Mundang love poem

My little love poem translated into Mundang (Moundang, Lere, Musemban, Bana, Mbana, Gelama, Marhay, Kabi, Zazing, Djasing, Moundan, Torrock-Kaélé, Imbara, Nda, Kieziere, Kaélé, Imbana, Kiziere, Zasing, Jasing, Yasing, Yassing, , Autonym : Zah Mundaŋ, Mundaŋ, Múndàŋ).

Moundang is a Niger-Congolese language, Adamawa (Adamoua), from the northern branch of the Mbum (Mboum) languages, spoken in southern Chad and northern Cameroon. The other two northern Mbum languages are Tupuri (Toupouri, Tpuri) and Mambay (maNbai, mamgbay).

Firmin Sobdinho Hiakba, student geologist, who made this translation is from Garoua, Bénoué department in Cameroon and the moundang variant he speaks is Lere, the other two main varieties are Torrock and Kaele. The differences between these variants are mainly related to the different accents in the diction of the language.

Mundang, as most often, is a language of oral tradition. Those are the French missionaries, who, less than a century ago, were the first to transcribe it with our Latin alphabet.

There are around 250,000 Mundang speakers, they speak this language on both sides of the Cameroon-Chad border, and their language has no official status, either in Chad or Cameroon.

There is nevertheless in these two countries where the Moundang ethnic group has remained united, a desire to promote the language.

But, even if today we can find a dictionary and a Mundang grammar, there is still a lot of work to be done in the study of the language, and in the conservation of the oral heritage of the Mundangs.