Loma (Loghoma, Looma, Lorma) is a Mande language spoken by the Loma people of Liberia and Guinea. Dialects of Loma proper in Liberia are Gizima, Wubomei, Ziema, Bunde, Buluyiema. The dialect of Guinea, Toma (Toa, Toale, Toali, or Tooma, the Malinke name for Loma), is an official regional language. In Liberia, the people and language are also known as "Bouze" (Busy, Buzi), which is considered offensive.

Writing systems

Today, Loma uses a Latin-based alphabet which is written from left to right. A syllabary saw limited use in the 1930s and 1940s in correspondence between Loma-speakers, but today has fallen into disuse.

Phonology

Loma has 21 consonants, 28 vowels, and 2 tones. Every vowel has 4 forms: Short and non-nasalized, Short and nasalized, Long and non-nasalized, and Long and nasalized making a total of 28 vowels. Loma has 2 tones: the High Tone ⟨á⟩ and the Low Tone ⟨à⟩.

Sample

The Lord's Prayer in Loma: Yài è ga gé ɣeeai è gee-zuvɛ, ɓaa ɣa la yà laa-zeigi ma, yà masadai va, è yii-mai ɣɛ zui zu è ɣɛ velei é ɣɛɛzu la è wɔ vɛ, è zaa mii ŋenigi ʋe gé ya, è gé vaa ʋaitiɛ zu ʋaa yɛ, è ɣɛ velei gá ɓalaa gé zɔitiɛ zu ʋaa yɛga la gá ʋaa yega te va. Mɛ lɛ kɛ tɛ-ga ɔ́ wo ga gíɛ, kɛ̀ è gé wulo tuɓo-vele-yowũ nui ya.

Hymns

In the 1960s several hymns composed in Loma by Billema Kwillia were recorded by the missionary Margaret D. Miller and then adopted by the Lutheran Church, first appearing in print in Loma in 1970. The most widely used, 'A va de laa' was not translated to singable English until 2004; it is also translated to German.