À kә̀ bә әzo, Binywε zǐ abî zhì ma ǝ̀lyi kә̀ kǔ wә. À kә̀ swiŋә ambwo moo yì Ǹgwà ŋgә a lo fәngwaŋә niŋә mәmә ŋkyì nfεˀεrә әlyi wu wә. Əlyi wu zә fәngwaŋә fya ŋkhә̀kә̀ wwa.
Free Translation
Binwie swept her compound that was invaded by soldier ants yesterday. She asked her son Ngwa to put salt in water and sprinkle on the soldier ants. The soldier ants saw the salt and ran away.
Priest: Nә әlwenә Ətàà nә wu moo nә̀ wu Àzhwè zә Ŋwà’ànә̀, ( the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit) People: Adzwilìi. (Amen)̄ Priest: Nywè à dzwi nә̀ bùu. (The lord is with you) People: Nkә ndzwi nә àzhwè zhә. (And with your spirit) Priest: Bələmə ba, a binə̀ biŋə ngə binə̀ ghərə əbwu ntiˀi nyεsə atyəmbə̀ŋə̀ zinə̀ zaˀa mboŋə zhìtə̀ mənyù mə ǹkùŋsə̀ Nywè zə ŋwàˀanə̀ zi. (Brethren/brother s and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.)
Priest: O yii mә toŋnә̀ bə bǎ әbwu. Kristò ko mәlìŋnә̀. (You came to call sinners. Christ have mercy.)
All: Kristò ko mәlìŋnә̀. (Christ have mercy)
Priest: O nunә abwo mà’a Ətàà mә lontәnә̀ ambwo bìi. Moo Nywè Ko mәlìŋnә̀. (You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord have mercy.)
Priest: A Nywè ma a dzwi nə̀ mə̀tὲnə̀ mètsə̀mə̀ ko məliŋnə̀ winə̀, nnaˀa əbwu winə̀ ntiˀi nfya mədzwinə̀ ma mə lyə kə mye ambwo binə̀. (May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.)
Nghù’usә dzwi a mbwo Nywe-ngoŋә ma à dzwi fәfә nәkàŋә nә mboonә mbwo ŋù ntsә̀mә̀ fә nshye ma a dzwi nә̀ ntiŋә nshi’inә̀. Bii dorә nә̀ wwò, bii foo wwo, bii myεnә wwo, bii ghu’usә wwo. Bii fya mәyà a mbwo wwò nә nәfonә̀ zhә zә̀ wwε. Nywè Ətàa, Mfò Nә̀kàŋә̀, o Nywè ma ò dzwi nә̀ mә̀tεnә̀ mәtsә̀mә̀. Mfò Yesu Kristò, Moo Ngonә mo’o. Moo Mbyi ǹdzὲrә̀, moo Nywe-ngoŋә Ətaa. O lòo әbwu mbyi ǹtsә̀mә̀, ko mәlìŋnә̀ wìi. O lòo әbwu mbyi ǹtsә̀mә̀, zwi’itә ndzùŋә̀ zìi. Ò nunә abwo mà’à Ətaa, ko mәlìŋnә̀ wìi. Tsuŋ wwò-wwò ma ò bә Ŋwà’ànә, wwò-wwò wimò’ò ma ò bә M̀fò, wwò-wwò ma ò bә M̀fò nwě, Yesu Kristò nә Azhwe zә Ŋwà’ànә̀ mәmә àghu’usә̀ Nywè Ətàa. Adzwi lìi.
AFTER THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS
Reader: Aboŋnә Nywè. (The word of the Lord) All: Mәyà mbwo Nywè. (Thanks be to God)
Before the Gospel
Priest: Aboŋnә Ətaa winә Yesu Kristò ma _____ (Matiyò, Marәkus, Lukas, Dzon) Nwa’anә a ŋwa’arә̂. (The Holy Gospel According to St. __________Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
People: Mәkwu’utәnә dzwi ambwo wwo, o Mfò wii. (Glory to you o lord)
AT THE END OF THE GOSPEL
Priest: Àbòŋnǝ Yesu Christò. (The Gospel of the Lord) People: Nghu’usǝ̀ dzwì ambwo wwo Mfò Yesu Kristò. (Praise to you lord Jesus Christ)
Mə̀ mbiŋə mbwo Nywè Ətaa, ma a dzwi nә mәtenә mәtsemә. Ma a ghərə nəkaŋə bwo nshye, Ne Moo Ngonә yì wi mò’o M̀fò Yesu Kristo, ma bә tu’unə yi mbə’ə Azhwè zə ƥwa’anǝ̀ Mariyà a jwe yi. A zə ŋgə’ə zhi nshye wi mbwo Bonto Blato, Bә bu’utә̀ yi nә àbàŋnә̀, a kwo bə twiŋə yε. A tso nghə ndzwi ala’a bə̀ ba kwonə̌, njwe tarə a bəŋnə̀ nəwwo. A ko’o nghə̀ nəkàŋə̀ nnunə abwo mà’à Ətàa ma à dzwi nә̀ mә̀tènә mәtsә̀mә̀. A lyə bu yii məsa’anə̀ bə bətsə̀mə̀ fəfə nshye. Bǎ dzwinə nə̀ bǎ kwonə. Mә̀ mbiŋә mbwo Àzhwè zә Ŋwa’anə. Nə ǹkùŋsə̀ ndya Nywè Katorә; Nə nkùŋsə̀ Bә̀ bâ Nwa’anә, nə mә na’anә̀ mә әbwu, nə mə̀zwiŋnə̀, mə mbəŋə̀ ǹnu, nə mə̀dzwinə̀ ma mə lyə kə mye. Adzwilìi.
