Medumba
The Bamileke language of the Ndé, around Bangangté
Family : Niger-Congo, Bantoid, Grassfields (Mbam-Nkam group, Eastern Bamileke languages)
Speakers : About 210,000 speakers according to Ethnologue (1991 figure).
Also called : Mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀, Bangangté
Where and by whom it is spoken
Medumba is a Bamileke language spoken mainly in the Ndé division of the West region, centred on Bangangté, Bakong, Bangoulap, Bahouoc, Bagnoun and Tonga. It is often, wrongly, called "Bangangté" after its main town. It is a tonal language: the same syllable changes meaning with the pitch of the voice, and the spelling marks these tones with accents.
History and writing
Protestant missionaries gave it a first spelling system in 1926, for primary schooling and to spread the Bible; the New Testament appeared in 1967. On 20 December 1973 the CEPOM, a language committee based in Bangangté, was founded to produce textbooks, dictionaries and literature. After six successive spelling systems, the current alphabet was adopted on 2 February 1985.
Where to hear it today
- A radio language: Medumba Community Radio in Bangangté produces about 40% of its content in Medumba, including a farming programme.
- A festival language: every two years in July, the Medumba Arts and Culture Festival brings the fourteen main villages of the Ndé together in Bangangté, with reviving the language as its first aim.
- A sung language: the lyrics of bend skin, the urban music of Bamileke country, are often in Medumba.
A few words
- mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀
- The language's name, in the language itself.
- ntsə̀
- Water.