Yasa language
| Iyasa | |
|---|---|
| Bongwe | |
| Native to | Pygmies[1] |
Native speakers | 2,400 in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (2000–2011)[1] unknown number in Gabon[1] |
| ? | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yko |
| Glottolog | yasa1242 |
A.33a[2] | |
| ELP | Iyasa |
 Yasa is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Iyasa (Yasa, Yassa) is a
Iyasa also goes by the names Bongwe, Lyaasa, and Maasa. Dialects are Bweko, Vendo, Bodele, Marry, One, Asonga, Bomui, Mogana, Mooma, Mapanga. It may in turn be a dialect of Kombe. Speakers report that Kombe and Iyasa are almost perfectly mutually intelligible.[5]
Classification
Dieu and Renaud (1993) classify Iyasa as a Sawabantu language (A.30 in Guthrie classification).[6]
Geographic Distribution
Iyasa is spoken along the coast of Cameroon south of Kribi, including in the city of Campo. It is also spoken across the Ntem River in Equatorial Guinea.[7] The northernmost Iyasa village is Lolabe, 31 km south of Kribi.[5]
Phonology
Iyasa has a seven-vowel system:[5]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
It also has 22 phonemic consonants:[5]
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n
|
ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t
|
tʃ | k | ||
| voiced | d
|
dʒ | ɟ | ɡ | |||
| implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
| Fricative | v | s | h | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||||
| Lateral | l
|
||||||
Grammar
Noun classes
Iyasa has 12 noun classes, as outlined in the table below (adapted from Bôt 2011 and Bouh Ma Sitna 2004):[7][5]
| Class number | Prefix | Allomorphs | Example (IPA) | Translation (French) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mù- | mʷ- | mù-tʃɛ́tʃɛ́
mw-ánà |
le bébé
l'enfant |
baby
child |
| 2 | wà- | w- | wà-dó | les femmes | women |
| 3 | mò- | m-, mʷ-, ŋ- | mò-ló
ŋ-kɔ́jɛ́ |
la fête
le pannier |
party
basket |
| 4 | mè- | m-, mʲ- | mè-kɔ | les panniers | baskets |
| 5 | ɗì- | ɗ-, i-, dʒ- | ɗì-lɔ̂
ì-dàkà |
l'oreille
la maladie |
ear
illness |
| 6 | mà- | m- | mà-lɔ̂ | les oreilles | ears |
| 7 | è- | èj- | è-lɛ́mi | la langue | tongue |
| 8 | ɓè- | ɓèj- | ɓè-kòndà
ɓèj-ìmà |
les souliers
les choses |
shoes
things |
| 9/10 | N- | m-, n-, ŋ-, ɲ-, ø | m-bàdì
n-dómì ø-sɔ̀kù |
maison(s)
père(s) éléphant(s) |
house(s)
father(s) elephant(s) |
| 13 | lì- | l- | lì-ɲɔ̀ní
l-éjì |
les oiseaux
les soleils |
birds
suns |
| 14 | ɓù- | ɓʷ- | ɓù-dù
bʷ-àló |
l'âne
la pirogue |
donkey
canoe |
| 19 | vi- | v- | vì-ɲɔ̀ní | l'oiseau | bird |
References
- ^ a b c Iyasa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ "Did you know Iyasa is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- ISSN 1934-5275.
- ^ a b c d e Bouh Ma Sitna, Charles Lwanga (2004). Le Syntagme Nominal du Yasa. University of Yaoundé I: Master's thesis.
- ^ Dieu, Michel, and Patrick Renaud. 1993. Situation linguistique en Afrique centrale, inventaire pre@liminaire: Le Cameroun. In Atlas Linguistique du Cameroun. Yaounde@: ACCT-CERDOTOLA-DGRST.
- ^ a b Bôt, Dieudonné Martin Luther (2011). "Le Préfixe Nominale Yasa". Journal of West African Languages. 38 (1): 99–122.
External links
- Iyasa page at the Endangered Languages Project
- Homepage of the Iyasa language committee
- Etomba a Iyasa Facebook group
- Paradisec has an open access collection of Roger Blench's materials (RB5) that includes Yasa language materials
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