Yasa language
| Iyasa | |
|---|---|
| Bongwe | |
| Native to | Cameroon Equatorial Guinea Gabon |
| Ethnicity | Yasa and 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 Bantu language spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea by the Iyasa and Ndowe coastal fishing peoples. It is also spoken by Pygmies, perhaps Babongo, in Gabon. Approximately 3,000 people speak Iyasa,[3] though some note that this number may be an overestimation.[4]
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
[edit]Dieu and Renaud (1993) classify Iyasa as a Sawabantu language (A.30 in Guthrie classification).[6]
Geographic Distribution
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Noun classes
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Belew, Anna (2018). "Discourses of speakerhood in Iyasa: Linguistic identity and authenticity in an endangered language". Language Documentation & Conservation: 339–358. hdl:10125/24769. 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
[edit]- 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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