Goemai

Goemai is a West Chadic language spoken in Nassarawa and Plateau states in central Nigeria. In 2008 there were about 200,000 Goemai people. It is not known how many of them speak the language. Relatively few children are growing up speak Goemai and there is a shift to Hausa, which is the main language used in education and for official purposes.

Goemai is also known as Ankwai, Ankwe, Ankwei, Gamai or Kemai. There are four main dialects: Duut, East Ankwe, Dorok, and K'wo, which are all mutually intelligible. It is used on the radio, and parts of the Bible have been translated into Geomai. Since 2007 it has been written with a version of the Latin alphabet.

Goemai alphabet and pronunciation

Goemai alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

Goemai has several tones, which can be marked as follows: high (é), mid (ē), low (è), falling (ê) and rising (ě). There is some dispute about the number and type of tones, however.

Download an alphabet chart for Goemai (Excel)

Sample text

nhàt mp’áng ńdòe p’úús muèp b’yóól nyèb’yóól ńdòe sék muép pé, à góenàng k’óóm tóe mà góenyé yì. ńdòe gòemuààn muààn, dóe p’ét k’á muép, gòng sék múk góe lé gòegòng k’út.

Source: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/goemai/

Translation

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_North_Wind_and_the_Sun

Sample video in Goemai

Links

Information about Goemai
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goemai_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ank1
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/goemai/

Chadic languages

Bade, Barein, Bole, Dangaléat, Gawar, Goemai, Hausa, Hdi, Karai-karai, Kera, Lele, Marba, Migaama, Miya, Moloko, Musey, Mwaghavul, Ngizim, Polci, Sokoro, Somrai, Tangale, Tumak

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

[top]


Green Web Hosting - Kualo

Why not share this page:

 

Talk in Arabic - Learn Egyptian, Iraqi, Levantine, Sundanese, Moroccan, Algerian or Saudi Arabic

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

 

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.

Get a 30-day Free Trial of Amazon Prime (UK)

If you're looking for home or car insurance in the UK, why not try Policy Expert?

[top]

iVisa.com