Aghem
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Grassfields, Ring)
Aghem (also Wum) is a Grassfields Bantu language of the Ring branch, spoken in the Wum area of Cameroon's Northwest Region. Linguistically influential out of proportion to its size: Larry Hyman's extensive work on Aghem (especially the 1979 monograph "Aghem Grammatical Structure") established it as a key reference language for tone, focus marking, and noun-class systems in African linguistics. Notable for an unusual two-tier focus system marked by post-verbal vs. in-situ subject placement, and a tone system with floating tones and downstep.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Aghem
Water
mê'
/meʔ/
Fire
ìmáa'
/imáaʔ/
Sun
kû'
/kuʔ/
Moon
nâa'
/naːʔ/
Mother
mò
/mo/
Father
tâ
/ta/
Eat
nîa
/nia/
Drink
nyâa
/ɲaː/
Love
nkòŋ
/ŋkoŋ/
Heart
mwâ
/mwa/
Tree
kpa'
/kpaʔ/
House
ndô
/ndo/
Dog
mbî
/mbi/
Cat
gò
/ɡo/
Hand
kwô'
/kwoʔ/
Eye
dyiá
/djia/
Hello
kâa'
/kaːʔ/
Thank you
ŋyaa'
/ŋjaːʔ/
One
mò
/mo/
Good
mwâ'
/mwaʔ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Grassfields, Ring) languages
| Meaning | Aghem | Meta' | Ewondo | Kaonde | Bulu | Lingala | Kikongo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mê' /meʔ/ | mə /mə/ | medzim /medzim/ | mema /mema/ | medim /medim/ | máí /mai/ | maza /maza/ |
| Fire | ìmáa' /imáaʔ/ | mɔŋ /mɔŋ/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | mujilo /mudʒilo/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | mɔ́tɔ /mɔtɔ/ | tiya /tija/ |
| Sun | kû' /kuʔ/ | nyam /ɲam/ | dzōb /dʒoːb/ | juba /dʒuba/ | zobé /zobe/ | mói /moi/ | ntangu /ntaŋɡu/ |
| Moon | nâa' /naːʔ/ | nuŋ /nuŋ/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ | ñondo /ɲondo/ | ngon /ŋɡon/ | sánzá /sanza/ | ngonda /ŋɡonda/ |
| Mother | mò /mo/ | ma /ma/ | nyia /ɲia/ | bama /bama/ | nyia /ɲia/ | mamá /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | tâ /ta/ | ta /ta/ | tara /taɾa/ | batata /batata/ | tata /tata/ | tatá /tata/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | nîa /nia/ | mé /me/ | di /di/ | kuja /kudʒa/ | dzia /dʒia/ | kolía /kolia/ | ku dia /ku dja/ |
| Drink | nyâa /ɲaː/ | nyo /ɲo/ | nyu /ɲu/ | kutoma /kutoma/ | nyu /ɲu/ | komɛ́la /komɛla/ | ku nua /ku nua/ |
| Love | nkòŋ /ŋkoŋ/ | kɔŋ /kɔŋ/ | nye'e /ɲeʔe/ | butemwe /butemwe/ | nye'a /ɲeʔa/ | bolíngo /boliŋɡo/ | zola /zola/ |
| Heart | mwâ /mwa/ | mu /mu/ | nlem /nlem/ | muchima /mutʃima/ | nlem /nlem/ | motéma /motema/ | ntima /ntima/ |
| Tree | kpa' /kpaʔ/ | ti /ti/ | elé /ele/ | kichi /kitʃi/ | élé /ele/ | nzété /nzete/ | nti /nti/ |
| House | ndô /ndo/ | nda /nda/ | nda /nda/ | nzubo /nzubo/ | nda /nda/ | ndáko /ndako/ | nzo /nzo/ |
| Dog | mbî /mbi/ | mbu /mbu/ | mvu /mvu/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mvu /mvu/ | mbwá /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | gò /ɡo/ | guŋ /ɡuŋ/ | esìŋga /esiŋɡa/ | kapuso /kapuso/ | esinga /esiŋɡa/ | nyáu /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ |
| Hand | kwô' /kwoʔ/ | boa /boa/ | woó /woʔo/ | kuboko /kuboko/ | wo /wo/ | lobɔ́kɔ /lobɔkɔ/ | koko /koko/ |
| Eye | dyiá /djia/ | dzi /dzi/ | dzìs /dʒis/ | jiso /dʒiso/ | zis /zis/ | líso /liso/ | disu /disu/ |
| Hello | kâa' /kaːʔ/ | mɔlɔŋ /mɔlɔŋ/ | mbɔlɔ /mbɔlɔ/ | mwapoñai /mwapoɲai/ | mbolo /mbolo/ | mbóte /mbote/ | mboté /mbote/ |
| Thank you | ŋyaa' /ŋjaːʔ/ | nfɔn /nfɔn/ | akiba /akiba/ | nasakwilila /nasakwilila/ | akiba /akiba/ | matɔ́ndɔ /matɔndɔ/ | matondo /matondo/ |
| One | mò /mo/ | mɔ /mɔ/ | fok /fok/ | umo /umo/ | fok /fok/ | mɔ̌kɔ́ /mɔkɔ/ | mosi /mosi/ |
| Good | mwâ' /mwaʔ/ | mwa /mwa/ | mbaŋ /mbaŋ/ | kyawama /kjawama/ | mbamba /mbamba/ | malámu /malamu/ | mbote /mbote/ |
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