Kemezung language

Last updated
Kemezung
Native to Cameroon
Region Northwest Province, Donga-Mantung Division, Southwest corner of Ako Subdivision, Northwest of Nkambé, town of Dumbu and village of Kwei.
Native speakers
3,540 (2008) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 dmo
Glottolog keme1240

Kemezung (Dumbo, Dumbu, Dzumbo, Kumaju) is a Southern Bantoid (Eastern Beboid) language of Cameroon. According to Ethnologue, it's 85% lexically similar to Bebe. [1]

Contents

Consonants

Kemezung has 19 "unmodified" consonants. [2] Cox also claims Kemezung has labialized, palatalized, and prenasalized consonants but does not list all of them. [3]

LabialCoronalPalatalVelarLabial-velarLaryngeal
PlosiveVoiceless/t//k//k͡p/
Voiced/b//d//g//g͡b/
AffricateVoiceless/t͡s/ [lower-alpha 1]
Voiced/d͡z/ [lower-alpha 2]
Fricative/f//s/ [lower-alpha 3] /h/
Nasal/m//n//ɲ//ŋ/
Approximant/l/ [lower-alpha 4] /j/ [lower-alpha 5] /w/
  1. ↑ /t͡s/ becomes [ t͡ʃ ] before /i/.
  2. ↑ /d͡z/ becomes [ d͡ʒ ] before /i/.
  3. ↑ /s/ becomes [ ʃ ] before /i/. It becomes [ s̬ ] or [ ɾ ] between vowels root-medially.
  4. ↑ /l/ optionally becomes [ d ] in many words before /i/ root-medially.
  5. ↑ /j/ optionally becomes [ ʒ ] before /i/ root-medially.

Vowels

Kemezung has 9 phonemic vowels. [4]

FrontCentralBack
Close/i//u/
Close-mid/e//ɘ/ [lower-alpha 1] /o/
Open-mid/ɛ//ɜ/ [lower-alpha 2] /ɔ/
Open/ä/
  1. ↑ Cox uses ⟨ɨ⟩, which normally represents the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/.
  2. ↑ Cox uses ⟨ə⟩, which normally represents the mid central unrounded vowel /ə/.

Tone

Kemezung also has 7 (or possibly 8) tones. [5] There are three level tones (high, mid, and low), three falling tones (high-low, mid-low, and long mid-low), and one or two rising tones (low-mid and possibly mid-high).

Notes

  1. 1 2 Kemezung at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Cox (2005 :2)
  3. ↑ Cox (2005 :2–4)
  4. ↑ Cox (2005 :5)
  5. ↑ Cox (2005 :7–8)

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References


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