The /ǝ/ sound in Nkwen Language
- Ngechent
- Nov 19, 2019
- 2 min read
The /ǝ/ sound in Nkwen Language
Ә ә
ǝ̀làrә̀ – a bridge
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/ə/ is one of the vowel sounds in the Nkwen Language. It is a Mid-Central Vowel that is often called the “schwa” sound but that refers to the symbol that is used and has nothing to do with the phonetics of the sound. In Nkwen Language, it features in all positions in most words; initial, medial, and final. Here are examples of the words and a short reading exercise.
Ә ә
ǝ̀bàrә̂ – mad people
ǝ̀bà’à – doors
àlàrә – problem
ǝ̀làrǝ̀ – a bridge
ǝ̀tàa – father
ǝ̀tâ – a pit
mǝ̀nenә̀ – grass birds
mǝ̀nà – animals
Mәshi – female name
Mǝ̀là – male name
Mǝ̀fâ – twins
Nǝ̀dorǝ̀ – joy
Lǝ̀ŋә – to stir (fufu)
sәŋә – a bird
sǝ̀ŋә – to scatter
sàtә̂ – tear into pieces
A binǝ̀ toŋtә̂ (let’s read)
Mәshi à sàtә әtsәˀә jwi. Mә̀là swiŋǝ ngǝ a lyǝ kǝ lya bǔ ghǝrǝ. A kantǝ̀ ngә zhә lyә kә lya bǔ ghәrә. Bә mὲˀὲtǝ̀ yi ngǝ a ghǝ ntatǝ atsǝ̀’ǝ̀ zu.
Free Translation Meshi has torn her dress. Mela advised her never to do that ever again. She promised she will never again do that. She was allowed to go and stitch the dress.
Get the Nkwen Language Podcast here.
The /ǝ/ sound in Nkwen Language
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Get the Nkwen Language Podcast here.
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