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Bangolan language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon

Bangolan
Region	Cameroon
Ethnicity	Bamileke
Native speakers	14,000 (2011)^[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Grassfields Eastern Grassfields Mbam-Nkam Nun Bangolan
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`bgj`
Glottolog	`bang1356`

Bangolan is aGrassfields Bantu language ofCameroon.

Phonology

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Consonants

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Consonants^[2]
		Labial	Coronal	Back	Labial-velar
Plosive	voiceless		t	k	kp
Plosive	voiced	b	d	g	gb
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	h
Fricative	voiced	v	z
Affricate			t͡s
Nasal		m	n	ŋ
Approximant			j		w

/b/ is[b] after nasals (e.g.,[mbé]'nail') and[p] elsewhere (e.g.,[pà]'bag').^[3]
/d/ is[d] after nasals (e.g.,[ndɔ́ŋ]'horn'),[l]~[ɾ] between vowels or after syllable-final consonants (e.g.,[túŋlə̀]~[túŋɾə̀]'ear'), and[l] elsewhere (e.g.,[lə̀ŋ]'chair').^[3]
/g/ is[g] after nasals (e.g.,[ŋgùt]'skin') and[ɣ] elsewhere (e.g.,[ɣàtə́]'divide').^[3]
/t/ is[tʰ] before[u] in open syllables (e.g.,[tʰú]'dig (verb)') and[t] elsewhere (e.g.,[túŋ]'dig (verb)').^[3]
/k/ is[ʔ] between vowels or syllable-finally (e.g.,[nàʔ]'cow') and[k] elsewhere (e.g.,[kú]'die(verb)').^[3]
/z/ is[d͡ʒ] in labialized or palatalized syllables after nasal consonants (e.g.,[nd͡ʒìŋ]'darkness'),[ʒ] in labialized or palatalized syllables (e.g.,[wǎʒwí]'lion'),[d͡z] after nasal consonants (e.g.,[nd͡zə̀]'dream', and[z] elsewhere (e.g.,[zí]'face').^[4]
/s/ is[ʃ] in labialized or palatalized syllables (e.g.,[ʃíʃí]'vein') and[s] elsewhere (e.g.,[sáŋ]'corn').^[4]
/t͡s/ is[t͡ʃ] in labialized or palatalized syllables (e.g.,[t͡ʃì]'blood') and[t͡s] elsewhere (e.g.,[t͡sɔ̀t]'mouth').^[4]
/ʔ,t,ŋ/ are the only syllable-final consonants.^[5]

Vowels

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Vowels^[6]
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ	ə	ɔ
Open		a

/ɨ/ does not occur in labialized or palatalized syllables, and/ə,u,o,ɔ/ do not occur in palatalized syllables.^[7]/e,o,ɨ/ cannot occur in closed syllables before/ŋ/.^[6]

Tone

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Bangolan haslexical and grammatical tone. Lexical tone contrasts[nd͡zɔ̂ŋ]'clitoris' with[nd͡zɔ̏ŋ]'thorn',^[6] while grammatical tone contrasts[àwé]'he has gone' with[àwē]'he is going'.^[8]

There are three level tones (high[á], mid[ā], low[à]) and three contour tones (low-rising[ǎ], high-low falling[â], and low-falling[ȁ]).^[5] The mid tone is rare but contrasts with the high and low-falling tones.^[8]

Notes

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^Bangolan atEthnologue (18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
^Njeck 2003a, p. 12.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eNjeck 2003a, pp. 10–11.
^^a ^b ^cNjeck 2003a, p. 11.
^^a ^bNjeck 2003a, p. 16.
^^a ^b ^cNjeck 2003a, p. 14.
^Njeck 2003a, p. 13.
^^a ^bNjeck 2003a, p. 18.

References

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Njeck, Mathaus (2003a).Phonological sketch of Bangolan (Report).Yaoundé: NACALCO. Retrieved26 October 2025 – viaSIL Global.

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 and Immigrantlanguages	Chadian Arabic Afade Aghem Babanki Bafaw-Balong Bafia Baka Baldemu Bamali Bambalang Bana Bangolan Bankon 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 Ghomala' Gidar Glavda Gude Gunu Gvoko Hausa Hdi Hijuk Hina Hya Ipulo Iyive Jimi Jina Kaalong 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 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