Mende_language
Mende language
Mande language of southern Sierra Leone
Mende /ˈmɛndi/[2] (Mɛnde yia) is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia and Guinea. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone.[3]
| Mende | |
|---|---|
Mɛnde yia / 𞠗𞢱𞡓𞠣 /  | |
| Native to | Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea |
| Region | South central Sierra Leone |
| Ethnicity | Mende people |
Native speakers | 2.5 million (2020–2021)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin Mende Kikakui script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | men |
| ISO 639-3 | men |
| Glottolog | mend1266 |
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Mende is a tonal language belonging to the Mande language family. Early systematic descriptions of Mende were by F. W. Migeod[4] and Kenneth Crosby.[5] Ethel Aginsky decoded the language in her doctoral work.[6]
In 1921, Kisimi Kamara invented a syllabary for Mende he called Kikakui (𞠀𞠁𞠂 / 
). The script achieved widespread use for a time, but has largely been replaced with an alphabet based on the Latin script, and the Mende script is considered a "failed script".[7] The Bible was translated into Mende and published in 1959, in Latin script.[8]
The Latin-based alphabet is: a, b, d, e, ɛ, f, g, gb, h, i, j, k, kp, l, m, n, ny, o, ɔ, p, s, t, u, v, w, y. [9][10]
Consonants
Vowels
Mende was used extensively in the films Amistad and Blood Diamond and was the subject of the documentary film The Language You Cry In.
Numuvuisia Kpɛlɛɛ ta ti le tɛ yɛ nduwɔ ya hu, tao ti nuvuu yei kɛɛ ti lɔnyi maa hɛwungɔ. Kiiya kɛɛ hindaluahu gɔɔla a yɛlɔ ti hun. Fale mahoungɔ ti ti nyɔnyɔhu hoi kia ndeegaa.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
- Mende at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
- Sengova, Joko (1987). "The national languages of Sierra Leone: A decade of policy experimentation". Africa. 57 (4): 521–522. doi:10.2307/1159897. ISSN 0001-9720.
- Migeod, F. W. 1908. The Mende language. London
- Crosby, Kenneth. 1944. An Introduction to the Study of Mende. Cambridge University Press.
- Murphy, Patricia (1972-09-24). "Meeting of science, society". The Los Angeles Times. p. 70. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
- Unseth, Peter (2011). "Invention of Scripts in West Africa for Ethnic Revitalization". In Fishman, Joshua A.; García, Ofelia (eds.). The Success–Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 23–32.
- Tuchscherer, Konrad (1995). "African Script and Scripture: The History of the Kikakui (Mende) Writing System for Bible Translations". African Languages and Cultures. 8 (2): 169–188. ISSN 0954-416X.
- Coble, Scott. n.d. "Mende." AboutWorldLanguages.com (accessed 8 October 2014)
- "Langue : mende". Systèmes alphabétiques des langues africaines. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- Dwyer, David James (1969). Consonant Mutation in Mende (MA). East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University. doi:10.25335/e7tq-gp12.
- Bibliography on Mende
- The Mende syllabary (Omniglot)
- PanAfrican L10n page on Mende, Bandi & Loko
- Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Mende (1916)
- OLAC resources in and about the Mende language
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