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Ewondo or Beti is a Bantu language spoken by the Beti people (more precisely Beti be Nanga, the people of the forest, or simply Beti) of Cameroon. The language had 577,700 native speakers in 1982. Ewondo is a trade language. Dialects include Badjia (Bakjo), Bafeuk, Bemvele (Mvele, Yezum, Yesoum), Bane, Beti, Enoah, Evouzom, Mbida-Bani, Mvete, Mvog-Niengue, Omvang, Yabekolo (Yebekolo), 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 (Beti) covers the whole of the departments of Mfoundi, Mefou-et-Afamba, Mefou-et-Akono, Nyong-et-So'o, Nyong-et-Mfoumou (Central Region), and part of Océan Department (Southern Region).

History

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

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Alphabet system

The tones are indicated with diacritics on the vowels:

• the high tone is indicated with an acute accent: á é ə́ ɛ́ í ó ɔ́ ú;
• the high tone is indicated with an grave accent: à è ə̀ ɛ̀ ì ò ɔ̀ ù;
• the mid tone is indicated with a macron: ā ē ə̄ ɛ̄ ī ō ɔ̄ ū;
• the low tone, the most frequent tone, is indicated by the absence of diacritics: a e ə ɛ i o ɔ u;
• the rising tone is indicated with a caron: ǎ ě ə̌ ɛ̌ ǐ ǒ ɔ̌ ǔ;
• the falling tone is indicated with a circumflex: â ê ə̂ ɛ̂ î ô ɔ̂ û.

See also

• Ewondo Populaire

References

1. Ewondo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
3. http://quotidien.mutations-multimedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2962:patrimoine-la-langue-ewondo-a-son-dictionnaire&catid=58:news&Itemid=415
4. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
5. Owona, Antoine (2004). L'orthographe harmonisée de l'ewondo. Université de Yaoundé.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• Ewondo alphabet and pronunciation
• Database of audio recordings in Ewondo - basic Catholic prayers

• Beti languages
• Languages of Cameroon