Kogo, also referred to as Bakoko and Basoo, is a Bantu language of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. North and South Kogo are as distinct from each other as they are from Basaa; they might be considered three dialects of a single language.

Demographics

Traditionally, Bakoko and Basaa societies had a very close relationship, especially on a religious level. The Bakoko language was the language of ritual for both the Bakoko and Basaa, and the Basaa language was also familiar to the Bakoko. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as the ritual relations gradually receded, this social and linguistic symbiosis declined. Today, the two languages are sociolinguistically distinct. Bakoko speakers also tend to speak Basaa today, but Basaa speakers typically do not speak Bakoko. There are many dialects because of the geographical fragmentation of the Bakoko-speaking area. ALCAM (2012) lists the following dialects. Central dialects: *Adiá is spoken in Edéa, the capital of the department of Sanaga-Maritime ( Littoral Region). *Yakalag is spoken to the west of the Adiá area in Yakalak canton, Mouanko commune, Sanaga-Maritime department. In the south: *Yasug (in Yassoukou canton, with Déhané and Yawanda), which extends into the department of

Océan Océan is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 11,280 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 133,062. The capital of the department lies at Kribi. Subdivisions The department is divided adminis ...

(northeast of the commune of

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...

, Southern Region). Detached from the southern contiguous group mentioned above are four separate Bakoko groups, each with its own dialect: In the west: *Yapoma, spoken in Bakoko canton of the Wouri department (Littoral Region), south of Douala (Japoma villages) *Yabyan-Yapeke, spoken by the two groups inhabiting the Bakoko canton of the Moungo department (Littoral Region), south of Dibombari (Yabea, Yapaki villages, etc.) In the northwest: *Dimbamban is spoken in Mbang canton (in Nkondjok commune) in Nkam department (Littoral Region), between Ndemli in the southeast and Diboum, an isolated Basaa dialect in the north. In the northeast: *Bisóo is spoken in Basso canton (commune of Ndom, department of Sanaga-Maritime, Littoral Region). The dialect is also called ɓasóó ɓalikol ("Basso of the North"), or Adiangók ("Adiá of the cave"). This variety is centered at Logbikoy, and also the pilgrimage site of Ngok-Litouba (the "Rock of the Cave"). There are around 50,000 speakers.

Orthography

Kogo uses the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern I ...

. Its alphabet is based on the

General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages The General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages is an orthography, orthographic system created in the late 1970s for all Languages of Cameroon, Cameroonian languages. Consonant and vowel letters are not to contain diacritics, though is a temporary excep ...

and consists of 7 vowels and 20 consonants.

Sample text

The

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

in Kogo and English: :A Tanè waha Nyo alè a lo'o. Djo'o djo libè la ébégè. :Likaniè djo lisso. Nsom wo a bonbè assi aka alè alo'o. :Ti bèhè lidi djaha livi olo vilèn la lilakè li bèhè mibé maha. :Aka bèhè ki binga la'akè bang binga alyè bèhè. :Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. :Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. :Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. :And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

References

Basaa languages Languages of Cameroon {{Bantu-lang-stub