Bemé: Difference between revisions

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{{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

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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).

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'', 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'' "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:

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==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.

[[File:Standard & Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole.png|200px|thumb|right|3rd edition cover of ''Standard and Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole'', published in 1970.]]

Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine and first described in ''Standard and Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole'' (1962). 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.

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'''''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==

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==Example texts==

===UDHR 1===

Article 1 of the [[Literature:The Universal Declaration of Human Rights|The Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in Bemé:

: ''Aldem mang bi bon piri an ikwal ni digniti an reyt. Dem bi gib a dem risun an konshans an mos la go a dem an dem ni brada ting pirit.''

Article 1 of the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:

: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

===Historical texts===

====The Lord's Prayer====

This extract is taken from the ''Bemeh Beybl'', verses ''Matru'' 6:9-13, adapted from the [[w:New International Version|New International Version]] by ''{{bm|Abo}}'' Patrick "Pati" Babel.

This extract is taken from the ''Bemeh Beybl'', verses ''Matru'' 6:9-13, adapted from the [[w:New International Version|New International Version]] by {{l|beme|Abo}} Patrick "Pati" Babel.

<poem>

''Wey Abo ni skey, yu neym bi bles.''

@@ 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
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 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).
+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'', 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'' "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 57: / Line 57: @@
 ==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.
+[[File:Standard & Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole.png|200px|thumb|right|3rd edition cover of ''Standard and Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole'', published in 1970.]]
+Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine and first described in ''Standard and Regular Romanization of Poccasin Creole'' (1962). 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 220: / Line 221: @@
 '''''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==
@@ Line 614: / Line 615: @@
 ==Example texts==
+===UDHR 1===
+Article 1 of the [[Literature:The Universal Declaration of Human Rights|The Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in Bemé:
+: ''Aldem mang bi bon piri an ikwal ni digniti an reyt. Dem bi gib a dem risun an konshans an mos la go a dem an dem ni brada ting pirit.''
+Article 1 of the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
+: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
 ===Historical texts===
 ====The Lord's Prayer====
-This extract is taken from the ''Bemeh Beybl'', verses ''Matru'' 6:9-13, adapted from the [[w:New International Version|New International Version]] by ''{{bm|Abo}}'' Patrick "Pati" Babel.
+This extract is taken from the ''Bemeh Beybl'', verses ''Matru'' 6:9-13, adapted from the [[w:New International Version|New International Version]] by {{l|beme|Abo}} Patrick "Pati" Babel.
 <poem>
 ''Wey Abo ni skey, yu neym bi bles.''