Bamum script
Encyclopedia
The Bamum scripts are an evolutionary series of six scripts created for the Bamum language
by King Njoya of Cameroon
at the turn of the 20th century. They are notable for evolving from a crude pictographic mnemonic
aid (proto-writing) with 500-600 glyphs, through various logosyllabic systems, to a partially alphabetic syllabic script
with 80 in the space of fourteen years, from 1896 to 1910. (A few final touches were added as late as 1918.) Njoya had copper sorts
cast for printing this last script, which is called a-ka-u-ku after its first four glyphs. It fell into disuse with the exile of Njoya in 1931, but attempts are currently being made to modernize and revived by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
in the old Bamum capital of Foumban
. However, it is currently not in any significant use .
V
syllables of the language. The deficiency is made up for with diacritics and by combining glyphs with CV1 and V2 values, for CV2, making the script alphabetic for syllables not directly covered by the syllabary. Adding the inherent vowel of the syllable voices a consonant: tu + u = /du/, fu + u = /vu/, ju + u = /ʒu/, ja + a = /ʒa/, ʃi + i = /ʒi/, puə + u = /bu/.
The two diacritics are a circumflex (ko'ndon) that may be added to any of the 80 glyphs, and a macron
(tukwentis) that is restricted to a dozen. The circumflex generally has the effect of adding a glottal stop to the syllable, for instance kâ is read /kaʔ/, though the vowel is shortened and any final consonant is dropped in the process, as in pûə /puʔ/ and kɛ̂t /kɛʔ/. Prenasalization is also lost: ɲʃâ /ʃaʔ/, ntê /teʔ/, ntûu /tuʔ/. Sometimes, however, the circumflex nasalizes the vowel: nî /nɛn/, pî /pin/, rê /rɛn/, jûʔ /jun/, mɔ̂ /mɔn/, ɲʒûə /jun/ (loss of NC as with glottal stop). Others are idiosyncratic: ɲʒə̂m /jəm/ (simple loss of NC), tə̂ /tɔʔ/ (vowel change), ɲî /ɲe/, riê /z/, m̂ /n/, ʃɯ̂x /jɯx/, nûə /ŋuə/, kɯ̂x /ɣɯ/, rə̂ /rɔ/, ŋkwə̂n /ŋuət/, fɔ̂m /mvɔp/, mbɛ̂n /pɛn/, tî /tɯ/, kpâ /ŋma/, vŷ /fy/, ɣɔ̂m /ŋɡɔm/.
The macron is a 'killer stroke' that deletes the vowel from a syllable and so forms consonants and NC clusters (/nd, ŋɡ/) that can be used for syllable coda
s. Consonantal /n/ is used both as a coda and to prenasalize an initial consonant. The two irregularities with the macron are ɲʒūə, read as /j/, and ɔ̄, read as /ə/.
The script has distinctive punctuation, including a 'capitalization' mark (nʒɛmli), similar to an inverted question mark, for proper names, and a decimal system of ten digits; the old glyph for ten has been refashioned as a zero.
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The orthography has been changed to an ASCII
approximation for character names in the charts: for /ɛ/ (French è), for /e/ (French é), for /ə/ (French e), for /ɔ/, for /ɯ/ (French eu), for /y/ (French u), and for final glottal stop, /ʔ/ (French ’).
The Unicode block for Bamum is U+A6A0 ... U+A6FF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
Historical stages of Bamum script were added to the Unicode
Standard in October, 2010 with the release of version 6.0.
These are encoded in the Bamum Supplement block as U+16800-U+16A3F. The various stages of script development are dubbed "Phase-A" to "Phase-E" in the Standard. The character names note the last phase in which they appear. For example, U+168EE BAMUM LETTER PHASE-C PIN is attested through Phase C but not in Phase D.
Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
Bamum language
Bamum , or in its French spelling Bamoun, is one of the Benue–Congo languages of Cameroon, with approximately a quarter million speakers. The language is well-known for its original script developed by King Njoya and his palace circle around 1895...
by King Njoya of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
at the turn of the 20th century. They are notable for evolving from a crude pictographic mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
aid (proto-writing) with 500-600 glyphs, through various logosyllabic systems, to a partially alphabetic syllabic script
Semi-syllabary
A semi-syllabary is a writing system that behaves partly as an alphabet and partly as a syllabary. The term has traditionally been extended to abugidas, but for the purposes of this article it will be restricted to scripts where some letters are alphabetic and others are syllabic.-Iberian...
