Iceve-Maci language explained

Ceve (Iceve), or Iceve-Maci, is a Tivoid language of the Cameroons. The divergent dialects are Ceve proper (Becheve), and Maci (Matchi, Oliti).

Writing system

a

b

c

d

e

ɛ

f

g

gb

gh

h

i

k

kp

l

m

n

ŋ

o

ɔ

p

s

t

u

ʉ

v

w

y

z

!Digraphs!mb!nd!ng!ny!nz!ŋw!ŋm

IPA	mb	nd	ŋg	nj	ndz	ŋw	ŋm
Trigraph	mgb
IPA	ŋmgb

^[2]

Tone indication

!Notation!á!à or a!â!ă!àâ

Tone description

High

Low

Falling

Rising

Falling-rising

Phonology

Consonants

!!Labial!Alveolar/Postalveolar!Palatal!Velar!Labiovelar!Glottal

Nasal	m	n		ŋ	ŋm
Plosive	p b mb	t d ⁿd		k g ŋg	kp gb ŋmgb
Affricate		t͡s ~ t͡ʃ d͡z ~ d͡ʒ ⁿd͡z
Fricative	f v	s ~ ʃ				h
Approximant		l	j ɲj		w ⁿw

Vowels

!!Front!Central!Back

Close	i	ɨ	u
Near-close			ʊ
Close-mid	e		o
Open/Open-mid	a		ɔ

Tones

There are 5 tones: high, low, falling, rising and rising-falling.

Notes and References

1. Book: Blench, Roger. An Atlas of Nigerian Languages. Kay Williamson Educational Foundation. 2019. 4th. Cambridge.
2. Web site: Iceve-Maci language and alphabet . 2024-03-17 . www.omniglot.com.