Hina language

The Mina language, also known by the names Hina and Besleri, is a Chadic language spoken in Northern Cameroon by 10,000 people. Speakers of Mina are generally bilingual, with Fulfulde (Fula) being the second language. Fulfulde is often joined by French as a third language in educated speakers.[1]

Not to be confused with Hinna language.
Mina
Hina
Besleri
Native toCameroon
RegionFar North Region
Native speakers
11,000 (2000)[1]
Dialects
  • Besleri
  • Jɨŋjɨŋ
  • Gamdugun
Language codes
ISO 639-3hna
Glottologmina1276

Besleri is spoken in most of Hina commune (Mayo-Tsanaga Department, Far North Region), with Gamdugun and Jinjin in the southwest and southeast of the area, respectively.[2]

Dialects

Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005) list three Mina dialects: Marbak, Kefedjevreng and Dzundzun. Ethnologue also lists three: Besleri, Jingjing (Dzumdzum), Gamdugun. While the correspondence of "Jingjing" and "Dzundzun" is clear, the identity of the others is not. Mutual intelligibility between dialects is difficult to ascertain, but Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005:3) demonstrate one-way intelligibility between Dzundzun and Mina (presumably meaning the Marbak dialect).

Notes
  1. Mina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.

References
  • Frajzyngier, Zygmunt & Johnston, Eric. (2005). A Grammar of Mina. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Newman, Paul. (1992). "Chadic Languages." In: Bright, William. International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


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