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Nyong language

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Allbiota (talk | contribs) at 17:45, 1 May 2019 (added info regarding relationship to Chamba language). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Nyong
Mumbake
Native toNigeria, Cameroon
RegionAdamawa State
Native speakers
30,000 in Cameroon (2008 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3muo
Glottolognyon1241

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

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.[2]


Consonant Phonemes[2]
Labial Dental/Alveolar Palatal Velar Labiovelar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop p, b t, d k, g
Affricate nd ŋɡ kp, gb
Aproximant l j w
Fricative f, v s, z h

Similarity to Other Languages

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.[3]

References

  1. ^ Nyong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Kouonang, Alice (1983). Esquisse phonologique du parler bali-kumbat.
  3. ^ Griffin, Margaret A. (1994). A rapid appraisal survey of Mubako (ALCAM 300 Samba leekɔ).