
Orthography
[edit]The Mfumte alphabet has 40 letters, with 30 consonants and 10 vowels.[2]
Alphabet
[edit]| Capital | Lowercase | IPA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoneme | Allophones | ||
| A | a | /a/ | [a] |
| B | b | /b/ | [b] |
| Ch | ch | /t͡ʃ/ | [t͡ʃ] |
| D | d | /d/ | [d] |
| Dz | dz | /d͡z/ | [d͡z] |
| E | e | /e/ | [e], [ɛ] |
| Ə | ə | /ə/ | [ə] |
| F | f | /f/ | [f] |
| G | g | /ɡ/ | [ɡ] |
| Gb | gb | /ɡb/ | [ɡb] |
| Gh | gh | /ɣ/ | [ɣ] |
| H | h | /h/ | [h] |
| ’ | ’ | [ʔ] | |
| I | i | /i/ | [i] |
| Ɨ | ɨ | /ɯ/ | [ɯ] |
| J | j | /d͡ʒ/ | [d͡ʒ] |
| K | k | /k/ | [k] |
| Kp | kp | /kp/ | [kp] |
| L | l | /l/ | [l] |
| M | m | /m/ | [m] |
| N | n | /n/ | [n] |
| Ny | ny | /ɲ/ | [ɲ] |
| Ŋ | ŋ | /ŋ/ | [ŋ] |
| O | o | /o/ | [o] |
| Ɔ | ɔ | /ɔ/ | [ɔ] |
| Ø | ø | /ø/ | [ø] |
| P | p | /p/ | [p] |
| R | r | /ɾ/ | [ɾ] |
| S | s | /s/ | [s] |
| Sh | sh | /ʃ/ | [ʃ] |
| T | t | /t/ | [t] |
| Ts | ts | /t͡s/ | [t͡s] |
| U | u | /u/ | [u] |
| Ʉ | ʉ | /y/ | [y] |
| V | v | /v/ | [v] |
| W | w | /w/ | [w] |
| Wy | wy | /ɥ/ | [ɥ] |
| Y | y | /j/ | [j] |
| Z | z | /z/ | [z] |
| Zh | zh | /ʒ/ | [ʒ] |
Multigraphs
[edit]In addition to the single phonemes, Mfumte has prenasalized, palatalized, labio-palatalized, labialized, and velarized consonants.
| Capital | Lowercase | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Mp | mp | /ᵐp/ |
| Mb | mb | /ᵐb/ |
| Nt | nt | /ⁿt/ |
| Nd | nd | /ⁿd/ |
| Nk | nk | /ᵑk/ |
| Ng | ng | /ᵑɡ/ |
| Nkp | nkp | /ᵑᵐkp/ |
| Ngb | ngb | /ᵑᵐɡb/ |
| Nts | nts | /ⁿt͡s/ |
| Ndz | ndz | /ⁿd͡z/ |
| Nj | nj | /ⁿd͡ʒ/ |
| Mf | mf | /ᶬf/ |
| Mv | mv | /ᶬv/ |
| Ns | ns | /ⁿs/ |
| Nsh | nsh | /ⁿʃ/ |
| Ngh | ngh | /ᵑɣ/ |
| Nh | nh | /ᵑh/ |
| Py | py | /pʲ/ |
| By | by | /bʲ/ |
| Ky | ky | /kʲ/ |
| Gy | gy | /ɡʲ/ |
| Hy | hy | /hʲ/ |
| Mpy | mpy | /ᵐpʲ/ |
| Mby | mby | /ᵐbʲ/ |
| Nky | nky | /ᵑkʲ/ |
| Ngy | ngy | /ᵑɡʲ/ |
| Mfy | mfy | /ᶬfʲ/ |
| Nghy | nghy | /ᵑɣʲ/ |
| Nhy | nhy | /ᵑhʲ/ |
| Hwy | hwy | /hᶣ/ |
| Nhwy | nhwy | /ᵑhᶣ/ |
| Nghwy | nghwy | /ᵑɣᶣ/ |
| Pw | pw | /pʷ/ |
| Bw | bw | /bʷ/ |
| Kw | kw | /kʷ/ |
| Gw | gw | /ɡʷ/ |
| Fw | fw | /fʷ/ |
| Hw | hw | /hʷ/ |
| Nyw | nyw | /ɲʷ/ |
| Nw | nw | /nʷ/ |
| Mpw | mpw | /ᵐpʷ/ |
| Mbw | mbw | /ᵐbʷ/ |
| Nkw | nkw | /ᵑkʷ/ |
| Ngw | ngw | /ᵑɡʷ/ |
| Nghw | nghw | /ᵑɣʷ/ |
| Nhw | nhw | /ᵑhʷ/ |
References
[edit]- ↑ Mfumte at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Fum at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Kwaja (East Mfumte) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - 1 2 3 Eyoh, Julius A.; Hedinger, Robert (June 2008). "Mfumte Orthography Guide". Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Baeke, Viviane (1984). "Les objets rituels des sociétés initiatiques chez les Wuli du Cameroun occidental" [The Ritual Objects of Wuli Initiatory Societies (Western Cameroon)]. Systèmes de pensée en Afrique noire (in French). 8. doi:10.4000/span.1061.
- Mbongue, Joseph; Grant, Caroline; Griffin, Margie; Seguin, Lawrence M. (September 1994). A rapid appraisal survey of Dzodinka (ALCAM 904) and Mfumte (ALCAM 905), Donga Mantung Division, Northwest Province (Report). SIL Global. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- Eyoh, Julius A.; Moveh Lenda, Oliver (2007). Nwà' tɔtɔ́mə̀ A a, B b, Ch ch mfí̵ti (in English and Mfumte).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - McLean, Greg L. (2015). A Recorded Text Survey of the Mfumte Speech Varieties and Rapid Appraisal Survey of Dzodinka (Report). SIL Electronic Survey Reports. Vol. 2015–004. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- McLean, Greg L. (2014). A Sketch Grammar of the Central Mfumte Language (Report). SIL Global. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- Michael, Nathan. Conflict Resolution Systems in Wulí' Culture Donga-Mantung Division, Northwest Region (Report). SIL Global. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
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