Bemé: Difference between revisions

(21 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)

Line 1:

{{infobox language

| name = Bemé

| nativename = bemeh, bemetak, kriyal

| nativename = bemeh / bemetak / kriyal

| altname = Poccasin Creole, Poccasin Pidgin, Poccasinese

| altname = Poccasin Creole / Poccasin Pidgin / Poccasinese

| image = File:Poccasin.svg

| imagesize = 250px

| imagecaption = Flag of the Poccasin Federation, where Bemé is the official language

| imagecaption = Flag of the [[Poccasin Federation]], where Bemé is the official language

| creator = User:Jukethatbox

| created = 2025

Line 18:

| speakers = 15 million

| date = 2025

| official = [[File:Poccasin.svg|24px]] Poccasin Federation

| official = [[File:Poccasin.svg|24px]] [[Poccasin Federation]]

| stand1 = ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|Bemetak]]''

| dia1 = [[Bijun Creole]]

Line 25:

| notice = ipa

}}

'''Bemé''' (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY''; ''bemeh'', pronounced [[IPA for Bemé|[bemɛ]]]), also called '''Poccasin Creole''', '''Poccasin Pidgin''' and '''Poccasinese''', is an [[w:English-based creole languages|English creole]] and [[w:Pidgin|pidgin language]] spoken in the Poccasin Archipelago. It is widely spoken as a first language in Cassim Po and is by far the predominantly spoken language in many other urban areas in the Poccasins, ~~but~~ elsewhere in the archipelago it only holds pidgin language status, exclusively used to communicate between people of separate ethnicites; as such, it is not used at home in most of these areas.

'''Bemé''' (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY''; ''bemeh'', pronounced [[IPA for Bemé|[bemɛ]]]), also called '''Poccasin Creole''', '''Poccasin Pidgin''' and '''Poccasinese''', is an [[w:English-based creole languages|English creole]] and [[w:Pidgin|pidgin language]] spoken in the Poccasin Archipelago. It is widely spoken as a first language in Cassim Po and is by far the predominantly spoken language in many other urban areas in the Poccasins, though elsewhere in the archipelago it only holds pidgin language status, exclusively used to communicate between people of separate ethnicites; as such, it is not used at home in most of these areas.

Despite this varying status, Bemé is by far the most spoken language of the Poccasin Archipelago with around 15 million speakers as of 2025; native speakers with Bemé as their mother tongue, primarily inhabiting Cassim Po, number around 14,565. This high amount of speakers can be mostly attributed to two factors: extensive [[w:United Kingdom|British]] and later [[w:United States of America|American]] colonisation, as well as widespread teaching of the language. Bemé is an official language and designated [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of the Poccasin Federation, ensuring its continuous widespread usage after independence.

Despite this varying status, Bemé is by far the most spoken language of the Poccasin Archipelago with around 15 million speakers as of 2025; native speakers with Bemé as their mother tongue, primarily inhabiting Cassim Po, number around 14,565. This high amount of speakers can be mostly attributed to two factors: extensive [[w:United Kingdom|British]] and later [[w:United States of America|American]] colonisation, as well as widespread teaching of the language. Bemé is an official language and designated [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of the [[Poccasin Federation]], ensuring its continuous widespread usage after independence.

This article describes the variety of Bemé that is spoken in the Poccasin Federation; other major varieties/dialects of Bemé include [[Bijun Creole]](native to the Bijuns of Bijou Island) and [[Columbé]](of the people of Saint Columban).

==Etymology==

The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'' ~~[[Help:IPA|[beme po kaɕĩ]]]~~, literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.

The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'', literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.

===''Beme'' vs ''Bemé''===

The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".

The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', genitive of ''bema'' "nation", mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".

