Ewondo language


Ewondo also known as Beti or Cameroonian is a Bantu language spoken by the Beti people of Cameroon. The language had 577,700 native speakers in 1982. Ewondo is a trade language. Dialects include Badjia, Bafeuk, Bemvele, Bane, Beti, Enoah, Evouzom, Mbida-Bani, Mvete, Mvog-Niengue, Omvang, Yabekolo, Yabeka, and Yabekanga. Ewondo speakers live primarily in Cameroon's Centre Region and the northern part of the Océan division in the South Region.
Ewondo is a Bantu language. It is a language of the Beti people, and is intelligible with Eton.
In 2011, there was a concern among Cameroonian linguists that the language was being displaced in the country by French.

Distribution

Ewondo covers the whole of the departments of Mfoundi, Mefou-et-Afamba, Mefou-et-Akono, Nyong-et-So'o, Nyong-et-Mfoumou, and part of Océan Department.

History

The Ewondo language originated in the forests south of the Sanaga river.

Alphabet system

The tones are indicated with diacritics on the vowels:
  • the high tone is indicated with an acute accent: ;
  • the high tone is indicated with a grave accent: ;
  • the mid tone is indicated with a macron: ;
  • the low tone, the most frequent tone, is indicated by the absence of diacritics: ;
  • the rising tone is indicated with a caron: ;
  • the falling tone is indicated with a circumflex:.