Kwaʼ language

Not to be confused with Kwa languages or Kwa of Nigeria.

Kwaʼ (Bakwa) is a minor Bamileke language of Cameroon.

Kwaʼ
Region	Cameroon
Ethnicity	Bamileke
Native speakers	(1,000 cited 2000)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Grassfields Eastern Grassfields Mbam-Nkam Bamileke Kwaʼ
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bko
Glottolog	kwaa1265

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants^[2]

		Bilabial	Labio-dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal	Labial-velar
Plosive	voiceless			t			k	ʔ
	voiced	b		d			g
	prenasalized	ᵐb		ⁿd	ᶮdʒ		ᵑg
Nasal		m		n		ɲ	ŋ
Affricate	voiceless		pf		tʃ		kx
	voiced		bv		dʒ
Fricative	voiceless		f	s				h
	voiced		v				ɣ
Lateral				l
Approximant						j			w

This analysis differs from that of Tientcheu Tchameni (2008), who did not find /ʔ/, /pf/, /bv/, or /ɣ/. In contrast, Tientcheu Tchameni (2008) found /p/, /gɣ/, /ɰ/, /kf/, and /x/, which Talla Sandeu did not.^[3]

Vowels

Vowels^[4]

	Front				Central		Back
	[-round]		[+round]
	short	long	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	i				ʉ	ʉː	u	uː
Close-mid	e	eː	ø	øː	ə	əː
Open-mid	ɛ						ɔ	ɔː
Open					a	aː

Tientcheu Tchameni (2008) did not include /ə/ or /əː/^[4] but did include /ɨ/, /o/, and /ɛː/.^[5]

Tones

Talla Sandeu (2020) and Tientcheu Tchameni (2008) agree on the number and characteristics of the tones. There are three simple tones (high, mid, and low) and two complex tones (rising and falling).^[6] Syllabic nasals can only carry simple tones, e.g., [m̀fū] 'leaf'.^[7]