In contrast, ''Bemé'', (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY'') with an accent, is exclusively used in English to refer to the Bemé language. However, in Bemé itself, both ''bemeh'' "nation" and ''bemeh'' "Bemé" are homophones and homonyms, and their differing meanings is only discerned by context, such as:

Line 45:

===''Kriyal''===

''[[Contionary:kriyal|Kriyal]]'' ([[IPA for Bemé|[kɹ̥ijal]]], [[IPA for Bemé|[tɹ̥ijal]]] or [[IPA for Bemé|[tʃɹ̥ijal]]]) is a less commonly used term, and is derived from ~~its status as an [[w:~~English~~-based creole languages~~|~~English-based~~ creole ~~language]]~~. Although originally referring to the entire language in the same manner as ''Bemé''/''Bemeh'', nowadays it is mostly used to refer to [[w:Basilect|basilectal]] varieties of the language, though older speakers may still refer to the language as a whole as ''kriyal''.

''[[Contionary:kriyal|Kriyal]]'' ([[IPA for Bemé|[kɹ̥ijal]]], [[IPA for Bemé|[tɹ̥ijal]]] or [[IPA for Bemé|[tʃɹ̥ijal]]]) is a less commonly used term, and is derived from the English word {{l|en|creole}}. Although originally referring to the entire language in the same manner as ''Bemé''/''Bemeh'', nowadays it is mostly used to refer to [[w:Basilect|basilectal]] varieties of the language, though older speakers may still refer to the language as a whole as ''kriyal''.

The word ''kriyal''(sometimes spelt ''kriyel'' in [[Columbé|Columban]]) is also used by [[Columbé]] and [[Bijun Creole]] speakers to refer to their own varieties of Bemé.

Line 53:

However, a key difference between older and younger speakers is the presence of [[w:Situational code-switching|code-switching]]; younger speakers are much more likely to be adept at code-switching between ''tak'' and ''kriyal'' depending on context, as opposed to older, traditionally less educated speakers who can't code-switch and as such whose speech may be permanently considered ''kriyal''. This factor has been considered one of many causes of [[w:Ageism|ageism]] in the Poccasin workforce, where older job applicants who exclusively speak in what is considered ''kriyal'' may be discriminated against compared to younger job applicants who are capable of speaking in more formal ''tak''.

===Patois===

'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'', ''patwa tak'') or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.

==Orthography==

Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the orthography while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's orthography has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.

However, the Caine orthography has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.

{|

|-

Line 175:

Line 181:

/ɲ/ is the only consonant that cannot appear in a coda position; typically, this is circumvented by adding /ɛ/ or /a/ postpositionally, so ''{{bm|grin}}'' becomes ''{{bm|grinyeh}}''.

====Nasal assimilation====

"'''Nasal assimilation'''" in Bemé refers to a [[w:Sandhi|sandhi]] process where the [[w:Voiced alveolar nasal|alveolar nasal]] /n/ is shifted to a different nasal before certain [[w:Obstruent consonants|obstruents]]. This process varies among Bemé dialects; the differences between major dialects are shown in the following table.

"'''Nasal assimilation'''" in Bemé refers to a [[w:Sandhi|sandhi]] process where the [[w:Voiced alveolar nasal|alveolar nasal]] /n/ (corresponding with the graphemes ⟨Nn⟩) is shifted to a different nasal before certain [[w:Obstruent consonants|obstruents]]. This process varies among Bemé dialects; the differences between major dialects are shown in the following table.

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"

! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | !! colspan=14 | Obstruents

|-

! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s~~/ !! /z~~/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/

! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/

|-

! rowspan=3 | Nasal

! Bemé

| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=3 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/

| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/

|-

! Bijun

| ~~colspan=2~~ rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/

| rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/

|-

! Columbé

| colspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 | /ɲ/ || -

|}

The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a ~~bilabial <nowiki>[</nowiki>~~[[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|m]]~~<nowiki>~~]~~</nowiki>~~ in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].

The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a [[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|bilabial nasal]] [m] in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].

