Ghomalaʼ language

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Ghomala
Ghɔmálá’
Native to	Cameroon
Region	West Region (Cameroon)
Ethnicity	Bamileke
Native speakers	350,000 (2005)^[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Grassfields Eastern Grassfields Mbam-Nkam Bamileke Ghomala
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`bbj`
Glottolog	`ghom1247`

Ghɔmálá’ or Ghomala is a major Bamileke language spoken in Cameroon, originally in the following departments of the West region:

Mifi, Koung-Khi and Hauts-Plateaux: most of the three departments (except extreme south and except pockets in the north and west)
Menoua: east of the department
Bamboutos: a corner in the south

It is spoken by an estimated 2 million people in two main population groups.^{[citation needed]}

Phonology

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Consonants

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		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k	ʔ
Plosive	voiced	b	d		ɡ
Affricate	voiceless	p͡f	t͡s	t͡ʃ
Affricate	voiced	b͡v	d͡z	d͡ʒ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	(ʃ)		h
Fricative	voiced	(v)		(ʒ)	(ɣ)
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Approximant	lateral		(l)
	central	w		j
	centralized			ɥ̈

The glottal stop /ʔ/ only occurs as word-final.
Sounds [v l ʃ ʒ ɣ] are alternative consonant sounds of /b͡v d t͡ʃ d͡ʒ ɡ/.
/t d/, when occurring before close front-central vowel sounds /i ʉ/, can sound palatalized as [tʲ dʲ].
Sounds /p b t d k/, when preceding a /h/ sound, are realized as affricated [p͡ɸ b͡β t͡θ d͡ð k͡x].
/ɡ/, when occurring before central vowel sounds /ə ɐ/, may sound affricated as [ɡ͡ɣ].
A word-final /k/ sound, may be realized as uvular sounds [q χ].

Vowels

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	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ʉ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Mid	ɛ	ɐ	ɔ
Low		a

Sounds /ɐ u ɔ/ when occurring with a velar nasal /ŋ/, can be realized as nasalized vowel sounds [ɐ̃ ũ ɔ̃].^[2]

Tone

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Tones are marked as high [á], low [à], mid (unmarked) [a], rising [ǎ], or falling [â].

References

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^ Ghomala at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Nissim, Gabriel M. (1981). Le Bamileke-Ghomálá' (Parler de Bandjoun, Cameroun). Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Sciéntifique.

Ghomalaʼ language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

v t e Languages of Cameroon
Official languages	French English
Major languages	Bamum Bulu Duala Ewondo Fulfulde Kom Lamnso Medumba
Pidgins	Cameroonian Pidgin English Camfranglais Ewondo Populaire Arabic
Indigenous languages	Chadian Arabic Abon Afade Aghem Ambo Babanki Bafaw-Balong Bafia Baka Baldemu Bamali Bambalang Bana Bangolan Bankon Basaa Bata Bati Batu Bebele Bebil Beti Bikya Bishuo Bitare Bomwali Bonkeng Bube Bung Buwal Byep Caka Ceve Chamba Leko Cuvok Daba Dowayo Ɗugwor Duli Eman Esimbi Eton Evant Fa’ Fang Fanji Fe'fe' Fut Gawar Gbanu Gbanzili Ghomala' Gidar Glavda Gude Gunu Gvoko Hausa Hdi Hijuk Hina Hya Ipulo Iyive Jimi Jina Kaalong Kabba Kako Kali Kanuri Kare Kasabe Kera Ki Kogo Kol Koma Kpwe Kuo Kutin Kwa’ Kwakum Kwasio La'bi Lagwan Limba Limbum Luo Maɗa Mafa Majera Makaa Malgbe Manenguba Mangbai Manza Maslam Massa Matal Mazagway Mbə’ Mboa Mbudum Mbuko Mbule Mbum Mefele Məgaka Mengisa Menyam Merey Mesaka Mfumte Mofu-Gudur Moloko Mono Mpade Mpumpong Mser Mundang Mungaka Musgu Muyang Nagumi Nda’nda’ Ndai Nen Nga'ka Ngambay Ngiemboon Ngomba Ngombale Ngwe Nimbari Njem Njerep Nkongho Noho Noni North Giziga North Mofu Northwest Gbaya Nyokon Nyong Nzakambay Nzanyi Nzime Oblo Oroko Otank Pam Papia Parkwa Pinyin Pol Pongo Psikyɛ Rombi Sharwa South Giziga Suwu Swo Tibea Tikar To Tsuvan Tupuri Vame Vemgo-Mabas Vengo Vere Voko Wom Wuzlam Yamba Yambe Yasa Yedina Yemba Yeni Zizilivakan Zulgo-Gemzek Zumaya
Sign languages	Francophone African Sign Language Maroua Sign Language
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See also: General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages