Iyasa (Yasa, Yassa) is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea by the Iyasa and Ndowe coastal fishing peoples. It is also spoken by Pygmies, perhaps Babongo, in Gabon. Approximately 3,000 people speak Iyasa, though some note that this number may be an overestimation.
Iyasa also goes by the names Bongwe, Lyaasa, and Maasa. Dialects are Bweko, Vendo, Bodele, Marry, One, Asonga, Bomui, Mogana, Mooma, Mapanga. It may in turn be a dialect of Kombe. Speakers report that Kombe and Iyasa are almost perfectly mutually intelligible.
Classification
Dieu and Renaud (1993) classify Iyasa as a Sawabantu language (A.30 in Guthrie classification).
Geographic Distribution
Iyasa is spoken along the coast of Cameroon south of Kribi, including in the city of Campo. It is also spoken across the Ntem River in Equatorial Guinea. The northernmost Iyasa village is Lolabe, 31 km south of Kribi.
Phonology
Iyasa has a seven-vowel system:
It also has 22 phonemic consonants:
Grammar
Noun classes
Iyasa has 12 noun classes, as outlined in the table below (adapted from Bôt 2011 and Bouh Ma Sitna 2004):
References
External links
- Iyasa page at the Endangered Languages Project
- Homepage of the Iyasa language committee
- Etomba a Iyasa Facebook group
- Paradisec has an open access collection of Roger Blench's materials (RB5) that includes Yasa language materials
