Mpumpong
Mpumpoŋ
Pronunciation[pʰùpʰôŋ]
Native toCameroon
Native speakers
(75,000, incl. Konabem cited 1991–1996)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Dialects
  • Mezime (Medjime)
  • Mpiemo
  • Mpumpong
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
mgg – Mpumpong
mcx – Mpiemo
Glottologmpon1254  Mpongmpong
mpie1238  Mpiemo
A.86[2]

Mpumpong (Mpongmpong) is a Bantu language of Cameroon. Maho (2009) considers Mpiemo to be a dialect.

The digraph ⟨mp⟩ is pronounced like an English p.

Varieties

Varieties of Mpo are Mezime, Mpobyáng, Mpopó, Bagéto, Kunabeeb, Mpyámó, Mpomam, Esel, and Bijugi. There is intermediate intercomprehension among these language varieties. Mpo is closely related to Nzime.[3]

According to certain Mpobyáng speakers, notably from the villages of Mpak and Zumzazó in the arrondissement of Abong-Mbang, department of Haut-Nyong, Eastern Region, Mpo is the eponymous ancestor of the various Mezime clans:[3]

Each clan bears the name of one of the eight sons of Mpo; Esál and Bijugi would have appeared later in the genealogy.

Mpo occupies much of the southeastern corner of Cameroon, i.e. most of Boumba-et-Ngoko department and the southern edge of Kadey department. Mezime (Medjime) and Bagéto (Bangantou) live in the southern part of Mbang commune (department of Kadey), respectively to the west and east of the main town of Mbang.[3]

All other groups live in the department of Boumba-et-Ngoko (Eastern Region):[3]

In the commune of Moloundou, there are the Mpomam (Boman) to the north, the Esál (Essel) to the east along the Ngoko River, and the Kunabeeb to the west along the Dja River. The local government administration has sometimes confused the name "Bangantou" with the Mpo-speaking Bageto (in the commune of Mbang) together with the Ubangian-speaking Bangandu living north of Moloundou.[3]

The Mpo population is estimated at 45,000 speakers.[3]

References

  1. ^ Mpumpong at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Mpiemo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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.
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