Medumba language

Medumba
Mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀
RegionCameroon
EthnicityBamileke
Native speakers
(210,000 cited 1991)[1]
Dialects
  • Batongtou
Language codes
ISO 639-3byv
Glottologmedu1238

Medumba (Mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀,[2] Medumba pronunciation: [mə̀ɟʝʉ̂ᵐbɑ̀]) is a Bamileke language of Cameroon. The people who speak it originate from the Nde division of the West Region of the country, with their main settlements in Bangangté, Bakong, Bangoulap, Bahouoc, Bagnoun and Tonga. It is a major Bamileke language, and is located in an area where sacred kingship played a pivotal role in government, justice, and diplomacy.[3][4] The modern history of the Bamileke area, which was a German colony placed under French trusteeship by the League of Nations in 1919, is closely associated with the nationalist movement of the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), which developed primarily in the coastal hinterland (Bassa) and the western highlands (Bamileke). From 1956 to the late 1960s, this area of Cameroon experienced a period of unrest;[5] this episode continues to shape Bamileke political culture, and has an impact on language identity[6] and the linguistic landscape.[7]

The Medumba-speaking area is famous for a bi-annual cultural festival — FESTAC: Festival des arts et de la culture Medumba (Medumba Arts and Crafts Festival) — that promotes the Medumba language, as well as dance, artwork and food styles of the 14 different villages of the locality.[8][9][10] The festival, which takes place over a 2-week period in early July, is hosted in Bangangte.

  1. ^ Medumba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Tchoumi, Léopold; Tchamna, Rodrigue. Guide de conversation trilingue français-anglais-medumba. ISBN 978-1540312365.
  3. ^ Warnier, Jean-Pierre (2015). "Review of "Nation of Outlaws, State of Violence: Nationalism, Grassfields Tradition, and State Building in Cameroon" by Meredith Terretta". African Studies Review. 58 (2): 255–257. doi:10.1017/asr.2015.56. S2CID 146494805.
  4. ^ Feldman-Savelsberg, Pamela (1995). "Cooking inside: Kinship and Gender in Bangangté Idioms of Marriage and Procreation". American Ethnologist. 3. 22 (3): 483–501. doi:10.1525/ae.1995.22.3.02a00020. JSTOR 645968.
  5. ^ Terretta, Meredith (2014). Nation of Outlaws, State of Violence: Nationalism, Grassfields Tradition, and State Building in Cameroon. Athens: Ohio University Press. pp. xiv, 36. ISBN 978-0821420690.
  6. ^ Bandia, Paul F (1993). "Translation as Culture Transfer: Evidence from African Creative Writing". TTR: Traduction, Terminologie, Rédaction. 6 (2): 55–78. doi:10.7202/037151ar.
  7. ^ Ndjio, Basile (2009). "Migration, Architecture, and the Transformation of the Landscape in the Bamileke Grassfields of West Cameroon". African Diaspora. 2: 73–100. doi:10.1163/187254609X430777.
  8. ^ Chubo, Nana Dorothy (May 2014). The impact of event tourism on host communities: Case Northwest Region of Cameroon (PDF) (Master's thesis). Centria University of Applied Sciences.
  9. ^ West, Ben (2011). Cameroon (Third ed.). IDC House, The Vale, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, England: Bradt Travel Guides Limited. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-84162-353-5.
  10. ^ Fosong, David (25 July 2016). "Cameroon: Bangangté - Medumba Festival Ends On Thrilling Note". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.