Priest: Bә̀ləmә ba, a nә̀ taŋә ndzuŋә̀ ŋgә Nywè-Ətàa ma à dzwi nə̀ mətenə mətsə̀mə̀ a kwε mәbεrәtәnә̀ minə̀. (Pray brethren that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father. People: A Nywe kwε mәbεrәtәnә mìi fә mbwo wwo, nә mәkwu’utәnә nә mәghu’usәnә mә әlwεnә myi, fә nə ə̀bòŋә̀ winə̀ nә əboŋә Ndya-nywe zhi zә Ŋwà’ànә̀ ntsә̀mә̀. (May the lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name for our good and the good of all his Church.)
PREFACE DIALOGUE
Priest: Nywè à dzwi nә bùu. (The lord is with you) People: ŋkә ndzwi nә àzhwè zhә. (And with your spirit) Priest: Nyε’ε nә mәntiŋә mu. (Lift up your hearts) People: Bii nyε’ε mfya ambwo Nywè. (We lift them up to the lord) Priest: A binə̀ fya mәyà ambwo Nywè Ətàa winә̀. (Let us give thanks to the lord our God) People: A bә ŋko’onyù nkә ŋku’unә. (It is right and just)
Priest: Akhә’әnә nyù mә biŋnә. (The Mystery of Faith)
People: Bii swiŋә anyù nәwwo zhә Ətàà, ŋkә lensә mә̀bә̀ŋnәnә̀ mwo fә nәwwo, tyi ò lyә mbù nyìi.(we proclaim your death o lord and profess your resurrection until you come again) Or
Àghә̀mә̀ ntsә̀mә̀ ma bii jyә abanә zi nkә nyә nә̀ nfòŋә̀ wi, bìi swiŋә anyù nәwwo zhә Ətàà ti ò lyә mbù nyìi. (When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death o lord, until you come again,) Or
Kwesә wii Ŋkwesә̀ m̀byi ǹtsә̀mә̀, m̀bә’ә abàŋnә̀ zhә nә̀ mә̀bә̀ŋnәnә̀ nәwwo, o zwìŋsә wii. (Save us saviour of the world for by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.
Ala’à ntsә̀mә̀ nә mә̀tènә̀, nә àghu’usә̀ dzwi ambwo wwò a tsәtsoŋnә̀ wi nә àghә̀mә̀ ntsә̀mә̀. (For the Kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever.)
Moo mbyi-ǹdzὲrə̀, Nywe-ngoŋə̀ ma a lòo əbwu mbyi ǹtsә̀mә̀. (Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world.)
All: ko məlìŋnə̀ wìi. 2x (Have mercy on us) x2
Moo mbyi-ǹdzὲrə̀, Nywè-ngoŋə̀ ma à lòo əbwu mbyi ǹtsә̀mә̀. (Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world.)
All: Fya mboonə ambwo bìi. (Grant us peace)
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
Priests: Li bә Moo Mbyi-Ǹdzὲrә̀ Nywè, li bә zhә ma a lòo әbwu winә̀. Mә̀fonə̀ dzwi a mbwo bә̀ buma bwo kuŋsә mә jyәnә̀ ntarә yi wii. (This is the lamb of God. This is he who takes away the sins of the World. Happy are those who are call to the supper of the lamb.)
People: Nywè, mә̀ bikakә ku’unə̀ ma boŋә o kuu məmə nnu mwo, la swiŋә tsε’ὲ ta’a anyu, ntsuˀu ntiŋә wwa. (Lord I am not worthy that you may enter under my roof but say only a word and my soul shall be healed.)
RECEPTION OF COMMUNION
Priest: M̀bә̀ŋә̀ nnu Kristò. (The body of Christ)
Person: Adzwilìi (Amen)
CONCLUDING RITE
Priests: Nywè a dzwi nә bùu. (The lord is with you)
People: Nkә ndzwi nә àzhwè zhә. (And with your spirit)
Priest: A bùù ghә nә m̀boonә, nkoŋnә Nywè nkә fa’a mbwo zhә. (Go in peace to love and serve the lord.)
The /f/ sound in Nkwen Language is an unvoiced sound made through the mouth without the use of your vocal chords. It is also called a fricative, as it is produced by high pressure air flow between a narrow space made by the front teeth and the lips. It comes at the beginning of some words but mostly occupies the medial positions.
Àfoŋә̀ à fu әghә̌ nkǐ, nyìi nlaŋǝkә yi mânduŋǝ ntәmtә ә̀fә̀fàrә dzwi. À tә̀mә ә̀fә̀fàrè dzwi nә̀fâ nә mә̀nenә mi nәfâ. Ǹnà ә̀fә̀fàrә̀ ә̀ lә̀mtә susu.
Free Translation
Afong delays on his way to the stream because he is hunting Weaver birds. He has shot eight weaver birds and eight grass birds. The flesh of Weaver birds is so tasty.
Photo by Harry Cunningham @harry.digital on Pexels.com
/dz/ is one of the six double consonants sounds; /dz/ /gh/ /kh/ /ny/ /ts/ /zh/, found in the second edition of Nkwen Language Alphabet. These sounds are made up of two consonants but are considered as single sounds. When written in the upper case, the two letters are capitalized as follows; /DZ/ /GH/ /KH/ /NY/ /TS/ /ZH/. E.g.
1. “NYwɛ̀ – God”.
2. “DZà’a- jump” when it comes at the beginning of a sentence. Below are some words and a short reading text with the /dz/ sound.
/ɛ/ is one of the vowel sounds in Nkwen Language. It is an open mid sound different from the /e/ which is a close mid sound. It mostly surfaced at the medial and final positions in words. Here are some of the words and a short reading exercise below.
Є ε
M̀bὲrә → black berries
m̀bὲrә̂ → a lazy one
m̀bεnә̀ → a fight
fὲrә̀ → wind
fὲtә̂ → separate a fight
ǝ̀lὲrә̀ → a twine
bὲ’ὲtә̀ → flash light
àbεrә̀ → a traditional chair
bεtә → to quench
àkwε̌ → a bone
àkwὲˀὲ →upper part of the leg (thigh)
nǝ̀kùwɛ̀ – a pilar
Toŋtә nә̀
Àmbε bǝ̌ m̀bὲrә̂. À koŋә tyә mbεnә susu. A ghә ǹtsὲˀε mbὲrә̀ ma fὲrә̀ cya ŋ̀kùtә̂. À bә bεntә bu su jyә. À koŋә àfàˀà bәbὲrә susu. Nǝ̀kùwɛ̀ nǝ ndyâ zhi zǝtsǝ bǝ’ǝnǝ, a kakǝ nyɛ̀sǝ̀.
Free Translation
Ambe is a lazy one. He likes to fight a lot. He has picked up some black berries plucked by wind to prepare and eat. He likes being lazy. One of the pillars of his house is broken and he has not mended it.
Marked by “bə“, the events or situations in thistense are to be completed a few minutes or a few hours from the moment of speaking on the same day. The certainty that the action will take place is very high. Eg
This tense is lexicalized by ” bǝlya“, which occurs before the verb. It relates actions or events which will take place tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. The time limit cannot be extended too far into the future. Eg
The remote future tense is radicalized by ‘bə lyə’ and is associated with events which are to take place in the most distant future. They are mostly wise sayings and proverbs. The certainty of the action to be accomplished is not high. In fact, it is more on the negative than on the positive. This tense expresses irrealis mood. Eg
a. Talà bə lyə bù’u nyù.
Tala F3 do thing.
Tala shall do a terrible thing. (because of the unacceptable things that Tala does)
‘Bù’u’ and ‘ghə̀rə’ are synonyms for the verb ‘to do’ when directly translated, but ‘bu’u’ is to do something terrible while ‘ghərə’ is to do a normal thing.
b) Ǹtswǔ Ngənə̀fə̀mə̀ be lyə tsu mmu. (wise saying)
Mouth Ngenefemə F3
peak fire.
Ngenefem’s mouth shall peak fire. (because Ngenefemə is a talkative.
The Nkwen Language makes a distinction of three main tenses, the Present the Past and the Future Tenses. The past and the future tenses are subdivided into three forms each. The differences between these tenses in some cases are shown by different tense markers which come before the verb or simply tone melody on verbs and nouns.
This tense marks actions or situations which took place earlier than the moment of speaking and may be translated into English as the Present Perfect Tense. There are two tense markers, (tɛ̌ and ghǝ̌) that stress the time of action. In some cases there are tonal differences on verbs and nouns (without any marker), with the low tone dominating. E.g.
‘Talà kwùrә ǹnà.
Talà eaten meat (word for word translation)
Talahas eaten meat. (free translation)
2. Ngәlà cù’u àkù’u
Ngәla pounded achu.
Ngǝla has pounded achu.
NB: There is no tense marker in the above examples but low tone dominating)
The yesterday past tense is sequentially lexicalized by a marker ‘kә̀’. This tense marks actions which took place not only yesterday but as far back as last year. E.g.
This tense marks events which took place in the distant past or at a period when the definiteness of the time is not of great consequence at the moment of speaking. It is lexicalized by a marker ‘lyә’ or only by a tone melody. E.g.
Tala lyә kwurә nnà ŋgù’u tsә.
Talà p3 ate meat year certain.
Tala ate meat a certain year.
Or
Talǎ kwurә ǹnǎ ŋgù’u tsә̌.
Tala ate meat year certain. Talaate meat a certain year.
