Myene language
| Myene | |
|---|---|
| Omyene | |
| Native to | Gabon |
| Region | Ogooue-Maritime Province, Middle Ogooue Province |
| Ethnicity | Myene (Mpongwe, Adyumba, Nkomi, Galwa), Bongo |
Native speakers | 45,000 (2007)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mye |
| Glottolog | myen1241 |
B.11[2] | |
Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages,[3] though Nurse & Philippson (2003) place it in with the Tsogo languages (B.30). The more distinctive varieties are Mpongwe (Pongoué), Galwa (Galloa), and Nkomi.
Phonology
[edit]| Bilabial | Labio- dental |
Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | |
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| prenasal vl. | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᶮtʃ | ᵑk | ||
| prenasal vd. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮdʒ | ᵑg | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | ||
| voiced | β | v | z | (ɣ) | ||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
| Trill | r | |||||
- /ɡ/ is also heard as [ɣ] in free variation when preceding vowels or semivowels depending on articulation.
- Voiced sounds /b, d, dʒ/ may also be heard as implosives [ɓ, ɗ, ɗ̠ʲ] in free variation across dialects.
- In the Adyumba dialect /dʒ/ may also be heard as [dz] in free variation.
- Sounds /ᶮtʃ, ᶮdʒ/ may also be heard as prenasal alveolar affricates [ⁿts, ⁿdz] across dialects.
- /w/ may be heard as more palatal [ɥ] when before front vowel sounds.
- A nasalized labio-velar sound /w̃/ may also be attested in the Mpongwe dialect.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a | |
Dictionary
[edit]Jean-Rémy Bessieux published a Pongwe dictionary in 1847.[7][8]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Myene at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ↑ Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.
- 1 2 Jacquot, A. (1976). Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene. Etudes Bantoues II, Bulletin SELAF 53. pp. 13–79.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ Ambouroue (2007)
- ↑ Daouda (1988)
- ↑ "Bessieux, Jean-Rémi (version B)". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ↑ Nicolas, François (1 October 2022). "Jean-Remi Bessieux (1803-1876) and the Founding of the Catholic Church in Gabon". Duquesne University, Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Spiritan Horizons, Volume 19, Issue 19. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]- Ambouroue, Odette (2007). Éléments de description de l'Orungu: Langue bantu du Gabon (B11b). Brussels: Université Libre de Bruxelles dissertation.
- Eyang Effa, Edwige (2002). Phonologie du myen'orungu, langue bantoue du Gabon B11b. Libreville: Université Omar Bongo.
- Jacquot, A. (1976) Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene, in Etudes Bantoues II, Bulletin SELAF 53, Paris, 13–79.
- Patrick Mouguiama Daouda (1988). Éléments de description du mpongwe : Phonologie, morphologie du système nominal et pronominal (mémoire de maîtrise). Université Omar Bongo. 154 p
- Philippson, G. & G. Puech (1996) 'Tonal domains in Galwa (Bantu, B11c)' The Bantu languages
- Soumaho Ditoubilianou, Prisca Armelle (2001). Esquisse d'une phonologie fonctionnelle du Galwa. Libreville: Université Omar Bongo.
- Teisseres, Urbain (1957). Méthode pratique pour apprendre l'omyènè. 2nd edn. Paris: Société des Missions Evangéliques
External links
[edit]- ELAR archive of Comparative documentation of the Myene language cluster: Adyumba, Enenga, Galwa, Mpongwe, Nkomi and Orungu
- ^ le myènè en ligne sur : 'awanawintche.com', le myene en ligne : proverbes, contes, cours en audio mp3, histoires, rites et légendes o'myènè.
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