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Hina language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mina
Hina
Besleri
Native toCameroon
RegionFar North Region
Native speakers
11,000 (2000)[1]
Dialects
  • Besleri
  • Jɨŋjɨŋ
  • Gamdugun
Language codes
ISO 639-3hna
Glottologmina1276

TheMina language,also known by the namesHinaandBesleri,is aChadic languagespoken in Northern Cameroon by 10,000 people. Speakers of Mina are generally bilingual, withFulfulde(Fula) being the second language. Fulfulde is often joined byFrenchas a third language in educated speakers.[1]

Besleri is spoken in most ofHinacommune (Mayo-TsanagaDepartment, Far North Region), with Gamdugun and Jinjin in the southwest and southeast of the area, respectively.[2]

Dialects

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Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005) list three Mina dialects: Marbak, Kefedjevreng and Dzundzun.Ethnologuealso lists three: Besleri, Jingjing (Dzumdzum), Gamdugun. While the correspondence of "Jingjing" and "Dzundzun" is clear, the identity of the others is not.Mutual intelligibilitybetween dialects is difficult to ascertain, but Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005:3) demonstrate one-way intelligibility between Dzundzun and Mina (presumably meaning the Marbak dialect).

Notes

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  1. ^abMinaatEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
  2. ^Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012).Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)[Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA.ISBN9789956796069.

References

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  • Frajzyngier, Zygmunt & Johnston, Eric. (2005).A Grammar of Mina.Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Newman, Paul. (1992). "Chadic Languages." In: Bright, William.International Encyclopedia of Linguistics.Oxford: Oxford University Press.