Bube language

Bube, Bohobé or Bube–Benga (Bobe, Bubi) is a Bantu language spoken by the Bubi, a Bantu people native to, and once the primary inhabitants of, Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea. The language was brought to Bioko from continental Africa more than three thousand years ago when the Bubi began arriving on the island.[3]

"Bubi language" redirects here. For the other Gabonese language called Bubi, see Vove language. For the Bubi dialect of Kele, see Kele language (Gabon).
"Bubia language" redirects here. For other uses, see Wumboko-Bubia language.
Bube
Native toEquatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon
EthnicityBubi, Wovea
Native speakers
51,000 (2011)[1]
Early form
Pre-Bube
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3bvb – inclusive code
Individual code:
bbx – Bubia (Wovea)
Glottologbube1242
A.31, A.221[2]
ELPBubia

It has around 50,000 speakers, with three variants: North, South and Central-East. It is noted for its tonal character and the divergence of words by gender. The language is also spoken by Bubi native to Gabon and Cameroon.

The Bube language is divided into six different dialects that vary in the northern and southern regions of Bioko Island. For example, in the North, people speak Rebola and its variations: Basile, Banapa and Basupa. However, in the North-East, Bakake is spoken.

Bube is also spoken in a small area on the mainland closest to the island, where speakers are shifting to Wumboko.[4] This has been reported as "Bube", "Bubia" or "Wovea" (see Wovea people).

The first works on the Bube language were those of the Baptist missionary John Clarke, published in 1846 and 1848.[5] A later Bube-to-English primer was authored in 1875 by William Barleycorn, a colonial era Primitive Methodist missionary of Igbo and Fernandino descent, while he was serving in the Bubi village of Basupu. An official language dictionary and grammar guide was published by the ethnic Bubi scholar Justo Bolekia Boleká.

Other names

Other names and forms of the name include Bubé, eVoové, eBubée, Bhubhi, Bubi, Ibubi, Ibhubhi, Pove and Eviia.

Phonology

Vowels

Bube has 7 vowels that can be either short or long:

Vowel phonemes
FrontBack
Close i iː (ĩ) u uː (ũ)
Close-mid e eː (ẽ) o oː (õ)
Open-mid ɛ ɛː (ɛ̃) ɔ ɔː (ɔ̃)
Open a aː (ã)

The nasal vowels are allophones of respective oral vowels.

Consonants

Bube has 29 consonants. Some of them are prenasalized:

Consonant Phonemes
Labial Dental/
Alveolar		 Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal voiceless m̥ n̥
voiced m n ɲ
Stop plain voiceless p t c k ʔ
voiced b d ɟ ɡ
prenasal voiceless ᵐp ⁿt ᶮc
voiced ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v
prenasal ⁿs
Approximant l j w
Rhotic r

Numbers

The numbers one through ten in Bube are as follows:[6]

Number Northern Bube Northwestern Bube Southern Bube
1buulebuulemuule
2eppaeppamemba
3bettabettametta
4yeeleyeelemyeeme
5bettobettometto
6ra'a
6		ra'a
6		metto na muule
5+1
7ra'a la buule
6+1		ra'a la buule
6+1		metto na memba
5+2
8yeele ketoppa
4x2		ra'a la eppa
6+2		metto na metta
5+3
9yeele ketoppa la buule
4x2+1		baa buule ka yo
10-1		metto na myeene
5+4
10yoyomyo

References
  1. Bube at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Bubia (Wovea) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. EquatorialGuinea.org; Retrieved 12/08/1998
  4. Harald Hammarström (2013) Review of the Ethnologue, 16th Ed.
  5. See Bibliography.
  6. C. Junyent, Las lenguas del mundo, p. 66

Bibliography
  • Biddulph, Joseph, Fernandian (1988). The Bubi Bantu language of Bioco/Fernando Po. Pontypridd, Wales: Languages Information Centre, WorldCat no. 17838738.
  • Bolekia, Justo Bolekia (1991). Curso de lengua bubi. (Coleccion ensayos, 8.) Malabo: Centro Cultural Hispano-Guineano.
  • Bolekia, Justo (2009). Diccionario español-bubi. Madrid: Ediciones AKAL. 544pp.
  • Clarke, John (1846). Sentences in the Fernandian Tongue. Dunfermline Press, Bimbia.
  • Clarke, John (1848). Introduction To The Fernandian Tongue, Part 1. Berwick-on-Tweed.
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