===Vowels===

Line 214:

Line 220:

'''''Leleh''''' or '''''lelé''''' (with ''leleh'': [[IPA for Bemé|[lelɛ]]]; without: [[IPA for Bemé|[lele]]]) is a Bemé word describing the distinction between /e/ and /ɛ/ in a Bemé dialect. ''Leleh'' is present in ''Bemetak'', as well as in all Cassim Po dialects; it is also present in [[Bijun Creole]], though the distinction occurs instead between /i/ and /ɛ/ as /e/ merges with /i/.

However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.

However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ or another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.

==Grammar==

Bemé does not mark grammatical [[w:Grammatical number|number]], [[w:Grammatical gender|gender]] or [[w:Grammatical case|case]] in most places.

===Demonstratives===

===Pronouns===

====Demonstratives====

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"

! rowspan=2 | !! colspan=2 | Proximal !! colspan=2 | Distal

Line 231:

Line 238:

|}

Demonstratives in Bemé only inflect on number as [[w:Pronoun|pronouns]]; demonstrative [[w:Determiner|determiners]] are not inflected on anything apart from proximity.

===Personal ~~pronouns~~===

====Personal====

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"

! colspan=2 | !! Singular !! Paucal !! Plural*

Line 257:

Line 264:

|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Plural pronouns are written in order from common in ''tak'' to common in ''kriyal''.

''im'', although derived from the gendered English word {{l|en|him}}, is ungendered and can be roughly translated to "he", "she", "it" or singular "they" depending on context. Older speakers may use {{l|beme|shi}} or {{l|beme|shya}}/{{l|beme|shiya}} (all from English {{l|en|she}}) in the same way as ''she'' is used in English, but this word is functionally obsolete in modern Bemé (at best archaic in [[#Patois|patois]]).

"Paucal" pronouns refer to groups of people, as in ''wi kri'' would mean "some of us", ''yu kri'' means "some of you all", etc. Paucal pronouns are thought to have been borrowed from [[Dadaareg]], constructed by a combination of pronoun + ''kri'' (lit. "three"), as is typical for paucal pronouns in Dadaareg(''tanuk'', ''penuk'', ''lolonuk''). The third-person paucal pronoun, ''imim''/''emem'', is thought to have been derived via [[Ketaserang]] reduplication, a feature typical of Ketaserang for forming plural pronouns.

''Tuka'', ''ka'', ''tukeh'' and ''keh'' are all taken from the [[Yabo]] languages, all of which have pronouns along the lines of ''toka'' or ''tokeq''.

====Interrogatives====

Bemé interrogatives are derived from the word ''{{bm|wa}}'' "what", from English {{l|en|what}}.

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"

! English !! Bemé

|-

! who

| ''wa mang''

|-

! what

| ''wa''

|-

! which

| ''wa dem''

|-

! when

| ''wa wen''

|-

! why

| ''wanyu''

|-

! where

| ''wa deh''

|-

! how

| ''wa dan''

|-

! how much

| ''wa pis''

|}

===Numerals===

Bemé numerals from 0-9 are as follows:

Line 393:

Line 432:

|big=big

|long=long

|wide=wi long

|wide=weh long

|thick=wi big

|thick=weh big

|heavy=ebig

|small=na big

|short=na long

|narrow=na wi long

|narrow=na weh long

|thin=na wi big

|thin=na weh big

|woman=jal

|man (adult male)=mwoi

Line 493:

Line 532:

|fall=tamel

|give=gib

|hold=ab

|hold=unya

|squeeze=krish

|rub=rob

Line 517:

Line 556:

|rain=rey

|river=long wateh

|lake=~~big wateh~~

|lake=desi

|sea=big desi

|salt=sal

Line 619:

Line 658:

==See also==

* [[:Category:Bemé words]]

* [[Caine orthography]]

