Temne (also Themne, Timne; ) is a language of the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family, spoken by the Temne people. Temne speakers live mostly in the Northern Province and Western Area, Sierra Leone. Temne people can be found in a number of other West African countries as well, including Guinea. Some Temnes have also migrated beyond West Africa seeking educational and professional opportunities, especially in Great Britain, and the United States.

Phonology

Temne is a tonal language. Among consonants, Temne distinguishes dental and alveolar, but, unusually, the dental consonants are apical and the alveolar consonants are laminal (and slightly affricated), the opposite of the general pattern, though one found also in the nearby language Limba.]]

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

|+ Vowels

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|a || ʌ || b || d || e || ɛ || ə || f || gb || h || i ||k

|kp || l || m || n || ŋ || o || ɔ || p || r || s || t || th || u || w

|-

|A || Ʌ || B || D || E || Ɛ || Ə || F || Gb || H || I || K

|Kp|| L || M || N || Ŋ || O || Ɔ || P || R || S || T || Th || U || W

|}

Earlier, Ȧȧ was used instead of Ʌʌ.

Oral literature

In 1861, C. F. Schlenker, a missionary of the Church Missionary Society, published a collection of Temne fables and proverbs in Temne with a facing-text English translation. Schlenker's source was a Temne man living in Port Loko in the late 1840s; Schlenker explains that he was an old man already at that time. The book also contains some of Schlenker's translations from the Bible into Temne.

In 1916 Northcote Thomas published his Anthropological Report on Sierra Leone; Part 2 contains a Temne-English dictionary and Part 3 contains a grammar of Temne plus 27 stories told in Temne with interlinear English translation. Many of the stories are about the trickster spider, called in Temne; the trickster spider is a popular character in the Temne, Vai, Mende, and Limba storytelling traditions of Sierra Leone. In addition, Thomas's Specimens of Languages from Sierra Leone contains tables comparing Temne vocabulary to Kissi and other related languages.

References

Bibliography

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  • Elba, All. A. (1905) The second Reader: Temne and English. London: Society for promoting Christian knowledge.
  • Schlenker, C.F. (1864) Grammar of the Temne language. London.
  • Schlenker, C.F. (1861) A collection of Temne traditions, fables and proverbs. London.
  • Schlenker, C.F. (1880) An English-Temne dictionary. London.
  • Scott, J.P.L. (1956) An introduction to Temne grammar. Sierra Leone: [s.n.].

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  • Temne Words and Phrases
  • Grammar of the Temne language, 1864 – Rev. C. F. Schlenker
  • CIA Sierra Leone file
  • PanAfrican L10n page on Temne
  • Listening example: Kassirie Stories
  • OLAC resources in and about the Timne language
  • Temne story "Mr. Spider and the Rotten Skin" with English rough translation
  • Glottolog page for Timne
  • Peace Corps Sierra Leone Temne Language Manual
  • Lets Learn Thaymneh (Temne)