The General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages is an orthographic system created in the late 1970s for all Cameroonian languages.[1][2] Consonant and vowel letters are not to contain diacritics, though ⟨ẅ⟩ is a temporary exception. The alphabet is not used sufficiently for the one unique letter, a bilabial trill, to have been added to Unicode.
Maurice Tadadjeu and Etienne Sadembouo were central to this effort.
** Like ⟨ɓ⟩, but with the top hook turned to the left.
Aspirated consonants are written ph, th, kh etc. Palatalized and labialized consonants are py, ty, ky and pw, tw, kw etc. Retroflex consonants are written either Cr or with a cedilla: tr, sr or ţ, ş, etc. Prenasalized consonants are mb, nd, ŋg etc. Preglottalized consonants are 'b, 'd, 'm etc. Geminant consonants are written double.
Vowels
Cameroonian vowels
Front unrounded
front/central rounded
central/back unrounded
back rounded
High
i
ɨ [sic]
ʉ [sic]
u
Mid-high
e
ø
ɤ
o
Mid-low
ɛ
œ
ə
ɔ
Low
æ
a
ɑ
Long vowels are written double. Nasal vowels may be written with a cedilla: a̧ etc. or with a single following nasal consonant: aŋ etc. (presumably assimilating to any following consonant), in which case VN would be written with a double nasal: aŋŋ etc. Harmonic vowels are written with a sub-dot, as ⟨bibị⟩ for [bib-y].
Tones
Tone is written as in the IPA, with the addition of a vertical mark for mid-low tone: ⟨á ā a̍ à, â ǎ⟩ etc. Where rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels, they are decomposed: ⟨áà, àá⟩ etc. The high tone mark is used for contrastive stress in languages that do not have tone.
^Tadadjeu, Maurice and Etienne Sadembouo. 1979. Alphabet Générale des Langues Camerounaises. Departement des Langues Africaines et Linguistique, Université de Yaoundé, Cameroun.
general, alphabet, cameroon, languages, orthographic, system, created, late, 1970s, cameroonian, languages, consonant, vowel, letters, contain, diacritics, though, temporary, exception, alphabet, used, sufficiently, unique, letter, bilabial, trill, have, been,. The General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages is an orthographic system created in the late 1970s for all Cameroonian languages 1 2 Consonant and vowel letters are not to contain diacritics though ẅ is a temporary exception The alphabet is not used sufficiently for the one unique letter a bilabial trill to have been added to Unicode Maurice Tadadjeu and Etienne Sadembouo were central to this effort Contents 1 Consonants 2 Vowels 3 Tones 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksConsonants EditCameroonian consonants Bilabial labio dental inter dental dental alveolar pre palatal palatal velar labio velar glottalStop voiceless p t k kp voiced b d g gbImplosive ɓ ɗ ƴAffricate voiceless pf tf ts c kfvoiced bv dv dz j gvFricative voiceless f s sh x xf hvoiced v z zh gh hvNasal m n ny ŋ ŋmLateral approximant lvoiceless fric slvoiced fric zlVibrant vb rGlide ẅ y w Like ɓ but with the top hook turned to the left Aspirated consonants are written ph th kh etc Palatalized and labialized consonants are py ty ky and pw tw kw etc Retroflex consonants are written either Cr or with a cedilla tr sr or ţ s etc Prenasalized consonants are mb nd ŋg etc Preglottalized consonants are b d m etc Geminant consonants are written double Vowels EditCameroonian vowels Frontunrounded front centralrounded central backunrounded backroundedHigh i ɨ sic ʉ sic uMid high e o ɤ oMid low ɛ œ e ɔLow ae a ɑLong vowels are written double Nasal vowels may be written with a cedilla a etc or with a single following nasal consonant aŋ etc presumably assimilating to any following consonant in which case VN would be written with a double nasal aŋŋ etc Harmonic vowels are written with a sub dot as bibị for bib y Tones EditTone is written as in the IPA with the addition of a vertical mark for mid low tone a a a a a ǎ etc Where rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels they are decomposed aa aa etc The high tone mark is used for contrastive stress in languages that do not have tone See also EditPan Nigerian alphabet Africa Alphabet African reference alphabetReferences Edit Tadadjeu Maurice and Etienne Sadembouo 1979 Alphabet Generale des Langues Camerounaises Departement des Langues Africaines et Linguistique Universite de Yaounde Cameroun Bird Stephen 2001 Orthography and Identity in Cameroon External links EditGeneral Alphabet of Cameroon Languages Alphabet camerounais Resurrection des langues minoritaires Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages amp oldid 1040363841, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
