Nso language

Nsɔ
Lamnsɔ’
Native to	Cameroon
Native speakers	240,000 in Cameroon (2005)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Grassfields Ring Nsɔ
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lns
Glottolog	lamn1239

Lamnso (Lamnsɔ’) is the language of the Nso people of Cameroon. A few may remain in Nigeria. It is a Grassfields language with ten major noun classes.[1] The ISO 639-3 code is lns.[2] This language is spoken by about over 100,000 people.

Phrases

• Beri wo. Thank you. (Deutsch: Danke)
• Wikijung. You are welcome.
• A sahka? What news? (Greeting). (Deutsch: Wie Gehts?)
• Sah ka yo dzə. No news (Reply) OR M bo sa. I am fine. (Deutsch: Gut)
• yirannia. Good morning.
• A sahka mbuni. How did you sleep?
• Aresi nia. Good afternoon.
• yi ginia. Good evening.
• Buni kijung. Sleep well.
• A ber ni kibveshi. Good bye until tomorrow.
• Njemse jungsi. Sweet dreams.
• Wuna wosa. And to you.
• Nyuy sævi wo. God bless you (Greeting). (Deutsch: Gott segne dich)
• Vishi vejungvi. Good luck.
• Ghan kijung. Safe journey.
• Fo mo. Give me. (Deutsch: Gib mir)
• A du fe? Where are you going? (Deutsch: Wo gehen Sie hin?)
• Yir yee dzə la? What is your name? (Deutsch: Wie heißen Sie?)
• Yir yem dzə Luckong. My name is Luckong. (Deutsch: Meine Name ist Luckong)
• A dzə wan la? Whose child are you? (Deutsch: Zu welchen Eltern gehören Sie?)
• M dzə wan Lukong. I am Lukong's child. (Deutsch: Ich bin das Kind von Emma)
• Fon Nso dze la? Who is the traditional ruler of Nso? (Deutsch: Wie heißt der Nso Oberhaupt?)
• Jing yar mo. I am hungry.
• Ki long ki yum mo. I am thirsty.
• M kong wo. I love you.
• Marir mo. Marry me.

Animal names

• baa: leopard
• jwi: dog
• kan: monkey
• kitam: elephant
• bvèreh: lion
• shishuiy: duica
• bvey: goat
• njii: sheep
• nyaar: buffalo
• buhn: squirrel
• yo : serpent
• kinchiiy: cricket
• taa ngam: spider
• ngam: tarantula
• kuurra: hyena
• Ngvev: Chicken.
• Kibev: He goat.
• Kibar: Lizard.
• Kiliim: Bat

Other nouns

• shuy: sun
• mindzev: water
• ngwa: book
• nanar: pineapple
• lav: house
• kitukelav: roof
• nsaalav: floor
• shulav: door
• ntah: chair
• gham: rug
• nton: cooking pot
• lang: bowl (typically a small bowl)
• bar: Cup
• Nkaa: Basket
• Sum: Farm.
• Minkkah: Firewood.

Adjectives

• lum: hot
• rə : cold
• Dzer: Heavy.
• Sen: Dark.
• Fer: White
• Sheer: Bitter.
• Nyom: Sweet.

Bibliography

• McGarrity, Laura and Botne, Robert (2001). Between Agreement and Case Marking in Lamnso. IUWPL 3: Explorations in African Linguistics: From Lamnso' to Sesotho (2001), edited by Robert Botne and Rose Vondrasek, pp. 53–70. Bloomington, IN: Noun classes and categorization: Proceedings of a symposium on categorization and noun classification, Eugene, Oregon, October 1983. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins.