Lamnso'
The language of the Nso kingdom, around Kumbo
Family : Niger-Congo, Bantoid, Grassfields (Ring group)
Speakers : About 240,000 speakers according to Ethnologue (2005 figure).
Also called : Nso, Lamnsɔ', Lam Nso', Banso
Where and by whom it is spoken
Lamnso' is the language of the Nso people, in the Bui division of the North-West region: it is spoken around Kumbo and Jakiri, north-east of Bamenda. It is a Grassfields language of the Ring group, with ten major noun classes. In this anglophone region it is used daily alongside Pidgin and English.
History and writing
A first spelling system was created, then revised to follow the General Alphabet of Cameroonian Languages: high and low tones are marked with accents, and long vowels with a doubled letter. Bible translation, begun in 1971 with the Canadian Karl Grebe of Wycliffe and SIL, produced a New Testament in 1990, then the complete Bible, presented in November 2016 together with a Lamnso'-English dictionary.
Where to hear it today
- The everyday language of Kumbo, seat of the Fon of Nso, alongside Pidgin and English.
- A school language: since the State authorised the teaching of local languages, in 2012 according to Wycliffe Canada, Lamnso' literacy booklets have entered the public school curriculum.
- A church language, although one study notes that the Lamnso' Scriptures are still little read in the Baptist churches of Nso country.
A few words
- Beri wo
- Thank you.
- Yirannia
- Good morning.
- mindzev
- Water.
What sources disagree on
Figures diverge widely: 240,000 speakers according to Ethnologue in 2005, "over 100,000" or 72,000 according to other sources cited online.