Dii languages

The Dii language is a dialect cluster in the Duru branch of Savanna languages. Yag Dii is the ethnonym.

Dii
Duru
Region	Cameroon
Native speakers	(60,000 cited 1982–1997)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Leko–Nimbari Duru Dii languages Dii
Dialects	Mambe’ Mamna’a Goom Boow Ngbang Phaane Sagzee Vaazin Home Nyok Duupa Dugun (Panõ)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: dur – Dii dae – Duupa ndu – Dugun
Glottolog	diic1235

Ethnologue lists Mambe’, Mamna’a, Goom, Boow, Ngbang, Sagzee, Vaazin, Home, Nyok as dialects, and notes that Goom may be a separate language. Blench (2004) lists them all, as well as Phaane, as separate languages, no closer to each other than they are to the other Dii languages, Duupa, Dugun (Panõ).

Writing System

Alphabet

Uppercase letters
A	B	Ɓ	D	E	Ɛ	Ə	F	G	Gb	H	I	Ɨ	L	M	ʼM	Mb	Mgb	N	ʼN	Nd	Nz	Ŋ	Ŋg	O	Ɔ	R	S	U	Ʉ	V	Vb	W	ʼW	Y	ʼY	Z
Lowercase letters
a	b	ɓ	d	e	ɛ	ə	f	g	gb	h	i	ɨ	l	m	ʼm	mb	mgb	n	ʼn	nd	nz	ŋ	ŋg	o	ɔ	r	s	u	ʉ	v	vb	w	ʼw	y	ʼy	z

Nasalisation is indicated with a cedilla : ‹a̧, ȩ, ə̧, i̧, o̧, u̧› ; The vowels ‹ɨ, ɔ, ʉ› cannot be nasalized.

The tones are indicated by accents:

• The high tone is indicated by an acute accent: ‹á, á̧, é, ȩ́, ə́, ə̧́, í, í̧, ɨ́, ó, ó̧, ɔ́, ú, ú̧, ʉ́› ;
• The low tone is indicated by a grave accent: ‹à, à̧, è, ȩ̀, ə̀, ə̧̀, ì, ì̧, ɨ̀, ò, ò̧, ɔ̀, ù, ù̧, ʉ̀› ;
• The average tone is indicated by no diacritic: ‹a, a̧, e, ȩ, ə, ə̧, i, i̧, ɨ, o, o̧, ɔ, u, u̧, ʉ›.

References

1. Dii at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
   Duupa at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
   Dugun at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)

• Roger Blench, 2004. List of Adamawa languages (ms)