Bamun

Shüpamom

Bamun is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in Cameroon.

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Bamun · 5.5°N 10.8°E

Bamum (Shü Pamom [ʃŷpǎˑmə̀m] 'language of the Bamum', or Shümom 'Mum language'), also known as Shupamem, Bamun, or Bamoun, is an Eastern Grassfields language of Cameroon, with approximately 600,000-700,000 speakers in 2025. The language is well known for its original script developed by King Njoya and his palace circle in the Kingdom of Bamum around 1895. Cameroonian musician Claude Ndam was a native speaker of the language and sang it in his music.

From Wikipedia · Bamum language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Written down

Pe nâ mvé gú puen nyütu pô te mbe kú ghét ngam pua ngúenengúe mbe te wûme nsebe pua pa mféékêt. Pen â ntúm te mbe kú rem ngam pua fabshe ngam, a nshi njîr’ap ne yi nshâne ngétne nga shap pô te wupme pontâ.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR in Unicode).

Words in Bamun

Meaning	Word	Romanization
person	m33n*
name	li*
eye	li*
ear	t3t*
nose	yi*
tooth	su*
tongue	l3m*
hand	pwa*
blood	Si*
bone	Nku*
skin	gxup*
knee	tokoS3*
breast	p3N*
liver	biE*
water	ŋkɛ̀
fire	mu*
sun	Nam*
star	s3x3*
stone	wu3*
mountain	mbar3*
tree	t3t3*
leaf	fu*
night	Se7*
dog	v3*
fish	Sa*
one	mo*
two	mba*
drink	no3*
see	yux3n*
hear	yu*