Bube language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bube |
|
|---|---|
| Native to | Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Bubi, Wovea |
| Native speakers | 51,000 (2011)e18 |
| Language family |
Niger–Congo
|
| Early forms: |
Pre-Bube
|
| Recognised minority language in | Equatorial Guinea |
| Guthrie code | A.31, A.221 |
Bube, also known as Bohobé or Bube–Benga, is a Bantu language. It is spoken by the Bubi, who are a group of people originally from Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea. The Bubi people brought this language to Bioko Island from mainland Africa over 3,000 years ago.
Today, about 50,000 people speak Bube. It has three main types: North, South, and Central-East. Bube is special because it is a tonal language, meaning the meaning of a word can change based on the pitch of your voice. Words can also change based on gender. You can also find Bube speakers in parts of Gabon and Cameroon.
Contents
Bube Dialects
The Bube language has six different dialects. These dialects are slightly different depending on whether you are in the northern or southern parts of Bioko Island.
For example, in the North, people speak a dialect called Rebola. There are also variations of Rebola, such as Basile, Banapa, and Basupa. In the North-East part of the island, people speak a dialect called Bakake.
Bube is also spoken in a small area on the mainland, very close to Bioko Island. However, people in this area are slowly starting to speak the Wumboko language instead of Bube. Sometimes, this mainland version of Bube is called "Bubia" or "Wovea."
History of Bube Studies
People started writing about the Bube language a long time ago. The first studies were done by a missionary named John Clarke. He published his work in 1846 and 1848.
Later, in 1875, a book to help people learn Bube and English was written. This book was created by William Barleycorn, who was a missionary of Igbo and Fernandino descent. He wrote it while working in a Bubi village called Basupu. More recently, a scholar from the Bubi people, Justo Bolekia Boleká, published an official dictionary and a guide to the grammar of the Bube language.
How Bube Sounds
Bube has different sounds for its vowels and consonants.
Vowels
The Bube language uses 7 different vowel sounds. Each of these vowels can be spoken either short or long.
Consonants
Bube has 29 consonant sounds. Some of these consonants are special because they are "prenasalized." This means they start with a nasal sound, like 'm' or 'n', before the main consonant sound.
Counting in Bube
It's interesting to see how numbers are spoken in different Bube dialects. Here are the numbers one to ten:
| Number | Northern Bube | Northwestern Bube | Southern Bube |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | buule | buule | muule |
| 2 | eppa | eppa | memba |
| 3 | betta | betta | metta |
| 4 | yeele | yeele | myeeme |
| 5 | betto | betto | metto |
| 6 | ra'a 6 |
ra'a 6 |
metto na muule 5+1 |
| 7 | ra'a la buule 6+1 |
ra'a la buule 6+1 |
metto na memba 5+2 |
| 8 | yeele ketoppa 4x2 |
ra'a la eppa 6+2 |
metto na metta 5+3 |
| 9 | yeele ketoppa la buule 4x2+1 |
baa buule ka yo 10-1 |
metto na myeene 5+4 |
| 10 | yo | yo | myo |
See also
In Spanish: Idioma bubi para niños
