Zulgo-Gemzek is an
Afro-Asiatic
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic ...
language spoken in northern
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
. Dialects are Gemzek, Mineo, and Zulgo (Zəlgwa). Blench (2006) considers Zəlgwa-Minew and Gemzek to be distinct languages.
[Blench, 2006]
The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List
(ms)
Dialects
According to the ''Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon'' (2012), Zelgwa and Minew make up a single language called Zelgwa Minew. The Zelgwa and Minew varieties are very close to each other. Gemzek is rather different from these two languages and is treated as a separate language by the ''Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon''.
The Zelgwa, as well as the Gemzek, inhabit the massifs of the same name that form the eastern edge of the
Mandara Mountains, north of Meri, as well as the neighboring plain to the east and the plateau to the west (
Sérawa canton,
Tokombéré commune,
Mayo-Sava department, Far North Region). The Minew inhabit the western edge of the
Mandara Mountains (Gaboua canton,
Koza commune,
Mayo-Tsanaga
Mayo-Tsanaga is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,393 km and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 699,971. The capital of the department is at Mokolo. It is located within the M ...
department, Far North Region), some 10 kilometers from Sérawa.
Gemzek and Zelgwa are two distinct languages, although there is some mutual intelligibility between them. The Gemzek (8,000-10,000 speakers) inhabit the Gemzek massif, which forms the eastern edge of the
Mandara Mountains north of Méri, as well as the adjacent plain to the east and the plateau to the west (
Sérawa canton,
Tokombéré commune,
Mayo-Sava department, Far North Region).
Notes
References
* Beat Haller. 1980. ''Phonology of Zulgo''. Yaoundé: Société Internationale de Linguistique.
External link
An outline sketch of Gemzek Grammar
Languages of Cameroon
Biu-Mandara languages
{{BiuMandara-lang-stub