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The Mina language, also known by the names Hina and Besleri, is a Chadic language spoken in Northern Cameroon by 10,000 people. Speakers of Mina are generally bilingual, with Fulfulde (Fula) being the second language. Fulfulde is often joined by French as a third language in educated speakers.

Besleri is spoken in most of Hina commune (Mayo-Tsanaga Department, Far North Region), with Gamdugun and Jinjin in the southwest and southeast of the area, respectively.

Dialects

Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005) list three Mina dialects: Marbak, Kefedjevreng and Dzundzun. Ethnologue also lists three: Besleri, Jingjing (Dzumdzum), Gamdugun. While the correspondence of "Jingjing" and "Dzundzun" is clear, the identity of the others is not. Mutual intelligibility between dialects is difficult to ascertain, but Frajzyngier & Johnston (2005:3) demonstrate one-way intelligibility between Dzundzun and Mina (presumably meaning the Marbak dialect).

Notes

1. ^ Mina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.

References

• Frajzyngier, Zygmunt & Johnston, Eric. (2005). A Grammar of Mina. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Newman, Paul. (1992). "Chadic Languages." In: Bright, William. International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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