(Ulrich Kleinewillinghöfer 2015)
Lexique Lɔŋto 2012
0. Introduction
Lɔŋto [Lɔ̀ŋtó] is the language of the Lɔ̀ŋmó, both are commomly known as Voko. The majority of the approximately 4.000 Lɔŋmo [Lɔ̀ŋmó] inhabitate the villages and hamlets of their Canton Voko (= Lɔ̀ŋŋɛ̂), which is part of the Départment de Faro in the Northern Province of Cameroon. In addition to Lɔŋtɔ the Lɔŋmó increasingly use the local variant of Fulfulde, the Lingua Franca of Northern Cameroon, for most speech acts.
Lɔŋtɔ has no distinct dialectal areas, although local variants differ in intonation. Phonological variations, e.g. the use of either [dʒ~j] or [z], rather depend on individual preferences of the speakers.[1] Significantly altered is, however, the Lɔŋto spoken in Gormaaya (aka Voko), their capital, where a considerable number of foreigners live. Fulfulde vocabulary and phrases have entered.
The earliest Lɔŋto data was presented as "Woko" in the comparative wordlists of Struempell (1910) and (1922/23). A list of roughly 500 lexical items of "Voko" was published by Griaule (1941), and which he recorded 1932 in Poli from the then Lamido of Voko.
From a comparative point of view Lɔŋtɔ is outstanding among the so-called Adamawa languages since it possesses a noun class system particularly rich as regards the number of noun classes and genders.[2] Highly remarkable are furthermore the structural resemblances of the class system, and the extent of morphological and semantical corresponcences with the noun class systems reconstructed for Central Gur (cf. Manessy 1999, Miehe at all 2012).
The data on which the following study is based was recorded in Poli and villages in the Canton Voko (= Lɔŋŋɛ) between 2008 and 2012. Main contributors were Illiassou Godje from Pate, Bouba Bakary from Lenguerba assisted by Fadimatu Abba from Ouro Kila, and Hamadama Alhaji from Gutiri.
[1] Significantly deviating in clarity and speed is, however, the Lɔŋto spoken by members of the Lɛ̀ŋmó clan. They were the priests in the pre-islamic society. Their way of speaking, one of their characteristics is called lɛ̀ŋtó "bad/faulty way of speaking".
[2] The wordlists of Strumpell and Griaule do not show the plural forms of the nouns. Thus the fact that Lɔŋtɔ has one of the most elaborated noun class systems among the so-called Adamawa languages remained unnoticed.