[[Category:Bemé]] [[Category:Conlangs]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:Creole languages]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox language
 | name = Bemé
-| nativename = bemeh, bemetak, kriyal
+| nativename = bemeh / bemetak / kriyal
-| altname = Poccasin Creole, Poccasin Pidgin, Poccasinese
+| altname = Poccasin Creole / Poccasin Pidgin / Poccasinese
 | image = File:Poccasin.svg
 | imagesize = 250px
-| imagecaption = Flag of the Poccasin Federation, where Bemé is the official language
+| imagecaption = Flag of the [[Poccasin Federation]], where Bemé is the official language
 | creator = User:Jukethatbox
 | created = 2025
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 | speakers = 15 million
 | date = 2025
-| official = [[File:Poccasin.svg|24px]] Poccasin Federation
+| official = [[File:Poccasin.svg|24px]] [[Poccasin Federation]]
 | stand1 = ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|Bemetak]]''
 | dia1 = [[Bijun Creole]]
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 | notice = ipa
 }}
-'''Bemé''' (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY''; ''bemeh'', <small>pronounced</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[bemɛ]]]), also called '''Poccasin Creole''', '''Poccasin Pidgin''' and '''Poccasinese''', is an [[w:English-based creole languages|English creole]] and [[w:Pidgin|pidgin language]] spoken in the Poccasin Archipelago. It is widely spoken as a first language in Cassim Po and is by far the predominantly spoken language in many other urban areas in the Poccasins, but elsewhere in the archipelago it only holds pidgin language status, exclusively used to communicate between people of separate ethnicites; as such, it is not used at home in most of these areas.
+'''Bemé''' (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY''; ''bemeh'', <small>pronounced</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[bemɛ]]]), also called '''Poccasin Creole''', '''Poccasin Pidgin''' and '''Poccasinese''', is an [[w:English-based creole languages|English creole]] and [[w:Pidgin|pidgin language]] spoken in the Poccasin Archipelago. It is widely spoken as a first language in Cassim Po and is by far the predominantly spoken language in many other urban areas in the Poccasins, though elsewhere in the archipelago it only holds pidgin language status, exclusively used to communicate between people of separate ethnicites; as such, it is not used at home in most of these areas.
-Despite this varying status, Bemé is by far the most spoken language of the Poccasin Archipelago with around 15 million speakers as of 2025; native speakers with Bemé as their mother tongue, primarily inhabiting Cassim Po, number around 14,565. This high amount of speakers can be mostly attributed to two factors: extensive [[w:United Kingdom|British]] and later [[w:United States of America|American]] colonisation, as well as widespread teaching of the language. Bemé is an official language and designated [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of the Poccasin Federation, ensuring its continuous widespread usage after independence.
+Despite this varying status, Bemé is by far the most spoken language of the Poccasin Archipelago with around 15 million speakers as of 2025; native speakers with Bemé as their mother tongue, primarily inhabiting Cassim Po, number around 14,565. This high amount of speakers can be mostly attributed to two factors: extensive [[w:United Kingdom|British]] and later [[w:United States of America|American]] colonisation, as well as widespread teaching of the language. Bemé is an official language and designated [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of the [[Poccasin Federation]], ensuring its continuous widespread usage after independence.
 This article describes the variety of Bemé that is spoken in the Poccasin Federation; other major varieties/dialects of Bemé include [[Bijun Creole]](native to the Bijuns of Bijou Island) and [[Columbé]](of the people of Saint Columban).
 ==Etymology==
-The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'' [[Help:IPA|[beme po kaɕĩ]]], literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.
+The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'', literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.
 ===''Beme'' vs ''Bemé''===
-The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".
