Kogo language

{{Short description|Language}} {{redirect-distinguish-text|Bakoko language|the [[Oroko language|Bakoko dialect]], also of Cameroon}} {{Infobox language |name=Kogo |nativename=Bakoko |region= |states=[[Cameroon]] |ethnicity=[[Bakoko people|Bakoko]] |speakers=50,000 |date=1982 |ref=e18 |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=[[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]] |fam3=[[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]] |fam4=[[Bantoid languages|Bantoid]] |fam5=[[Bantu languages|Bantu]] ([[Guthrie classification of Bantu languages#Zone A|Zone A]]) |fam6=[[Basaa languages|Basaa]] (A.40) |iso3=bkh |glotto=bako1249 |glottorefname=Bakoko |guthrie=A.43b }}

'''Kogo''', also referred to as '''Bakoko'''<ref name=e18/> and '''Basoo''',<ref name=e18/> is a [[Bantu languages|Bantu language]] of [[Cameroon]]. North and South Kogo are as distinct from each other as they are from [[Basaa language|Basaa]]; they might be considered three dialects of a single language.<ref>Maho 2009</ref>

== Demographics == Traditionally, Bakoko and Basaa societies had a very close relationship, especially on a religious level. The Bakoko language was the language of ritual for both the Bakoko and Basaa, and the Basaa language was also familiar to the Bakoko. After the [[Second World War]], as the ritual relations gradually receded, this social and linguistic symbiosis declined. Today, the two languages are sociolinguistically distinct. Bakoko speakers also tend to speak Basaa today, but Basaa speakers typically do not speak Bakoko.<ref name="ALCAM2012"/>

There are many dialects because of the geographical fragmentation of the Bakoko-speaking area. ALCAM (2012) lists the following dialects.<ref name="ALCAM2012">{{cite book|editor-last=Binam Bikoi|editor-first=Charles|date=2012|title=Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)|trans-title=Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon|volume=1: Inventaire des langues|language=fr|location=Yaoundé|publisher=CERDOTOLA|series=Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC)|isbn=9789956796069}}</ref>

Central dialects: *'''Adiá''' is spoken in [[Edéa]], the capital of the department of [[Sanaga-Maritime]] ([[Littoral Region (Cameroon)|Littoral Region]]). *'''Yakalag''' is spoken to the west of the Adiá area in Yakalak canton, [[Mouanko]] commune, [[Sanaga-Maritime]] department.

In the south: *'''Yasug''' (in Yassoukou canton, with Déhané and Yawanda), which extends into the department of [[Océan]] (northeast of the commune of [[Kribi]], Southern Region).

Detached from the southern contiguous group mentioned above are four separate Bakoko groups, each with its own dialect:

In the west: *'''Yapoma''', spoken in Bakoko canton of the Wouri department (Littoral Region), south of Douala (Japoma villages) *'''Yabyan-Yapeke''', spoken by the two groups inhabiting the Bakoko canton of the Moungo department (Littoral Region), south of Dibombari (Yabea, Yapaki villages, etc.)

In the northwest: *'''Dimbamban''' is spoken in Mbang canton (in [[Nkondjok]] commune) in Nkam department (Littoral Region), between [[Ndemli language|Ndemli]] in the southeast and [[Diboum language|Diboum]], an isolated Basaa dialect in the north.

In the northeast: *'''Bisóo''' is spoken in Basso canton (commune of Ndom, department of Sanaga-Maritime, Littoral Region). The dialect is also called ɓasóó ɓalikol ("Basso of the North"), or Adiangók ("Adiá of the cave"). This variety is centered at Logbikoy, and also the pilgrimage site of Ngok-Litouba (the "Rock of the Cave").

There are around 50,000 speakers.<ref name="ALCAM2012"/>

== Orthography == Kogo uses the [[Latin script]].<ref name=e18/> Its alphabet is based on the [[General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages]] and consists of 7 vowels and 20 consonants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bakoko Orthography Guide|url=http://www.silcam.org/documents/BakokoOrthographyGuide2010-u.pdf#page=6|website=silcam.org|access-date=March 2, 2018|archive-date=March 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302203926/http://www.silcam.org/documents/BakokoOrthographyGuide2010-u.pdf#page=6|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Njeck and Anderson 2009</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |- |''Letters ([[upper case]])''|| A || B || Ɓ || C || D || E || Ɛ || F || G || H || I || J || K || L || M || N || Ŋ || O || Ɔ || P || S || T || U || V || W || Y || Z |- |''Letters ([[lower case]])''|| a || b || ɓ || c || d || e || ɛ || f || g || h || i || j || k || l || m || n || ŋ || o || ɔ || p || s || t || u || v || w || y || z |- |''[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]''|| {{IPA|a}} || {{IPA|b}} || {{IPA|ɓ}} || {{IPA|t͡ʃ}} || {{IPA|d}} || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ɛ}} || {{IPA|f}} || {{IPA|ɡ}} || {{IPA|h}} || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|d͡ʒ}} || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|l}} || {{IPA|m}} | {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ŋ}} || {{IPA|o}} || {{IPA|ɔ}} || {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|u}} || {{IPA|v}} || {{IPA|w}} || {{IPA|j}} || {{IPA|z}} |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Basaa languages]] [[Category:Languages of Cameroon]]