lingvo.wikisort.org - Language

Nso (Lamnso, Lamnsɔ’) is the Grassfields language of the Nso people of western Cameroon. A few may remain in Nigeria. It has ten major noun classes.[3] The ISO 639-3 code is lns.[4] Nso is spoken by over 100,000 people.[5]

Nsɔ
Lamnsɔ’
Native to	Cameroon
Native speakers	240,000 in Cameroon (2005)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Grassfields Ring Nsɔ
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lns
Glottolog	lamn1239

Nsọ[2]
People	Nsọ
Language	Lam-Nsọ’

Writing System

Nso uses an orthography based on the General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages (AGLC). An orthography had initially been created before being modified to follow the recommendations of the AGLC.[6]

Nso alphabet

a

b

c

d

e

ə

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

ŋ

o

p

r

s

t

u

v

w

y

z

ʼ

Nso uses 23 digraphs ⟨bv, dz, gb, gh, gv, gw, jw, kf, kp, kw, mb, mf, mt, mv, nj, ns, nt, ny, ŋg, ŋk, ŋw, sh, ts⟩ et 7 trigraphs ⟨ghv, mbv, ndz, nsh, ŋgv, ŋgw, shw⟩. Long vowels are indicating by doubling the vowel ⟨aa, ee, əə, ii, oo, uu⟩. Diphthongs are noted ⟨ay, ey, əy, oy, uy, iy⟩.[7]

The high tone is indicated with the acute accent and the low tone with the grave accent on the vowel.

Phrases

• Beri wo. Thank you.
• Wiykijung. You are welcome.
• A sahka? What news? (Greeting).
• Sah ka yo dzə. No news (Reply) or M bo sa. I am fine.
• 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).
• Vishi vejungvi. Good luck.
• Ghan kijung. Safe journey.
• Fo mo. Give me.
• A du fe? Where are you going?
• Yir yee dzə la? What is your name?
• Yir yem dzə Luckong. My name is Luckong.
• A dzə wan la? Whose child are you?
• M dzə wan Lukong. I am Lukong's child.
• Fon Nso dze la? Who is the traditional ruler of Nso?
• Jing yar mo. I am hungry.
• Ki long ki yum mo. I am thirsty.
• M kong wo. I love you.
• Marir mo. Marry me.
• A do fe. Where are you going?

Animal names

• baa: leopard
• jwi: dog
• kan: monkey
• kitam: elephant
• bvèreh: lion
• shishuiy: duiker
• 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
• bowl: (typically a small bowl)
• bar: cup
• nkaa: basket
• sum: farm
• minkkah: firewood
• shishuur: pepper
• chinyuu: spoon
• mintanin: junction
• la' cu: house of worship (church)
• kitengteng: vehicle
• sang: rice
• kitukelav: roof
• saav: file
• tu': Irish potato
• mbulam: sweet potato
• kiku': cocoyam
• kingom: banana
• nyam: meat
• mbang: walking stick
• yiy: mom (mother)
• tar: dad (father)
• jemir: sister (relative)
• tamir: brother (relative)
• feer: relative (A general sense. Example: * M dze feer wo: I am your relative)

Adjectives

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

References

Bibliography

• Banyee, William (25 November 2015). "Spelling and pronunciation in Lamso". The Nso heritage. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
• 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.

На других языках

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[de] Lamnso

Das Lamnso (Eigenbezeichnung Lamnsɔ’) ist die Sprache des Nso-Volkes aus Kamerun.

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- [en] Nso language

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[fr] Lamnso'

Le lamnso' (ou bansaw, banso, banso’, lamnsok, lamso, nsaw, nsho’, nso, nso’, panso) est une langue bantoïde des Grassfields du groupe Ring parlée dans le Nord-Ouest du Cameroun, dans le département du Bui, à l'est des arrondissements de Kumbo et Jakiri, au nord-est de Bamenda, autour de Kumbo[1].

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