| Bagam Eghap | |
|---|---|
| Script type | |
Period | ca. 1900 |
| Direction | Left-to-right  |
| Languages | Məgaka |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Bamum?
|
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
TheBagam orEghap script is a partially decipheredCameroonian script of several hundred characters. It was invented by King Pufong of theBagam (Eghap) people, c. 1900, and used for letters and records, though it was never in wide use. It is reputedly based on theBamum script, though the numerals show more resemblance to Bamum than thesyllabograms do, and it does not appear to be a direct descendant. The only attested example is a paper by Louis Malcolm, a British officer who served in Cameroon in World War I. This was published without the characters in 1921, and the manuscript with characters was deposited in the library of Cambridge University. This was published in full in Tuchscherer (1999).
A hundred characters are recorded, though it is thought the script had several hundred more. These includelogograms, some used phonetically,syllabograms (for CV and CVC syllables), as well as independent consonants and vowels.