Kenyang language

Kenyang (Nyang, Banyang, Manyang) is the most spoken language of the Mamfe language group. It is spoken in the Manyu and Meme departments of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Kenyang speakers in Cameroon are known as Bayangi (Bayangui) people and are called Bayangi (Bayangui).

Kenyang
Nyang
Native toCameroon
Native speakers
(65,000 cited 1992)[1]
Dialects
  • Kitwii
  • Lower Kenyang
  • Upper Kenyang
Language codes
ISO 639-3ken
Glottologkeny1279

There are three main dialects of Kenyang: Lower Kenyang, spoken in Eyumojock and Mamfe Central subdivisions, Upper Kenyang, spoken in Upper Bayang subdivision and Kitwii, spoken in Meme department. The Upper Kenyang and Lower Kenyang dialects are more closely related to each other than to Kitwii.[2] Variant names of Kitwii include, Kicwe, Twii, Bakoni, Northern Balong, Upper Balong and Manyeman.

Phonology and Orthography

The phonemes of Kenyang is listed in the tables below, with their orthography written in angled brackets:[3][4]

Consonant
Consonant Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Alveolo-palatal Velar Labiovelar
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ ɱ ⟨⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive Voiceless p ⟨p⟩ t̪ ⟨t⟩ t ⟨t⟩ k ⟨k⟩ k͡p ⟨kp⟩
Voice b ⟨b⟩ d̪ ⟨d⟩ d~ð ⟨d⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩ ɡ͡b ⟨gb⟩
Unreleased p̚ ⟨p⟩ t̚ ⟨t⟩ k̚ ⟨k⟩
Affricate Voiceless tʃ ⟨ch⟩
Voice dʒ ⟨j⟩
Fricative Voiceless f ⟨f⟩ s ⟨s⟩
Voice β ⟨bh⟩ ɣ ⟨gh⟩
Flap ɾ ⟨r⟩
Approximant j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩

Vowel
Front Central Back
Unrounded Rounded
Close i ⟨i⟩ ɯ ⟨ʉ⟩ u ⟨u⟩
Close-mid e ⟨e⟩ o ⟨o⟩
Open-mid ɛ ⟨ɛ⟩ ɔ ⟨ɔ⟩
Open a ⟨a⟩

All the vowels in Kenyang can be nasalized.

References
  1. Kenyang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Mbuagbaw, Tanyi Eyong (September 2008). "The Standardisation and Modernisation of Kenyang". SIL Forum for Language Fieldwork 2008-001. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.511.5303. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Mbuagbaw, Tanyi Eyong (2000). Kenyang Segmental Phonology. Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy. pp. 19–45.
  4. Mbuagbaw, Tanyi Eyong (1999). Kenyang Orthography Guide. Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy. pp. 4–7.


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