+The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', genitive of ''bema'' "nation", mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".
 In contrast, ''Bemé'', (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY'') with an accent, is exclusively used in English to refer to the Bemé language. However, in Bemé itself, both ''bemeh'' "nation" and ''bemeh'' "Bemé" are homophones and homonyms, and their differing meanings is only discerned by context, such as:
@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 ===''Kriyal''===
-''[[Contionary:kriyal|Kriyal]]'' ([[IPA for Bemé|[kɹ̥ijal]]], [[IPA for Bemé|[tɹ̥ijal]]] or [[IPA for Bemé|[tʃɹ̥ijal]]]) is a less commonly used term, and is derived from its status as an [[w:English-based creole languages|English-based creole language]]. Although originally referring to the entire language in the same manner as ''Bemé''/''Bemeh'', nowadays it is mostly used to refer to [[w:Basilect|basilectal]] varieties of the language, though older speakers may still refer to the language as a whole as ''kriyal''.
+''[[Contionary:kriyal|Kriyal]]'' ([[IPA for Bemé|[kɹ̥ijal]]], [[IPA for Bemé|[tɹ̥ijal]]] or [[IPA for Bemé|[tʃɹ̥ijal]]]) is a less commonly used term, and is derived from the English word {{l|en|creole}}. Although originally referring to the entire language in the same manner as ''Bemé''/''Bemeh'', nowadays it is mostly used to refer to [[w:Basilect|basilectal]] varieties of the language, though older speakers may still refer to the language as a whole as ''kriyal''.
 The word ''kriyal''(sometimes spelt ''kriyel'' in [[Columbé|Columban]]) is also used by [[Columbé]] and [[Bijun Creole]] speakers to refer to their own varieties of Bemé.
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 However, a key difference between older and younger speakers is the presence of [[w:Situational code-switching|code-switching]]; younger speakers are much more likely to be adept at code-switching between ''tak'' and ''kriyal'' depending on context, as opposed to older, traditionally less educated speakers who can't code-switch and as such whose speech may be permanently considered ''kriyal''. This factor has been considered one of many causes of [[w:Ageism|ageism]] in the Poccasin workforce, where older job applicants who exclusively speak in what is considered ''kriyal'' may be discriminated against compared to younger job applicants who are capable of speaking in more formal ''tak''.
+===Patois===
+'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'', ''patwa tak'') or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.
 ==Orthography==
+Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the orthography while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's orthography has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.
+However, the Caine orthography has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.
 {|
 |-
@@ Line 175: / Line 181: @@
 /ɲ/ is the only consonant that cannot appear in a coda position; typically, this is circumvented by adding /ɛ/ or /a/ postpositionally, so ''{{bm|grin}}'' becomes ''{{bm|grinyeh}}''.
 ====Nasal assimilation====
-"'''Nasal assimilation'''" in Bemé refers to a [[w:Sandhi|sandhi]] process where the [[w:Voiced alveolar nasal|alveolar nasal]] /n/ is shifted to a different nasal before certain [[w:Obstruent consonants|obstruents]]. This process varies among Bemé dialects; the differences between major dialects are shown in the following table.
+"'''Nasal assimilation'''" in Bemé refers to a [[w:Sandhi|sandhi]] process where the [[w:Voiced alveolar nasal|alveolar nasal]] /n/ (corresponding with the graphemes ⟨Nn⟩) is shifted to a different nasal before certain [[w:Obstruent consonants|obstruents]]. This process varies among Bemé dialects; the differences between major dialects are shown in the following table.
 {| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
 ! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | !! colspan=14 | Obstruents
 |-
-! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /z/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/
+! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/
 |-
 ! rowspan=3 | Nasal
 ! Bemé
-| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=3 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/
+| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/
 |-
 ! Bijun
