Mpumpong (Mpongmpong) is a

Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. T ...

of Cameroon. Maho (2009) considers Mpiemo to be a dialect. The digraph 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 The Nzime are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies so ...

. According to certain Mpobyáng speakers, notably from the villages of Mpak and Zumzazó in the arrondissement of

Abong-Mbang Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Region of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 178 km to the west, and Bertoua, t ...

, department of

Haut-Nyong Haut-Nyong is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 36,384 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 216,768. The capital of the department lies at Abong-Mbang. Subdivisions The department is divided ...

, Eastern Region, Mpo is the eponymous ancestor of the various Mezime clans: *Byon (commune of

department, Eastern Region) *Mpopyeet (commune of Mbang,

Kadey Kadey (also spelled Kadéï, Kadéi, Kadeï or Kadei) is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 15,884 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 192,927. The capital of the department lies at Batouri. Su ...

department) *Mpopó (commune of

Yokadouma Yokadouma is a town and Catholic bishopric in eastern Cameroon, lying near the border with the Central African Republic. It was an early French administrative centre. During the colonial period, Yokadouma was the centre for a widespread but ill-f ...

, department of

Boumba-et-Ngoko Boumba-et-Ngoko is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 30,389 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 116,702. The capital of the department lies at Yokadouma. Subdivisions The department is divi ...

, Eastern Region) *Kunabeeb (commune of

, department of

, Eastern Region) *Mpyámo (commune of

, department of

, Eastern Region) *Mpomam (communes of

Lomié Lomié is a town in the Lomié District in the Upper Nyong division of the East Province of Cameroon. An article in the ''Mail & Guardian Online'' describes it as having "no telephone connection to the outside world, and a single access road that ...

and

Ngoïla Ngoila, also spelled Ngoyla and Ngoida, is a village in the East Province of Cameroon, located at 2.617° N, 14.017° E. The primary ethnic group is the Njem. Ngoila is the capital of the Ngoila subdivision of the Haut-Nyong division. See also ...

, department of

, Eastern Region) 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

department and the southern edge of

department. Mezime (Medjime) and Bagéto (Bangantou) live in the southern part of Mbang commune (department of

), respectively to the west and east of the main town of Mbang. All other groups live in the department of

(Eastern Region): *The Mpyámo (Mbimou) live in the commune of

Gari-Gombo Gari-Gombo is a town and Communes of Cameroon, commune in Cameroon. See also * Communes of Cameroon References Site de la primature – Élections municipales 2002 Contrôle de gestion et performance des services publics communaux des vill ...

along the road from Gribi to

. *The Mpopó (Mbombo) live to the west and immediately south of the main town of

. *The Bijugi (Bidjouki) live to the east of the main town of

. *The Kunabeeb (Konabembé) live to the south of the main town of

. In the commune of

Moloundou Moloundou is an ''arrondissement'' (district) in the Boumba-et-Ngoko Division of southeastern Cameroon's East Province. Mouloundou is close to Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks on the Dja River. It has a mayor and several decentralised admini ...

, 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 Dja River (also known as the Ngoko River) is a stream in west-central Africa. It forms part of Cameroon–Republic of Congo border and has a course of roughly . Rising southeast of the southeastern Cameroon town of Abong-Mbang, the Dja Fau ...

. The local government administration has sometimes confused the name "Bangantou" with the Mpo-speaking Bageto (in the commune of Mbang) together with the

Ubangian The Ubangian languages form a diverse linkage of some seventy languages centered on the Central African Republic. They are the predominant languages of the CAR, spoken by 2–3 million people, and include the national language, Sango. They are ...

-speaking Bangandu living north of

. The Mpo population is estimated at 45,000 speakers.

References

{{Narrow Bantu languages, A-B Languages of Cameroon Makaa-Njem languages