Myene language

Myene
Omyene
Native to	Gabon
Region	Ogooue-Maritime Province, Middle Ogooue Province
Ethnicity	Myene (Mpongwe, Adyumba, Nkomi, Galwa), Bongo
Native speakers	45,000 (2007)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu (Zone B) Kele–Tsogo? Tsogo? Myene
Dialects	Mpongwe Galwa Nkomi
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mye
Glottolog	myen1241
Guthrie code	B.11

Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages, though Nurse & Philippson (2003) place it in with the Tsogo languages (B.30). The more distinctive varieties are Mpongwe (Pongoué), Galwa (Galloa), and Nkomi.

Phonology

Consonants, Jacquot et al. 1976

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Nasal stop	voiceless				ŋk
	voiced	mb	nd		ŋg
Stop	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced				ɡ
Implosive		ɓ	ɗ
Nasal affricate	voiceless			n̠t̠ʃ
	voiced			n̠d̠ʒ
Affricate	voiceless			t̠ʃ
	voiced			d̠ʒ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s
	voiced	β	z
Approximant			l	j	w
Trill		ʙ	r

Vowels, Jacquot et al. 1976

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Open	a

Notes

1. ^ le myènè en ligne sur : 'awanawintche.com', le myene en ligne : proverbes, contes, cours en audio mp3, histoires, rites et légendes o'myènè.

Bibliography

• Jacquot, A. (1976) Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene, in Etudes Bantoues II', Bulletin SELAF 53, Paris, 13–79.
• Philippson, G. & G. Puech (1996) 'Tonal domains in Galwa (Bantu, B11c)'
• The Bantu languages

External links

• ELAR archive of Comparative documentation of the Myene language cluster: Adyumba, Enenga, Galwa, Mpongwe, Nkomi and Orungu