with 80 in the space of fourteen years, from 1896 to 1910. (A few final touches were added as late as 1918.) Njoya had copper sorts
Sort (typesetting)
In typesetting by hand compositing, a sort is a piece of type representing a particular letter or symbol, cast from a matrix mould and assembled with other sorts bearing additional letters into lines of type to make up a forme from which a page is printed.-See also:* History of western typography*...
cast for printing this last script, which is called a-ka-u-ku after its first four glyphs. It fell into disuse with the exile of Njoya in 1931, but attempts are currently being made to modernize and revived by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project at the Bamum Palace is engaged in a variety of initiatives concerning the Bamum script, including collecting and photographing threatened documents, translating and in some cases hand-copying documents, creating a fully usable Bamum computer font for the inventory...
in the old Bamum capital of Foumban
Foumban
Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 . It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture...
. However, it is currently not in any significant use .
Function
The 80 glyphs of modern Bamum are not enough for all of the CConsonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
V
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
syllables of the language. The deficiency is made up for with diacritics and by combining glyphs with CV1 and V2 values, for CV2, making the script alphabetic for syllables not directly covered by the syllabary. Adding the inherent vowel of the syllable voices a consonant: tu + u = /du/, fu + u = /vu/, ju + u = /ʒu/, ja + a = /ʒa/, ʃi + i = /ʒi/, puə + u = /bu/.
The two diacritics are a circumflex (ko'ndon) that may be added to any of the 80 glyphs, and a macron
Macron
A macron, from the Greek , meaning "long", is a diacritic placed above a vowel . It was originally used to mark a long or heavy syllable in Greco-Roman metrics, but now marks a long vowel...
(tukwentis) that is restricted to a dozen. The circumflex generally has the effect of adding a glottal stop to the syllable, for instance kâ is read /kaʔ/, though the vowel is shortened and any final consonant is dropped in the process, as in pûə /puʔ/ and kɛ̂t /kɛʔ/. Prenasalization is also lost: ɲʃâ /ʃaʔ/, ntê /teʔ/, ntûu /tuʔ/. Sometimes, however, the circumflex nasalizes the vowel: nî /nɛn/, pî /pin/, rê /rɛn/, jûʔ /jun/, mɔ̂ /mɔn/, ɲʒûə /jun/ (loss of NC as with glottal stop). Others are idiosyncratic: ɲʒə̂m /jəm/ (simple loss of NC), tə̂ /tɔʔ/ (vowel change), ɲî /ɲe/, riê /z/, m̂ /n/, ʃɯ̂x /jɯx/, nûə /ŋuə/, kɯ̂x /ɣɯ/, rə̂ /rɔ/, ŋkwə̂n /ŋuət/, fɔ̂m /mvɔp/, mbɛ̂n /pɛn/, tî /tɯ/, kpâ /ŋma/, vŷ /fy/, ɣɔ̂m /ŋɡɔm/.
The macron is a 'killer stroke' that deletes the vowel from a syllable and so forms consonants and NC clusters (/nd, ŋɡ/) that can be used for syllable coda
Syllable coda
In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. Some syllables consist only of a nucleus with no coda...
s. Consonantal /n/ is used both as a coda and to prenasalize an initial consonant. The two irregularities with the macron are ɲʒūə, read as /j/, and ɔ̄, read as /ə/.
The script has distinctive punctuation, including a 'capitalization' mark (nʒɛmli), similar to an inverted question mark, for proper names, and a decimal system of ten digits; the old glyph for ten has been refashioned as a zero.
Unicode
Bamum's 88 characters were added to the UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The orthography has been changed to an ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
approximation for character names in the charts: for /ɛ/ (French è), for /e/ (French é), for /ə/ (French e), for /ɔ/, for /ɯ/ (French eu), for /y/ (French u), and for final glottal stop, /ʔ/ (French ’).
The Unicode block for Bamum is U+A6A0 ... U+A6FF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
Historical stages of Bamum script were added to the Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in October, 2010 with the release of version 6.0.
These are encoded in the Bamum Supplement block as U+16800-U+16A3F. The various stages of script development are dubbed "Phase-A" to "Phase-E" in the Standard. The character names note the last phase in which they appear. For example, U+168EE BAMUM LETTER PHASE-C PIN is attested through Phase C but not in Phase D.
Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
External links
- Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
- Unicode standard description of Bamum (see p. 20)
- Working document for encoding Old Bamum (2009)
- Omniglot page (contradicts the Unicode sound assignments)