Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 1, 2026

Ki language

The Ki language, Tuki, is a Mbam language of Cameroon. It is spoken by 26,000 people in the Central Province of Cameroon, in the Lekie division and in the Mbam and Kim division, along the Sanaga river.

Last revised
Jul 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
289 w
Citations
9
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Ki
Tuki
Native toCameroon
Native speakers
(26,000 cited 1982)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3bag – inclusive code
Individual codes:
leo – Leti
mct – Mengisa (duplicate code)
Glottologtuki1240
A.601 (ex-A.61,64), possibly also A.632

The Ki language, Tuki (Baki, Oki), is a Mbam language of Cameroon. It is spoken by 26,000 people in the Central Province of Cameroon, in the Lekie division and in the Mbam and Kim division, along the Sanaga river.3

The dialects are Kombe (Tukombe), Cenga (Tocenga), Tsinga (Tutsingo), Bundum, Njo (Tonjo), Ngoro (Tu Ngoro), Mbere (Tumvele)3 and possibly Leti/Mengisa4 and Mbwasa.

Phonology

Tuki distinguishes six phonetic vowels. It distinguishes between long and short vowels.5

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

The consonants are as follows.5

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar/Glottal Labiovelar
Stop/Affricate Voiceless p t t͡ʃ k k͡p
Voiced b d d͡ʒ g g͡b
Prenasalized ⁿb ⁿd ⁿd͡ʒ ⁿg <ng> ⁿg͡b
Fricative Voiceless s h
Voiced β
Nasal m n ɲ <ny> ŋ <ng>
Approximant ɾ j w

Grammar

As in most Bantu languages, the noun consists of a class prefix and a stem. Verbs are conjugated for the noun class of the subject and object.3 The primary word order is SVO.6

References

References

  1. Ki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Leti at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Mengisa (duplicate code) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Biloa, E. (2013). Syntax of Tuki : A Cartographic Approach. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
  4. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  5. Essono, Jean-Jacques [Marie] (1974). Description phonologique du tuki (ati), langue Sanaga (PDF) (masters thesis) (in French). Université de Yaoundé.
  6. Biloa, Edmund (1997). Functional Categories and the Syntax of Focus in Tuki. Munchen: Lincom Europa. ISBN 9783929075496.