Login
Login

Kemezung language

{{Short description|Bantoid language spoken in Cameroon}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Kemezung

|states=Cameroon

|region=Northwest Province, Donga-Mantung Division, Southwest corner of Ako Subdivision, Northwest of Nkambé, town of Dumbu and village of Kwei.

|speakers=3,540

|date=2008

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Benue–Congo

|fam4=Southern Bantoid

|fam5=Eastern Beboid

|iso3=dmo

|glotto=keme1240

|glottorefname=Kemezung

}}

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

Consonants

Kemezung has 19 "unmodified" consonants.{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|p=2}} Cox also claims Kemezung has labialized, palatalized, and prenasalized consonants but does not list all of them.{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|pp=2-4}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
colspan="2" |

! Labial

CoronalPalatalVelarLabial–velarGlottalic
rowspan="2" | Plosive

! voiceless

| || {{IPAlink|t}} || || {{IPAlink|k}} || {{IPAlink|k͡p}} ||

voiced

| {{IPAlink|b}} || {{IPAlink|d}} || || {{IPAlink|g}} || {{IPAlink|g͡b}} ||

rowspan="2" | Affricate

! voiceless

| || {{IPAlink|t͡s}}{{efn|{{IPA|/t͡s/}} becomes {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}} before /i/.}} || || || ||

voiced

| || {{IPAlink|d͡z}}{{efn|{{IPA|/d͡z/}} becomes {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} before /i/.}} || || || ||

colspan="2" | Fricative

| {{IPAlink|f}} || {{IPAlink|s}}{{efn|{{IPA|/s/}} becomes {{IPAblink|ʃ}} before {{IPA|/i/}}. It becomes {{IPAblink|s̬}} or {{IPAblink|ɾ}} between vowels root-medially.}} || || || || {{IPAlink|h}}

colspan="2" | Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}} || {{IPAlink|n}} || {{IPAlink|ɲ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ}} || ||

colspan="2" | Approximant

| || {{IPAlink|l}}{{efn|{{IPA|/l/}} optionally becomes {{IPAblink|d}} in many words before {{IPA|/i/}} root-medially.}} || {{IPAlink|j}}{{efn|{{IPA|/j/}} optionally becomes {{IPAblink|ʒ}} before {{IPA|/i/}} root-medially.}} || ||{{IPAlink|w}} ||

{{notelist}}

Vowels

Kemezung has 9 phonemic vowels.{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|p=5}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
Front

!Central

Back
Close

| {{IPAlink|i}}

| || {{IPAlink|u}}

Close-mid

| {{IPAlink|e}} || {{IPAlink|ɘ}}{{efn|Cox uses {{angbr|{{IPA|ɨ}}}}, which normally represents the close central unrounded vowel {{IPAslink|ɨ}}.}} || {{IPAlink|o}}

Open-mid

| {{IPAlink|ɛ}} || {{IPAlink|ɜ}}{{efn|Cox uses {{angbr|{{IPA|ə}}}}, which normally represents the mid central unrounded vowel {{IPAslink|ə}}.}} || {{IPAlink|ɔ}}

Open

| || {{IPAlink|ä}} ||

{{notelist}}

Tone

Kemezung also has 7 (or possibly 8) tones.{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|pp=7-8}} 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

{{Reflist}}

References

  • {{cite conference |last=Blench |first=Roger |year=2011 |url=http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Bantoid/General/Blench%20Bantu%20IV%20Berlin%20Bantoid%202011.pdf |title=The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu |conference=Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin}}
  • {{cite web |last1=Brye |first1=Edward |last2=Brye |first2=Elizabeth |year=2004 |title=Intelligibility testing survey of Bebe and Kemezung and synthesis of sociolinguistic research of the Eastern Beboid cluster |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/95/12/83/95128392022985329760471919891608127743/silesr2004_011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907140909/http://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/95/12/83/95128392022985329760471919891608127743/silesr2004_011.pdf |archive-date=2014-09-07 |publisher=SIL}}
  • {{cite web |last=Cox |first=Bruce |year=2005 |title=Notes on the Phonology of Kemezung |location=Yaoundé |publisher=SIL |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/91/86/62/91866262271700062658524593721604091182/NotesonthephonologyofKemezung.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106043206/https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/91/86/62/91866262271700062658524593721604091182/NotesonthephonologyofKemezung.pdf |archive-date=2023-11-06}}
  • {{cite web |last=Smoes |first=Christopher L. |publisher=SIL |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/17/70/34/17703463828012694922529725818753020034/KemezungSketchGrammar.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208115108/https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/17/70/34/17703463828012694922529725818753020034/KemezungSketchGrammar.pdf |archive-date=2023-12-08 |title=A Sketch Grammar of the Kemezung language}}

{{Beboid languages}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Beboid languages

Category:Languages of Cameroon

{{SBantoid-lang-stub}}