-| colspan=2 rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/
+| rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/
 |-
 ! Columbé
 | colspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 | /ɲ/ || -
 |}
-The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a bilabial <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|m]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].
+The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a [[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|bilabial nasal]] [m] in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].
 ===Vowels===
@@ Line 214: / Line 220: @@
 '''''Leleh''''' or '''''lelé''''' (<small>with ''leleh'':</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lelɛ]]]; <small>without:</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lele]]]) is a Bemé word describing the distinction between /e/ and /ɛ/ in a Bemé dialect. ''Leleh'' is present in ''Bemetak'', as well as in all Cassim Po dialects; it is also present in [[Bijun Creole]], though the distinction occurs instead between /i/ and /ɛ/ as /e/ merges with /i/.
-However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.
+However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ or another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.
 ==Grammar==
 Bemé does not mark grammatical [[w:Grammatical number|number]], [[w:Grammatical gender|gender]] or [[w:Grammatical case|case]] in most places.
-===Demonstratives===
+===Pronouns===
+====Demonstratives====
 {| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
 ! rowspan=2 | !! colspan=2 | Proximal !! colspan=2 | Distal
@@ Line 231: / Line 238: @@
 |}
 Demonstratives in Bemé only inflect on number as [[w:Pronoun|pronouns]]; demonstrative [[w:Determiner|determiners]] are not inflected on anything apart from proximity.
-===Personal pronouns===
+====Personal====
 {| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
 ! colspan=2 | !! Singular !! Paucal !! Plural*
@@ Line 257: / Line 264: @@
 |}
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Plural pronouns are written in order from common in ''tak'' to common in ''kriyal''.
+''im'', although derived from the gendered English word {{l|en|him}}, is ungendered and can be roughly translated to "he", "she", "it" or singular "they" depending on context. Older speakers may use {{l|beme|shi}} or {{l|beme|shya}}/{{l|beme|shiya}} (all from English {{l|en|she}}) in the same way as ''she'' is used in English, but this word is functionally obsolete in modern Bemé (at best archaic in [[#Patois|patois]]).
 "Paucal" pronouns refer to groups of people, as in ''wi kri'' would mean "some of us", ''yu kri'' means "some of you all", etc. Paucal pronouns are thought to have been borrowed from [[Dadaareg]], constructed by a combination of pronoun + ''kri'' (lit. "three"), as is typical for paucal pronouns in Dadaareg(''tanuk'', ''penuk'', ''lolonuk''). The third-person paucal pronoun, ''imim''/''emem'', is thought to have been derived via [[Ketaserang]] reduplication, a feature typical of Ketaserang for forming plural pronouns.
 ''Tuka'', ''ka'', ''tukeh'' and ''keh'' are all taken from the [[Yabo]] languages, all of which have pronouns along the lines of ''toka'' or ''tokeq''.
+====Interrogatives====
+Bemé interrogatives are derived from the word ''{{bm|wa}}'' "what", from English {{l|en|what}}.
+{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
+! English !! Bemé
+|-
+! who
+| ''wa mang''
+|-
+! what
+| ''wa''
+|-
+! which
+| ''wa dem''
+|-
+! when
+| ''wa wen''
+|-
+! why
+| ''wanyu''
+|-
+! where
+| ''wa deh''
+|-
+! how
+| ''wa dan''
+|-
+! how much
+| ''wa pis''
+|}
 ===Numerals===
 Bemé numerals from 0-9 are as follows:
@@ Line 393: / Line 432: @@
 |big=big
 |long=long
-|wide=wi long
+|wide=weh long
-|thick=wi big
+|thick=weh big
 |heavy=ebig
 |small=na big
 |short=na long
-|narrow=na wi long
+|narrow=na weh long
-|thin=na wi big
+|thin=na weh big
 |woman=jal
 |man (adult male)=mwoi
@@ Line 493: / Line 532: @@
 |fall=tamel
 |give=gib
-|hold=ab
+|hold=unya
 |squeeze=krish
 |rub=rob
@@ Line 517: / Line 556: @@
 |rain=rey
 |river=long wateh
-|lake=big wateh
+|lake=desi
 |sea=big desi
 |salt=sal
@@ Line 619: / Line 658: @@
 ==See also==
 * [[:Category:Bemé words]]
+* [[Caine orthography]]
 [[Category:Bemé]] [[Category:Conlangs]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:Creole languages]]