Bullom So language


The Bullom So language, also called Mmani, Mani, or Mandingi, is an endangered language currently spoken in a few villages in Samu region of Sierra Leone's Kambia District, near the border of Guinea. It belongs to the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family and is particularly closely related to the Bom language. Intermarriage between Bullom So speakers and speakers of Temne and Susu is common. As the few remaining speakers of Bullom So are all over 60, the language is considered moribund.

History

According to Childs, the Mani once occupied an area far greater than where the language is spoken today. At the start of the 18th century, the Mani kingdom stretched from Sierra-Leone to Guinea. They were later replaced along the coastal region by Temne-Baga speakers, and later by the Soso, through war, invasion and acculturation.

Classification

The Bullom So language is a Niger-Congo language of Mel subgroup. It is closely related to Kisi, Sherbro, Kim and Bom.

Phonology

Prosody

The most common syllable type in Bullom So is CV and CVC. Nasals can also be syllabic, though they are relatively uncommon, much like V only syllables.
Vowels are nasalised when syllable codas contain nasals. Here are some examples from Childs :
Regressive Nasal Assimilation
  • /wàm/ or 'ten'
  • /tún/ 'commit'
  • /bìn/ 'plank'
  • /nyɛ̀n/ 'mouth'

Orthography

Written Mani before the Twenty-First Century

Gustavus Reinhold Nyländer translated the Gospel of Matthew into Bullom So, and portions of the Bible were also included in his Book of Common Prayer. These were published by the Church Missionary Society in 1816.

Sample Texts in Nyländer's Orthography

The Lord's Prayer
Excerpt from "A Dialogue between a Christian Missionary and a Native of Bullom"

Literature

  • Childs, G. Tucker. A Grammar of Mani. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
  • Childs, G. Tucker. Hin som sɛk! oma si fɔ mfɔ mmani!. Portland; OR: Real Estate Publishers, Inc.
  • Moity, Marcel. Étude sur la langue mmani. Dakar: IFAN.
  • Moity, Marcel. Notes sure les mani. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 19:302-307.
  • Nyländer, Gustavus Reinhold. 1814. Grammar and Vocabulary of the Bullom Language. London: Christian Missionary Society.
  • Pichl, Walter J.. Mmani. In West African Language Data Sheets, vol. 2. M. E. Kropp Dakubu, 1–6. Accra and Leiden: West African Linguistic Society and African Studies Centre.