| Nsei | |
|---|---|
| Kenswei Nsei | |
| Native to | Cameroon |
Native speakers | 25,000 (2008)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ndb |
| Glottolog | kens1251 |
Kenswei Nsei (Kensense), also Nsei or Mesing (Bamessing), is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -voice | +voice | -voice | +voice | -voice | +voice | -voice | +voice | -voice | ||
| Nasal | Plain | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
| Labialized | ɲʷ | ŋʷ | ||||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
Plain | b | t | d | t͡ʃ | d͡ʒ | k | g | ʔ | |
| Pre-nasalized | ᵐb | ⁿt | ⁿd | ⁿt͡ʃ | ⁿd͡ʒ | ᵑk | ᵑg | |||
| Lablalized | bʷ | tʷ | dʷ | t͡ʃʷ | d͡ʒʷ | kʷ | gʷ | |||
| Pre-nasalized and labialized |
ᵐbʷ | ⁿtʷ | ⁿdʷ | ⁿt͡ʃʷ | ⁿd͡ʒʷ | ᵑkʷ | ᵑgʷ | |||
| Fricative | Plain | f | v | s | z | ɣ[lower-alpha 1] | h | |||
| Pre-nasalized | ᶬf | ⁿs | ||||||||
| Labialized | sʷ | zʷ | ||||||||
| Pre-nasalized and labialized |
ⁿsʷ | |||||||||
| Approximant | Plain | l | j[lower-alpha 2] | w | ||||||
| Labialized | lʷ | jʷ | ||||||||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ̝[lower-alpha 1] | u |
| Close-mid | e[lower-alpha 2] | ə[lower-alpha 3] | o[lower-alpha 4] |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | æ | ä[lower-alpha 5] |
Tone
Nsei has both lexical and grammatical tone. There are at least two level tones (high, low, and possibly mid) and two contour tones (falling and rising).[3]
References
- ↑ Nsei at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- 1 2 DeVries 2008.
- ↑ DeVries 2008, pp. 17–18.
Further reading
- Akeriweh (2000). A step towards the standardisation of Kə̀nswéynséy: (a grassfield bantu language (MA thesis). Yaoundé: Université de Yaoundé I.
- DeVries, Aaron (2008). Kenswey Nsey (Bamessing): A Phonological Sketch (PDF). Yaoundé: SIL Cameroun. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2023.
- Lonbeck, Janelle (2013). The Noun Phrase in Kenswei Nsei (Bamessing) (PDF). Yaoundé: SIL Cameroon. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2023.
- Lonfo, Bertrand (2007). Morphologie nominale du kensweynse (MA thesis). Université de Yaoundé I.
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