Dii languages
Dii | |
---|---|
Duru | |
Region | Cameroon |
Native speakers | (60,000 cited 1982–1997)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Dialects | Mambe’ Mamna’a Goom Boow Ngbang Phaane Sagzee Vaazin Home Nyok Duupa Dugun (Panõ) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:dur – Diidae – Duupandu – Dugun |
Glottolog | diic1235 |
The Dii language is a
Ethnologue lists Mambe’, Mamna’a, Goom, Boow, Ngbang, Sagzee, Vaazin, Home, Nyok as dialects, and notes that Goom may be a separate language. Blench (2004) lists them all, as well as Phaane, as separate languages, no closer to each other than they are to the other Dii languages, Duupa, Dugun (Panõ).
Varieties
The Duupa (5,000 speakers) used to live in the
The Dugun, also called Pa'no (7,000 speakers (Lars Lode 1997)), live southeast of Poli in the North Region (in Poli commune, Faro commune, and Lagdo commune in Bénoué department). The Dugun live in the plains, and the Saa in the center of a massif that is difficult to access. Lars Lode, a missionary linguist, estimated a lexical similarity of 95% between the two varieties using a 100-word list. The Dugun consider themselves to be a subgroup of the Dii (or Duru) people. Their language, although closely related to Dii, is distinct.[2]
The Dii (47,000 speakers (SIL 1982)) live east of the Dugun. They live in a large part of the
Writing System
Uppercase letters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A |
B |
Ɓ | D |
E
|
Ɛ |
Ə | F |
G |
Gb
|
H |
I |
Ɨ |
L |
M
|
ʼM | Mb |
Mgb | N |
ʼN
|
Nd |
Nz |
Ŋ |
Ŋg | O
|
Ɔ |
R |
S |
U |
Ʉ
|
V |
Vb | W |
ʼW | Y
|
ʼY | Z
| ||||||||||
Lowercase letters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
a | b | ɓ | d | e | ɛ | ə | f | g | gb | h | i | ɨ | l | m | ʼm | mb | mgb | n | ʼn | nd | nz | ŋ | ŋg | o | ɔ | r | s | u | ʉ | v | vb | w | ʼw | y | ʼy | z |
Nasalisation is indicated with a cedilla : ‹a̧, ȩ, ə̧, i̧, o̧, u̧› ; The vowels ‹ɨ, ɔ, ʉ› cannot be nasalized.
The tones are indicated by accents:
- The high tone is indicated by an acute accent: ‹á, á̧, é, ȩ́, ə́, ə̧́, í, í̧, ɨ́, ó, ó̧, ɔ́, ú, ú̧, ʉ́› ;
- The low tone is indicated by a grave accent: ‹à, à̧, è, ȩ̀, ə̀, ə̧̀, ì, ì̧, ɨ̀, ò, ò̧, ɔ̀, ù, ù̧, ʉ̀› ;
- The average tone is indicated by no diacritic: ‹a, a̧, e, ȩ, ə, ə̧, i, i̧, ɨ, o, o̧, ɔ, u, u̧, ʉ›.
References
- ^ Dii at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Duupa at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
Dugun at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013) - ^ ISBN 9789956796069.
- Roger Blench, 2004. List of Adamawa languages (ms)