| Nativename | Mokpwe |
|---|---|
| States | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Kpwe, Mboko |
| Speakers | 25,000 |
| Date | 2000–2014 |
| Ref | e18 |
| Familycolor | Niger-Congo |
| Fam 2 | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam 3 | Benue–Congo |
| Fam 4 | Bantoid |
| Fam 5 | Bantu (Zone A) |
| Fam 6 | Sawabantu (A.20) |
| Dia 1 | Kole |
| Dia 2 | Mboko |
| Lc 1 | bri |
| Ld 1 | Kpwe |
| Lc 2 | bqm |
| Ld 2 | Mboko (Wumboko) |
| Lc 3 | kme |
| Ld 3 | Kole (Bakole) |
| Guthrie | A.21,22,231 |
| Glotto | mokp1239 |
| Glottoname | Mokpwe |
| Glotto 2 | wumb1241 |
| Glottoname 2 | Wumboko |
| Glottorefname 2 | Wumboko-Bubia |
| Glotto 3 | bako1250 |
| Glottoname 3 | Bakole |
| Elp | 538 |
| Elpname | Bakole |
Kpwe (Mokpwe) is a Bantu language of Cameroon. It is mutually intelligible with Kole, and probably with Mboko (Wumboko) as well.
There are multiple variants of the name: based on 'Kpwe' (Bakpwe, Mokpwe), on 'Kpe' (Mokpe), on 'Kweɾi' (Kwedi, Kweli, Kwili, Kwiri, Bakwedi, Bakwele, Bakweri, Vakweli, Bekwiri), as well as Ujuwa and Vambeng.
Phonology
The Kpwe phonological inventory is as follows,[1]
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a | |
Consonants
| Bilabial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Labiovelar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋʷ · ŋm | ||
| Plosive | prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮdʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡb |
| voiced | (b) | dʒ | (ɡ) | ɡb | ||
| voiceless | (p) | t | k | kp | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | ɸ | ||||
| voiced | β | |||||
| Rhotic | zr§ | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||
§/zr/, the 'liquidized alveolar fricative', may be realized as [zr], [ʒr], [rz] or [rʒ]. This sound is rendered /s/ in some sources, and is cognate to /s/ in Bubia.
/p/ and /ɡ/ in parentheses are only found in loans, while /b/ is very uncommon and in many inflections freely alternates as [w].
Tone
Kpwe contrasts five tones on short syllables: high, downstepped high, low, rising and falling.
Literature
The first portions of the Bible were made available in Mokpwe in 2009.[2] This was followed by the New Testament, translated with help from the Bakweri Language and Literacy Association, (BALALIA) on 29 March 2025.[3] The New Testament is available online, in places such as YouVersion.[4]
References
- ^ Atindogbé (2013) A grammatical sketch of Mòkpè (Bakweri), African Study Monographs, Suppl. 45: 5–163
- ^ "Mokpwe language resources | Joshua Project". joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
- ^ ThePost (2025-04-09). "New Testament Launched In Mokpe To Preserve Bakweri Language, Spread Gospel - The Post NewsPaper". Retrieved 2025-10-09.
- ^ Download the Bible in Mokpwe - Bakweri (Cameroon) - Download now or read online. | YouVersion