| Dii | |
|---|---|
| Duru | |
| Region | Cameroon |
Native speakers | (60,000 cited 1982–1997)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects | Mambe’ Mamna’a Goom Boow Ngbang Phaane Sagzee Vaazin Home Nyok Duupa Dugun (Panõ) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:dur – Diidae – Duupandu – Dugun |
| Glottolog | diic1235 |
TheDii language is adialect cluster in theDuru branch ofSavanna languages.Yag Dii is the ethnonym.
Ethnologue listsMambe’, Mamna’a, Goom, Boow, Ngbang, Sagzee, Vaazin, Home, Nyok as dialects, and notes that Goom may be a separate language. Blench (2004) lists them all, as well asPhaane, as separate languages, no closer to each other than they are to the other Dii languages, Duupa, Dugun (Panõ).
TheDuupa (5,000 speakers) used to live in theHosséré Vokré mountains to the east of Poli (in Poli commune,Faro department, North Region). Today, the vast majority have descended from the mountains and now live in theLobi River plains (around the junction where theNgaoundéré-Garoua road passes) and in Poli.[2]
TheDugun, also calledPa'no (7,000 speakers (Lars Lode 1997)), live southeast of Poli in the North Region (in Poli commune, Faro commune, and Lagdo commune inBénoué department). TheDugun live in the plains, and theSaa in the center of a massif that is difficult to access. Lars Lode, a missionary linguist, estimated a lexical similarity of 95% between the two varieties using a 100-word list. The Dugun consider themselves to be a subgroup of the Dii (or Duru) people. Their language, although closely related to Dii, is distinct.[2]
TheDii (47,000 speakers (SIL 1982)) live east of the Dugun. They live in a large part of theBénoué River plains, including in the departments ofMayo-Rey (Tcholliré commune, North Region) and Vina (Mbé andNgaoundéré communes, Adamaoua Region). They are predominantly located to the east of Poli in the plains ofMayo-Sala andMayo-Rey (inTcholliré commune) as well as in the upperBenue River region (inLagdo commune) and the upperVina River region (inNganha andMbé communes), on the edge of the Adamaoua cliff (Ngaoundéré commune).Nyok, considered by other Dii speakers to be a secret language (the language of sorcerers), may be a distinct language. Furthermore, not much is known aboutGoom, whichALCAM (2012) considers to be a dialect of Dii.[2]
| Uppercase letters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | Ɓ | D | E | Ɛ | Ə | F | G | Gb | H | I | Ɨ | L | M | ʼM | Mb | Mgb | N | ʼN | Nd | Nz | Ŋ | Ŋg | O | Ɔ | R | S | U | Ʉ | V | Vb | W | ʼW | Y | ʼY | Z | ||||||||||
| Lowercase letters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | ɓ | d | e | ɛ | ə | f | g | gb | h | i | ɨ | l | m | ʼm | mb | mgb | n | ʼn | nd | nz | ŋ | ŋg | o | ɔ | r | s | u | ʉ | v | vb | w | ʼw | y | ʼy | z | ||||||||||
Nasalisation is indicated with a cedilla : ‹a̧, ȩ, ə̧, i̧, o̧, u̧› ; The vowels ‹ɨ, ɔ, ʉ› cannot be nasalized.
The tones are indicated by accents:
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