KʌThemnɛ
Themne
Atlantic-Congo (Mel)
Themne (KʌThemnɛ) is one of the two largest Sierra Leonean languages alongside Mende, with ~1.5M speakers in the northern half of the country (Bombali, Tonkolili, Port Loko, Kambia, Karene districts). Part of the Mel branch of Atlantic-Congo (Niger-Congo), it is unrelated to most other major West African languages — Mel languages are restricted to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and adjacent areas. Has a grammatical noun-class system marked by class prefixes (kʌ-, ka-, m-, etc.) typical of Atlantic-Congo. Tonal language. The Themne were one of the major pre-colonial polities of the area; today Themne speakers form an important political and cultural constituency in Sierra Leone.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Themne
Water
mant
/mant/
Fire
anang
/anaŋ/
Sun
arɛ
/arɛ/
Moon
arai
/arai/
Mother
ya
/ja/
Father
pa
/pa/
Eat
ði
/ði/
Drink
di
/di/
Love
ka-haŋkə
/kahaŋkə/
Heart
ka-yɔn
/kajɔn/
Tree
kʌ-ant
/kʌant/
House
anseth
/ansetʰ/
Dog
kabul
/kabul/
Cat
kanaŋ
/kanaŋ/
Hand
anpa
/anpa/
Eye
ari
/ari/
Hello
seke
/seke/
Thank you
sɔŋ
/sɔŋ/
One
piɲ
/piɲ/
Good
lɔŋ
/lɔŋ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Mel) languages
| Meaning | Themne | Tao/Yami | Meta' | Kanuri | Ambon Malay | Musi | Aukan (Ndyuka) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mant /mant/ | ranom /ranom/ | mə /mə/ | nji /ndʒi/ | aer /aer/ | ayek /ajek/ | watra /watra/ |
| Fire | anang /anaŋ/ | apuy /apuj/ | mɔŋ /mɔŋ/ | kannu /kanːu/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | faya /faja/ |
| Sun | arɛ /arɛ/ | araw /araw/ | nyam /ɲam/ | kiŋal /kiŋal/ | mata hari /mata hari/ | matahari /matahari/ | son /soŋ/ |
| Moon | arai /arai/ | vehan /vehan/ | nuŋ /nuŋ/ | kəmbal /kəmbal/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | mun /mun/ |
| Mother | ya /ja/ | ina /ina/ | ma /ma/ | ya /ja/ | mama /mama/ | mak /mak/ | mma /mːa/ |
| Father | pa /pa/ | ama /ama/ | ta /ta/ | aba /aba/ | papa /papa/ | bapak /bapak/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | ði /ði/ | kuman /kuman/ | mé /me/ | bayem /bajem/ | makang /makaŋ/ | makan /makan/ | nyan /ɲaŋ/ |
| Drink | di /di/ | minum /minum/ | nyo /ɲo/ | simem /simem/ | minong /minoŋ/ | minum /minum/ | diingi /diːŋi/ |
| Love | ka-haŋkə /kahaŋkə/ | makakdeng /makakdəŋ/ | kɔŋ /kɔŋ/ | nem-shanu /nem ʃanu/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | lobi /lobi/ |
| Heart | ka-yɔn /kajɔn/ | paso /paso/ | mu /mu/ | karkə /karkə/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | ati /ati/ |
| Tree | kʌ-ant /kʌant/ | kayo /kajo/ | ti /ti/ | kasua /kasua/ | pohon /pohon/ | kayu /kaju/ | bon /boŋ/ |
| House | anseth /ansetʰ/ | vahay /vahaj/ | nda /nda/ | fato /fato/ | ruma /ruma/ | rumah /rumah/ | osu /osu/ |
| Dog | kabul /kabul/ | ino /ino/ | mbu /mbu/ | keri /keri/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | dagu /daɡu/ |
| Cat | kanaŋ /kanaŋ/ | koving /koviŋ/ | guŋ /ɡuŋ/ | yaba /jaba/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | poesi /pusi/ |
| Hand | anpa /anpa/ | kamay /kamaj/ | boa /boa/ | musko /musko/ | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | tangan /taŋan/ | ana /ana/ |
| Eye | ari /ari/ | mata /mata/ | dzi /dzi/ | shim /ʃim/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | ai /ai/ |
| Hello | seke /seke/ | akokay /akokaj/ | mɔlɔŋ /mɔlɔŋ/ | lafiya /lafija/ | hela /hela/ | halo /halo/ | fa yu de /fa ju de/ |
| Thank you | sɔŋ /sɔŋ/ | ayoy /ajoj/ | nfɔn /nfɔn/ | gushibe /ɡuʃibe/ | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | gaantangi /ɡaːntaŋi/ |
| One | piɲ /piɲ/ | asa /asa/ | mɔ /mɔ/ | tilo /tilo/ | satu /satu/ | siko /siko/ | wan /wan/ |
| Good | lɔŋ /lɔŋ/ | mapia /mapia/ | mwa /mwa/ | ngewu /ŋɡewu/ | bagus /baɡus/ | bagus /baɡus/ | boon /boːŋ/ |
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