Engwo Lexicon – Engwo–English / English–Engwo

– including a Grammatical Sketch

Compiled by: Julius A. Eyoh. Series edited by: Roger M. Blench.

Series: KWEF Kay Williamson Educational Foundation – Languages Monographs: Local Series Volume 3

Engwo is spoken by about 50,000 people in Njikwa Sub Division, Momo Division in the North West Region of Cameroon and belongs to the Grassfields Bantu languages. This provi­sional Engwo-English and English-Engwo Lexicon is compiled primarily for Engwo speakers but it is also of great help to non-speakers who want to learn the language.

The lexicon comprises approximately 6.200 entries with 2.902 in the main text and 298 in the appendix. The SIL Comparative Wordlist served as a basis for the initial collection of words. Julius A. Eyoh as a native speaker and linguist basically wrote down the words but did the checking with several native speakers. Each lexical entry includes a phonetic transcription, part of speech and the meaning of the entry in English. Where available, the plural forms of the nouns are given. Some entries have unrelated meanings and so may occur more than once. Noun class numbers are given for the dif­ferent nouns.

The author’s wish is that this lexicon will arouse interest in the use of the Ngwo language between both adults and children as they learn to read and write the language. The lexicon also serves as a repository of cul­tural terms and information, which may otherwise be lost as the languages evolves.

Under these links you will find descriptions of further Cameroonian Bantu and Grassfields Bantu languages:

Accompanying material:

• A Descriptive Grammar of Bafut (ISBN 978-3-89645-551-2)
• A Descriptive Grammar of Bangwà (ISBN 978-3-89645-563-5)
• A Descriptive Grammar of Basaa (A.43) (ISBN 978-3-89645-773-8)
• A Grammatical Description of Metta (Cameroon) in Relation to Focus Parametric Variation (ISBN 978-3-89645-544-4)
• A Pedagogic Grammar of Babanki (ISBN 978-3-89645-558-1)
• Akoose-English Dictionary and English-Akoose Index (ISBN 978-3-89645-784-4)
• Akum, Ala’atening and Mankon: Dialects or Languages? (ISBN 978-3-89645-562-8)
• Analyse contrastive des parlers Yémba du département de la Ménoua de l’Ouest-Cameroun (ISBN 978-3-89645-046-3)
• Bankon (A40) (ISBN 978-3-89645-030-2)
• Grammaire descriptive du pólrì (ISBN 978-3-89645-567-3)
• Kejom (Babanki) – English Lexicon (ISBN 978-3-89645-782-0)
• Linguistic Salvage – Isubu and Wovea (Bantu A231) (ISBN 978-3-89645-770-7)
• Verbal Serialisation in Isu (West Ring) (ISBN 978-3-89645-555-0)

Cross-reference:

• Bantu Languages (ISBN 978-3-89645-705-9)
• Domains and Regions in Bantu Tense and Aspect (ISBN 978-3-89645-772-1)
• Engagement with Africa (ISBN 978-3-89645-768-4)
• Issues in Bantu Tonology (ISBN 978-3-89645-033-3)
• Research Mate in African Linguistics – Focus on Cameroon (ISBN 978-3-89645-041-8)
• The Bantu Bibliography (ISBN 978-3-89645-181-1)

© 2025 by Rüdiger Köppe Verlag – www.koeppe.de

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