Jump to content

Kemezung language: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→Further reading: updated references
change ipaslink to ipalink and add links to column/row titles
 
(One intermediate revision by one other user not shown)
Line 18: Line 18:


'''Kemezung''' (''Dumbo, Dumbu, Dzumbo, Kumaju'') is a [[Southern Bantoid]] ([[Eastern Beboid languages|Eastern Beboid]]) language of [[Cameroon]]. According to ''Ethnologue'', it's 85% lexically similar to [[Bebe language|Bebe]].<ref name=e18/>
'''Kemezung''' (''Dumbo, Dumbu, Dzumbo, Kumaju'') is a [[Southern Bantoid]] ([[Eastern Beboid languages|Eastern Beboid]]) language of [[Cameroon]]. According to ''Ethnologue'', it's 85% lexically similar to [[Bebe language|Bebe]].<ref name=e18/>

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]!! [[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]!! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]!! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]!! [[Labial–velar consonant|Labial–velar]]!! [[Glottalic consonant|Glottalic]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| || {{IPAlink|t}} || || {{IPAlink|k}} || {{IPAlink|k͡p}} ||
|-
! <small>[[voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|b}} || {{IPAlink|d}} || || {{IPAlink|g}} || {{IPAlink|g͡b}} ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[voiceless]]</small>
| || {{IPAlink|t͡s}}{{efn|{{IPA|/t͡s/}} becomes {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}} before /i/.}} || || || ||
|-
! <small>[[voiced]]</small>
| || {{IPAlink|d͡z}}{{efn|{{IPA|/d͡z/}} becomes {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} before /i/.}} || || || ||
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|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 consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}} || {{IPAlink|n}} || {{IPAlink|ɲ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ}} || ||
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|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.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|p=5}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! !! [[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]!! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}}
| || {{IPAlink|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|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 vowel|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 vowel|Open]]
| || {{IPAlink|ä}} ||
|}

{{notelist}}

==Tone==
Kemezung also has 7 (or possibly 8) tones.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Cox|2005|pp=7-8}}</ref> 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==
==Notes==

Latest revision as of 15:23, 26 July 2024

Kemezung
Native toCameroon
RegionNorthwest 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 639-3dmo
Glottologkeme1240

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]

Consonants

[edit]

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

Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Labial–velar Glottalic
Plosive voiceless t k k͡p
voiced b d g g͡b
Affricate voiceless t͡s[a]
voiced d͡z[b]
Fricative f s[c] h
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Approximant l[d] j[e] 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

[edit]

Kemezung has 9 phonemic vowels.[4]

Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e ɘ[a] o
Open-mid ɛ ɜ[b] 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

[edit]

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

[edit]
  1. ^ a b 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)

References

[edit]
  • Blench, Roger (2011). The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu (PDF). Bantu IV, Humboldt University, Berlin.
  • Brye, Edward; Brye, Elizabeth (2004). "Intelligibility testing survey of Bebe and Kemezung and synthesis of sociolinguistic research of the Eastern Beboid cluster" (PDF). SIL. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-07.
  • Cox, Bruce (2005). "Notes on the Phonology of Kemezung" (PDF). Yaoundé: SIL. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-11-06.
  • Smoes, Christopher L. "A Sketch Grammar of the Kemezung language" (PDF). SIL. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-12-08.


Stub icon

This article about Southern Bantoid languages is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Kemezung_language&oldid=1236795910"