Vute language
Mambiloid language of Cameroon
title: "Vute language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mambiloid-languages", "languages-of-cameroon", "languages-of-nigeria"] description: "Mambiloid language of Cameroon" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vute_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Mambiloid language of Cameroon ::
::data[format=table title="infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Vute |
| states | Cameroon |
| speakers | 21,000 |
| date | 1997 |
| ref | e18 |
| familycolor | Niger-Congo |
| fam2 | Atlantic–Congo |
| fam3 | Benue–Congo |
| fam4 | Mambiloid |
| fam5 | Mambila–Konja |
| fam6 | Mambila–Vute |
| fam7 | Tep–Vute |
| fam8 | Vute languages |
| iso3 | vut |
| glotto | vute1244 |
| glottorefname | Vute |
| :: |
|name=Vute |states=Cameroon |region= |speakers=21,000 |date=1997 |ref=e18 |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=Atlantic–Congo |fam3=Benue–Congo |fam4=Mambiloid |fam5=Mambila–Konja |fam6=Mambila–Vute |fam7=Tep–Vute |fam8=Vute languages |iso3=vut |glotto=vute1244 |glottorefname=Vute
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria. The orthography was standardized on March 9, 1979. Noted dialect clusters are eastern, central, and Doume.
Phonology
Consonants
Consonants in Vute are numerous and include pulmonic and implosive airstreams. Labialization is phonemic in many consonants, some of which is dialectal.
::data[format=table title="Consonants of Vute{{Cite journal|last=Thwing|first=Rhonda|orig-year=1981|year=2004|title=Vute Orthography Statement|url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/11/55/22/115522908478046307089743534852515072088/VuteOrthography.pdf|journal=General Alphabet of Cameroonian Languages}}{{Cite book |last=Thwing |first=Rhonda Ann |title=The Vute Noun Phrase and the Relationship Between Vute and Bantu (Cameroon) |publisher=Ann Arbor: UMI |year=1987}}"] | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial– velar | Glottal | plain || lab. | plain || lab. | plain || lab. | plain || lab. | plain || lab. | Nasal | Implosive | Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | voiced | prenasalized | Fricative | voiceless | voiced | prenasalized | Rhotic | Approximant | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | (~) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Tones
Source:
There are more phonemic tones than are marked in orthography, such as mid-high rising tone and mid tone being both unmarked for example. Phonologically conditioned downstep is unmarked.
::data[format=table]
| Tone Category | IPA | Orthography | Example | Gloss | high tone | mid tone | low tone | mid-high | low-high* | high-low | high-mid | high-low-high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ˦ | á, áá | tím | blood | |||||||||
| ˧ | a, aa | məb | louse | |||||||||
| ˨ | à, àà | tɨ̀mnɨ | to drown | |||||||||
| ˧˥ | a, aá | tɨm | antelope | |||||||||
| ˩˥ | à | ɓùn | grass | |||||||||
| ˥˩ | â, áà | bɨ̂ŋ | round, complete | |||||||||
| ˥˧ | â, áa | mîn | good | |||||||||
| ˥˩˦ | âá | sîím | rainy season | |||||||||
| :: |
*Only in eastern dialects, on short vowels. All other dialects merge this class with low tone.
Vowels
Sources: ::data[format=table]
| Oral | Nasal | Long | Short | Long | Short |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [iː] ii | [i~ɪ] i | [ĩː] i̧i̧ | [ĩ] i̧ | ||
| [eː] ee | [e~ɛ] e | [ɛ̃ː] ȩȩ | [ɛ̃] ȩ | ||
| [ɨː] ɨɨ | [ɨ] ɨ | [ɨ̃ː] ɨ̧ɨ̧ | [ɨ̃] ɨ̧ | ||
| [əː] əə | [ə] ə | [ə̃ː] ə̧ə̧ | [ə̃] ə̧ | ||
| [aː] aa | [a] a | [ãː] a̧a̧ | [ã] a̧ | ||
| [uː] uu | [u~ʊ] u | [ũː] u̧u̧ | [ũ] u̧ | ||
| [oː] oo | [o~ɔ] o | [õː] o̧o̧ | [õ] o̧ | ||
| [ɔː] ɔɔ | [ɔ] ɔ | [ɔ̃ː] ɔ̧ɔ̧ | [ɔ̃] ɔ̧ | ||
| [ei] ei | [ẽĩ] ȩi̧ | ||||
| [ai] ai | [ãĩ] a̧i̧ | ||||
| [ɨi] ɨi | [ɨ̃ĩ] ɨ̧i̧ | ||||
| [əi] əi | [ə̃ĩ] ə̧i̧ | ||||
| [oi] oi | [õĩ] o̧i̧ | ||||
| :: |
References
References
- Thwing, Rhonda. (2004). "Vute Orthography Statement". General Alphabet of Cameroonian Languages.
- Thwing, Rhonda Ann. (1987). "The Vute Noun Phrase and the Relationship Between Vute and Bantu (Cameroon)". Ann Arbor: UMI.
- "PHOIBLE 2.0 -".
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