Language name and location: Nchane, NW region, Cameroon [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 恩查内语, 喀麦隆西北区东加-芒同州

 

1. m⁴ba³ka⁴

21.  m³baŋ³fi² ntso³³ m⁴ba³ka⁴

2. fĩ³

22.  m³baŋ³fi² ntso³³ bə⁴fi⁴

3. tə³lə²

23.  

4. nə³⁴

24.  

5. tĩ³⁴

25.  

6. so³⁴

26.  

7. bu³so³fwɪ⁴

27.  

8. nja³⁴

28.  

9. bvu³kə⁴

29.  

10. ju³fə⁴

30.  m3baŋ3ʃɛ²³

11. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ m⁴ba³ka⁴

40.  m3baŋ3njə³⁴

12. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³fĩ

50.  m3baŋ3ʃĩ³⁴

13. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³tə²lə²

60.  m3baŋ3bvu3so3

14. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³nə³⁴

70.  m3baŋ3bu³so³fwɪ⁴

15. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³tĩ³⁴

80.  m3baŋ3nja³⁴

16. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³so³⁴

90.  m3baŋ4bvu⁴kə⁴

17. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bə³so³fwɪ⁴

100. ɡbĩ²

18. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ nja³⁴

200. ɡĩ²ĩ⁴fĩ³

19. ju³fə⁴ ntso³³ bvu³kə⁴

1000. n3tʃu3kə⁴

20. m³baŋ³fi²

2000.

 

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Rich Boutwell & Mrs Katrina Boutwell, SIL, Cameroon. August 8, 2007, August 8, 2019.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Rich Boutwell & Mrs Katrina Boutwell, 2007 年 8 月 8 日,

2019 年 8 月 8 日

 

Other comments: Nchane or Ncane is spoken by approximately 13,000 speakers in
North West region: Donga-Mantung division, Misaje subdivision, Bem, Chunge, Kibbo, Nfume, and Nkanchi villages west of Nkambe; Menchum division, Bum subdivision, Mungong, Cameroon. Nchane or Ncane has a decimal system. The above data was taken from Mungong variety of Nchane. Note the tone markings areː  2 = high, 3 = mid, 4 = low, 23 = high falling,  34= mid raising.

( 2019) I have recently been working on describing Ncane numbers in more detail and today I learned something that might be of interest to you. In our language, as well as many others in our area, the number 20 is m̄bāŋ (or a some cognate). This form is used as the base for forming multiples of 10, but it is for the most part obviously unrelated formally to the number 10. So I was looking at descriptions of other languages in the area to see if they give a plausible explanation of this word.

It turns out that Fransen (1995) makes a hypothesis about Limbum 20 that is logical. The Limbum 10 is rvʉ̄ʉ̀ (the form is reported somewhat differently in the more recent observations by Ginny Bradley and Frances Wepnong). This form looks like it could be marked for class 5 (r-). The plural class pairing with class 5 is usually class 6 (m-). So, Fransen suggests (with direction from van Reenen) that 20 is derived from the plural form of 10 plus the number 2 (báā), with the realization of mbáā. The historical form is posited as m-vʉ̄ʉ̀ m-báā (c6-ten c6-two, literally ‘tens two’), and eventually shortened to m-báā ‘twenty’.

Language name and location: Nchane, NW region, Cameroon [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 恩查内语, 喀麦隆西北区东加-芒同州

 

1. mɪ3ma4

21.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 fi3mi2 mi3a4

2. fɛː2

22.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 muɱ4fɛ3

3. tʰɛ3dɪ3

23.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 mun3tʰɛ3dɪ3

4. nɛ34

24.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 mu4nɛ4

5. tʰəŋ34

25.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 mun4tʰəŋ34

6. bu3so23

26.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 bu3so23

7. bu3so3ʃwɪ23

27.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 bu3so3ʃwɪ23

8. ɲa34

28.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 ɲa34

9. bvu3ɡə2

29.  m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2 n4tʃo4 bvu3ɡə2

10. ʒu3fɛ4

30.  m3baŋ3ʃɛː3

11. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4fi3mi2 mi3a4

40.  m3baŋ3ɲɛ4

12. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4muɱ4fɛ3

50.  m3baŋ3ʃjəŋ4

13. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4mun4tʰɛ3dɪ3

60.  m3baŋ3bu3so34

14. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4mu4nɛ4

70.  m3baŋ3bu3so3ʃwɪ34

15. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4mu4tʰəŋ34

80.  m3baŋ3ɲa34

16. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4bu4so34

90.  m3baŋ4bvu4ɡə4

17. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4bu4so4ʃwɪ34

100. ɡwiː3

18. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4ɲa34

200. ɡi3fɛ4

19. ʒu3fɛ4n4tʃo4 bvu4ɡə4

1000. n3tʃu3ɡɛ3

20. m3baŋ4fi2jɛ2

2000. ban3tʃu3ɡɛ4ba3fɛ4

 

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Rich Boutwell & Mrs Katrina Boutwell, SIL, Cameroon. August 10, 2007, August 9. 2010.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Rich Boutwell & Mrs Katrina Boutwell, 2007 年 8 月 10 日.

2010 年 8 月 9 日.

 

Other comments: Nchane or Ncane has a decimal system with special construction for number 7. Numbers above 10 often have ntʃo 'plus' joining the tens and ones positions. 

The digits in the one's positions for 1-5 are prefixed with gender 19/26 concord (numbering follows Hombert 1980). So, "11" has fi- 'cl19' preceding the number one mimia. Note that there is some vowel harmony and other mophophonemics occurring. "12" has muN- 'cl26' preceding the number two fɛ. And so on. In fact, it's possible that the fijɛ occuring in the 20's is the word 'thing' as they have the same morphological shape and I've heard reports of similar cases in other Cameroonian languages. The concord marking changes to match the noun when using the numbers with nouns (and is still limited to the digits 1-5 in the one's positions). When used with nouns, the concord also occurs with the single digits 1-5 (e.g., fi-ɲi fi-mimia 'one bird', mu-ɲi muɱ-fɛ 'two birds'). -"100" is intrinsically gender 3/4, which in Nchane has a labialized initial consonant marking singular and presumably 0 marking plural (ie, #Cw 'cl3' and #C 'cl4', eg, gwaŋ 'hill' and gaŋ 'hills'). -"1000" is intrinsically gender 1/2, which is marked 0-/ba- respectively (eg 0-na 'cow' and ba-na 'cows'). Note that for "2000", the number two (fɛ) is modifying 'thousand' and therefore takes class 2 concord (since ntʃugɛ is gender 1/2).  Note the tone markings areː  2=high, 3=mid, 4=low, 23=high falling, 34=mid raising.

 

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