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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. Cox also claims Kemezung has labialized, palatalized, and prenasalized consonants but does not list all of them.

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

Kemezung has 9 phonemic vowels.

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

Kemezung also has 7 (or possibly 8) tones. 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

1. ^ 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

• 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.

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