Mundang
MUNDAŊ
Native toChad, Cameroon
Native speakers
(400,000 cited 1982–2019)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Dialects
  • Kabi (Kieziere)
  • Zasing (Torrock-Kaélé, Yasing)
  • Gelama
Language codes
ISO 639-3mua
Glottologmund1325

Mundang is an Mbum language of southern Chad and northern Cameroon.

The Gelama dialect of Cameroon may be a separate language.

Distribution

Mundang, spoken in Cameroon by 44,700 speakers (SIL 1982), is mainly spoken in Mayo-Kani department, Far North Region, in the communes of Mindif, Moulvouday, and Kaélé. It is also spoken to a lesser extent in the south of Mayo-Kebi, in the east of Bibemi commune (Bénoué department, Northern Region), towards the Chadian border. Mundang of Lere (in Chad) and Mundang of Cameroon (centered in Lara and Kaélé) are highly similar.[2]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labio-
velar
Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t t͡ʃ k k͡p ʔ
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ ɡ͡b
prenasal ᵐb ⁿd ᶮd͡ʒ ᵑɡ ᵑᵐɡ͡b
implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z ʒ
Nasal voiced m n ŋ
glottalized ˀm ˀn
Tap ɾ
Lateral l
Glide central j w
glottalized ʔj ʔw
  • /ɓ, ɗ/ may also be heard as laryngealized [ɓ̰, ɗ̰] among speakers.
  • /ʔw/ can also be heard as two laryngealized allophones [ʔv̰, ʔw̰].
  • Sounds /ɓ, k/ may be heard as fricatives [β, ɣ] in intervocalic positions.
  • /h, w/ may be heard as palatal [ç, ɥ] when preceding /i/.
  • /ɾ/ can also range to a retroflex [ɽ] among dialects or a trill [r] when geminated.

Vowels

Oral vowels
Front Central Back
Close i ə u
Near-close ɪ ɪː ʊ ʊː
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
Open a
  • /ə/ may also range to a close [ɨ].[3][4]
Nasal vowels
Front Central Back
Close ĩ ĩː ũː
Near-close ɪ̃ ɪ̃ː ʊ̃ː
Open-mid ɛ̃ː ɔ̃ː
Open ã ãː

Writing System

Mundang Alphabet
Majuscules ABƁCD ƊEƏFG HIJKL MNŊOP RSTUV WYZ
Minuscules abɓcd ɗeəfg hijkl mnŋop rstuv wyz

Nasalization is marked by a tilde: ã, ẽ, ə̃, ĩ, õ

References

  1. Mundang at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
  3. Elders, Stefan (2000). Grammaire Mundang. Leiden University.
  4. Elders, Stefan (2006). Issues in comparative Kebi-Benue (Adamawa). In Africana Linguistica 12. pp. 37–88.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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