Nyong language

Nyong (Daganyonga), also known as Mubako and Bali-Kumbat,[3] is a Leko language spoken in two well-separated enclaves in Cameroon and Nigeria. Cameroonian speakers consider themselves to be ethnically Chamba.

Nyong
Mumbake
Nyɔŋ Nyanga
Native toNigeria, Cameroon
RegionAdamawa State
Native speakers
30,000 in Cameroon (2008 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3muo
Glottolognyon1241
PersonNyɔŋvena[2]
PeopleNyɔŋnepa (Nyongnepa)
LanguageNyɔŋ Nyanga

Nyong is linguistically distinct from nearby languages. It is instead more similar to the Chamba language which is spoken to the north. Nyong and Chamba have 85% lexical similarity.[4]

Distribution

Ethnologue (22nd ed.) lists the following Nyong villages and locations.

Phonology

The vowels of Nyong are /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/, /ə/ /ɛ/, /ɔ/, and /a/. Length contrast exists in all vowels except /ə/ and /o/, which are always short. There are five tones: high, mid, low, rising, and falling.[5]

Consonant Phonemes[5]
Labial Dental/Alveolar Palatal Velar Labiovelar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop p, b t, d k, g
Affricate nd ŋɡ kp, gb
Approximant l j w
Fricative f, v s, z h

References

  1. Nyong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
  3. "Mubako". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  4. Griffin, Margaret A. (1994). A rapid appraisal survey of Mubako (ALCAM 300 Samba leekɔ).
  5. Kouonang, Alice (1983). Esquisse phonologique du parler bali-kumbat.
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