Myene language

Myene
Myene
Omyene
Native to	Gabon
Region	Ogooue-Maritime Province, Middle Ogooue Province
Ethnicity	Myene (Mpongwe, Adyumba, Nkomi, Galwa), Bongo
Native speakers	45,000 (2007)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu (Zone B) Kele–Tsogo? Tsogo? Myene; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Mpongwe; Orungu; Galwa; Nkomi;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mye
Glottolog	myen1241
Guthrie code	B.11

Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages, though Nurse & Philippson (2003) place it in with the Tsogo languages (B.30). The more distinctive varieties are Mpongwe (Pongoué), Galwa (Galloa), and Nkomi.

Phonology

Consonants
		Bilabial	Labio- dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal		m		n	ɲ	ŋ
Stop/ Affricate	voiceless	p		t	tʃ	k
	voiced	b		d	dʒ	ɡ
	prenasal vl.	ᵐp		ⁿt	ᶮtʃ	ᵑk
	prenasal vd.	ᵐb		ⁿd	ᶮdʒ	ᵑg
Fricative	voiceless		f	s	ʃ
Fricative	voiced	β	v	z		(ɣ)
Approximant				l	j	w
Trill				r

/ɡ/ is also heard as [ɣ] in free variation when preceding vowels or semivowels depending on articulation.
Voiced sounds /b, d, dʒ/ may also be heard as implosives [ɓ, ɗ, ɗ̠ʲ] in free variation across dialects.
In the Adyumba dialect /dʒ/ may also be heard as [dz] in free variation.
Sounds /ᶮtʃ, ᶮdʒ/ may also be heard as prenasal alveolar affricates [ⁿts, ⁿdz] across dialects.
/w/ may be heard as more palatal [ɥ] when before front vowel sounds.
A nasalized labio-velar sound /w̃/ may also be attested in the Mpongwe dialect.

Vowels
	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Open	a

Dictionary

Jean-Rémy Bessieux published a Pongwe dictionary in 1847.

Notes

↑ Myene at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
↑ Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.
1 2 Jacquot, A. (1976). Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene. Etudes Bantoues II, Bulletin SELAF 53. pp. 13–79.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Ambouroue (2007)
↑ Daouda (1988)
↑ "Bessieux, Jean-Rémi (version B)". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
↑ Nicolas, François (1 October 2022). "Jean-Remi Bessieux (1803-1876) and the Founding of the Catholic Church in Gabon". Duquesne University, Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Spiritan Horizons, Volume 19, Issue 19. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

Bibliography

Ambouroue, Odette (2007). Éléments de description de l'Orungu: Langue bantu du Gabon (B11b). Brussels: Université Libre de Bruxelles dissertation.
Eyang Effa, Edwige (2002). Phonologie du myen'orungu, langue bantoue du Gabon B11b. Libreville: Université Omar Bongo.
Jacquot, A. (1976) Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene, in Etudes Bantoues II, Bulletin SELAF 53, Paris, 13–79.
Patrick Mouguiama Daouda (1988). Éléments de description du mpongwe : Phonologie, morphologie du système nominal et pronominal (mémoire de maîtrise). Université Omar Bongo. 154 p
Philippson, G. & G. Puech (1996) 'Tonal domains in Galwa (Bantu, B11c)' The Bantu languages
Soumaho Ditoubilianou, Prisca Armelle (2001). Esquisse d'une phonologie fonctionnelle du Galwa. Libreville: Université Omar Bongo.
Teisseres, Urbain (1957). Méthode pratique pour apprendre l'omyènè. 2nd edn. Paris: Société des Missions Evangéliques

External links

ELAR archive of Comparative documentation of the Myene language cluster: Adyumba, Enenga, Galwa, Mpongwe, Nkomi and Orungu

^ le myènè en ligne sur : 'awanawintche.com', le myene en ligne : proverbes, contes, cours en audio mp3, histoires, rites et légendes o'myènè.

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[e18-1] Myene at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[Guthrie-2] Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online

[3] Bantu Classification Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ehret, 2009.

[:0-4] 1 2 Jacquot, A. (1976). Etude de la phonologie et de la morphologie myene. Etudes Bantoues II, Bulletin SELAF 53. pp. 13–79.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[5] Ambouroue (2007)

[6] Daouda (1988)

[DACB-7] "Bessieux, Jean-Rémi (version B)". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved November 20, 2025.

[DU-8] Nicolas, François (1 October 2022). "Jean-Remi Bessieux (1803-1876) and the Founding of the Catholic Church in Gabon". Duquesne University, Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Spiritan Horizons, Volume 19, Issue 19. Retrieved December 16, 2025.

v t e Languages of Gabon
Official language	French (Standard)
National languages	Fang
Indigenous languages	Baka Barama Bekwel Benga Bube Bwisi Duma Kande Kaningi Kili iKota Lumbu Mahongwe Mbama Mbangwe Mbere Myene (several dialects) Ndasa Ndumu Ngom Njebi Pinji Punu Sake Sangu Seki Sighu Simba Sira Northern Teke Western Teke Tsaangi Tsogo Vili Vumbu Wandji Wumbvu Yasa

Authority control databases
National	France BnF data Israel
Other	IdRef