Yemba language
Today, Yemba language is a highly relevant topic that has captured the attention of millions of people around the world. With the advancement of technology and globalization, Yemba language has become a constant point of discussion in everything from politics to pop culture. This article will seek to analyze in depth the impact of Yemba language on contemporary society, exploring its different facets and how it has come to influence our lives in ways we may not have even considered before. Through testimonies, studies and expert opinions, it is intended to shed light on this topic and offer readers a complete and updated vision of Yemba language.
| Yemba | |
|---|---|
| Ashuŋne yémba | |
| Dschang | |
| Region | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Bamileke |
Native speakers | ~500,000 (2023)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ybb |
| Glottolog | yemb1246 |
Yɛmba or Yemba, also Yémba or Bamiléké Dschang, is a major Bamileke language in West Region of Cameroon. It was approximately spoken by 500,000 or so people in the country in 2023.[1]
Despite originally being exclusively a spoken language, Yemba writing was developed by Maurice Tadadjeu (co-creator of the General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages) and Steven Bird. Their team developed a small Yemba–French Dictionary covering French translations of over 3,000 Yemba words and expressions.[2] The Mmuock dialect also has a proposed orthography.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | (p) | t | k | ʔ | |
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||
| Affricate | p͡f | t͡s | t͡ʃ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | ||
| voiced | v | z | ʒ | (ɣ) | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Rhotic | (r) | |||||
| Approximant | lateral | (l) | ||||
| central | w | j | ||||
- Sounds /t͡ʃ ʃ ʒ/ are included as phonemes in some analyses. In most analyses, they are considered as allophones of /t͡s s z/.
- Sounds are consonant alternation sounds between the following consonants /b d ɡ/.
- Alternation sounds of /j w/ are labialized and palatalized sounds .
- Graphemes of the alterations and allophones are noted in the Yemba alphabet as c sh j p l.
- An /r/ sound can also be included in the current language, and written in the Yemba alphabet as r.
- The prosodies of palatalization and labialization , are written orthographically with lowercase graphemes y w.
- A grapheme for aspiration among consonants is written as h.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ʉ | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| ɛ | ɔ | ||
| Low | a |
- /ʉ/ is included as a phoneme in some analyses. In more abstract analyses, it is considered as a palatalization of /u/.
- Vowel length is distinguished using double vowel sounds (ex. aa )
Tone
Three tones are marked as high , mid , or low . Low tones are unmarked when written.[3]
References
- ^ a b Yemba at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Bird, Steven; Maurice, Tadadjeu (1997). Petit Dictionnaire Yémba - Français (PDF). ANACLAC (Association Nationale des Comités de langues du Cameroun). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ Harro, Gretchen; Haynes, Nancy (1991). Grammar Sketch of Yemba. Yaoundé: SIL.
Petit dictionnaire Yemba Francais[dead link]
External links
- Aleco Yemba.net - Online Dictionaries and Learning Tools for the Yemba Language Archived 2025-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
 | This article about a language spoken in Cameroon is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about Grassfields Bantu languages is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |