| Koose | |
|---|---|
| Akoose | |
| Spoken in | Cameroon |
| Ethnicity | Bakossi |
| Native speakers | 100,000 (2001) |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bss |
The Koose language, also called Akoose, Bakossi, or Nkosi, is a Bantu language spoken by the Koose people (Bakossi, Bekoose) of Cameroon. There are many loan words from English, French and Douala.[1] The language is tonal, so the Latin alphabet cannot represent the sounds well. In the 1970s, linguists Robert and Sylvia Hedinger made a thorough study of Akoose, and proposed an alphabet consistent with other Cameroonian languages.[2]
The language may become endangered. When talking of technical subjects for which the language does not have a good vocabulary, speakers will often revert to Pidgin English or English.[3]