Musgu is a cluster of closely related language varieties of the Biu–Mandara subgroup of the

Chadic languages The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 196 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon. By far the most widely ...

spoken in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. The endonym is ''Mulwi''. Blench (2006) classifies the three varieties as separate languages. Speakers of the extinct related language Muskum have switched to one of these.

Names

Muzuk is another name for the language. Another term, ''Mousgoum'', is not used by the speakers themselves.

Munjuk languages

Munjuk languages: *Munjuk **Muzuk **Beege **Mpus **Vulum ''Munjuk'', from ''manjakay'' (H. Tourneux), refers to the a group of four related languages, not only Muzuk. Munjuk languages are spoken in northern

Mayo-Danay Mayo-Danay is a departments of Cameroon, department of Far North Province, Cameroon. The department covers an area of 5,303 km and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 529,061. The capital of the department is at Yagoua. Subdivisions ...

Department (arrondissements of Maga, Yele, and Kai-Kai in the Far North Region). Beege and Mpus are found in the flood plains of the

Logone River The Logon or Logone River is a major tributary of the Chari River. The Logone's sources are located in the western Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, and southern Chad. It has two major tributaries: the Pendé River (Eastern Logone) in ...

, in (

Logone-et-Chari Logone-et-Chari is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 12,133 km and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 486,997. The capital of the department is at Kousséri. Most inhabitants of ...

department, Zina district);

Diamaré Diamaré is a department of Far North (''Extreme-Nord'') Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,665 km and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 642,227. The capital of the department is at Maroua. Subdivisions T ...

department (Bogo district). Beege is found in the south ( Djafga and Begué) and Mpus in the north (in Pouss). Vulum is found mainly in Chad.

Phonology

Consonants

* Sounds /tʃ, dʒ/ and prenasal sounds /ᵐb, ⁿd, ⁿdʒ, ᵑɡ/, may occur across different dialects. * /h/ can be heard as either glottal or velar among dialects. * Sounds /b, k, ɡ/ occur as labialized ʷ, kʷ, ɡʷwhen preceding a glide /w/. * A glottal stop �may also occur in different positions, but its phonemic status is unclear.

Vowels

* Other sounds as /y, ø/ may occur across different dialects.

References

Languages of Cameroon Biu-Mandara languages {{BiuMandara-lang-stub