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The sounds of Bamum

The consonants

Six places of articulation and the famous prenasalised m͡b, n͡d, n͡ʒ.

Bamum consonants fall into six places of articulation: bilabial, labiodental, alveolar, palatal, velar and labiovelar.

Their most striking feature is the prenasalised series: a nasal and a stop pronounced as one single sound, in one go.

m͡b

m͡bɯ̀ɯ̀ — rain

n͡d

n͡dɯ̀ɯ̀ — a necklace

n͡ʒ

n͡ʒɯ̀t — a goat

Another rare feature: the labiovelars k͡p and g͡b, where the mouth closes at the lips and at the soft palate simultaneously.

📍 Not all consonants have the same freedom: {n, m, p, t} occur everywhere, while f, v, g͡b, mf, mv… are found only at the beginning of a word.