| Kuo | |
|---|---|
| Koh | |
| Native to | Cameroon, Chad |
Native speakers | 21,000 (2024) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xuo |
| Glottolog | kuoo1238 |
Kuo (Koh) is an Mbum language of northern Cameroon and southern Chad.
Distribution
[edit]Kuo, like Kali, is spoken in scattered areas of the eastern part of Vina department (Mbe and eastern Ngaoundéré communes) and in Mbere department (Meiganga commune) in the Adamawa Region. In the Eastern Region, it is spoken in the northern part of Lom-et-Djerem department (Garoua-Boulaï and Bétaré-Oya communes). It is spoken by 2,975 people.[1]
Phonology
[edit]| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial–velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | k͡p ⟨kp⟩ | ||
| voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ ⟨z⟩ | ɡ ⟨g⟩ | ɡ͡b ⟨gb⟩ | ||
| prenasalized | ᵐb ⟨mb⟩ | ⁿd ⟨nd⟩ | ⁿd͡ʒ ⟨nz⟩ | ᵑɡ ⟨ŋg⟩ | ᵑᵐɡ͡b ⟨mgb⟩ | ||
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | |||
| voiced | v | ||||||
| Approximant | l | j ⟨y⟩ | w | ||||
| Flap/tap | ⱱ ⟨vb⟩ | ɾ ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a |
Orthography
[edit]| a | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ɛ | f | g | gb | h | i | k | kp | l | m | mb | mgb |
| n | nd | nz | ŋ | ŋg | o | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | v | vb | w | y | z |
The tilde (vowel nasalization mark) is written below the vowel letter (a̰, ɛ̰, ḭ, ɔ̰, ṵ). Kuo has 4 tones, written using tone accent (except for mid tone is unwritten): grave (`) for low tone, acute (´) for high tone, and caron (ˇ) for rising tone.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
- ^ Fluckiger, Cheryl (1987), Phonological Sketch: Kuo (PDF), SIL Global, pp. 1–9
- ^ a b Mbiinaŋ ɓáy Nzaŋanaŋ (PDF), Comité de littérature en langue kuo au Tchad & Comité de littérature en langue kuo au Cameroun, 2017
