Bamum language

Bamum
Shüpamom
Spoken in	Cameroon, Nigeria
Native speakers	unknown (215,000 cited 1982)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Grassfields Eastern Grassfields (Mbam–Nkam) Nun Bamum
Writing system	Bamum syllabary
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bax
Page from a manuscript in the Bamum script

Bamum (Shüpamom [ʃŷpǎˑmə̀m] "Bamum language"), or in its French spelling Bamoun, is one of the Benue–Congo languages of Cameroon, with approximately a quarter million speakers. The language is well-known for its original script developed by King Njoya and his palace circle around 1895. Cameroonian musicians Claude Ndam and Gerryland are native speakers of the language and use it in their music.

Phonology

Bamum has tone, long vowels and diphthongs, and coda consonants. The simple vowels are,

Front	Central	Back
i   y	ɨ	ɯ   u
e	ə
ɛ		ɔ
	a

The consonants are,

Labial	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Velar	Labialized velar	Labial- velar	Glottal
p	t		k	kʷ	kp	ʔ
b	d		ɡ	ɡʷ	ɡb
mp	nt		ŋk	ŋkʷ	?
mb	nd		ŋɡ	ŋɡʷ	?
f	s	ʃ	x	?
v	z	ʒ	ɣ	?
ɱf	?	ɲʃ
ɱv	?	ɲʒ
m	n	?	ŋ	ŋʷ	ŋm
	r   l	j		w

External links

• Map of Bamum language from the LL-Map Project
• Information on Bamum language from the MultiTree Project
• Claude Ndam