10.6092/issn.2785-0943/16312
Central Ring (CR) Grassfields Bantu languages of Cameroon seem to form a distinct subgroup within Ring that can be delimited from the West Ring subgroup by some isomorphs (e.g., absence of noun class 4, presence of a contrast of plural noun classes 10 vs. 13, absence of a fully morphologicized aspectual focus system), a couple of isoglosses such as *m-lám (6a) ‘blood’, *m-fʉ́(k) (6a) ‘pus’, *kə-bvʊ̂l (7) ‘ashes’, *fɨ̀ɨ / *kʊ̀l (9/10) ‘rope’, *kə-fûk (7/8) ‘farm’ and gender affiliations of nominal concepts, e.g., *ú-lûə ‘bridge’ in (3/13 vs. 3/6a). The standing challenge is to sort out the precise motivations for these divergent developments, i.e., to what extent they have been inspired by the felt need to accommodate to a target external to CR in the first line, or to what extent the ultimate driving force could rather have been the desire to dissociate from CR neighbours and increase linguistic distinctions as symbolic consolidation of sociopolitical independence.
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Variation in Central Ring: Convergence or divergence?
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<p><span data-contrast="none">Map of the Grassfields languages.svg. (2022, October 6). </span><em><span data-contrast="none">Wikimedia Commons</span></em><span data-contrast="none">. Retrieved 09:28, April 20, 2023 from</span> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Map_of_the_Grassfields_languages.svg&amp;oldid=694567122"><span data-contrast="auto">https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Map_of_the_Grassfields_languages.svg&amp;oldid=694567122</span></a><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559685&quot;:283,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:228,&quot;335559991&quot;:283,&quot;469777462&quot;:[1134,2836],&quot;469777927&quot;:[0,0],&quot;469777928&quot;:[1,1]}">&nbsp;</span></p>
Variation in Central Ring: Convergence or divergence?
https://typologyatcrossroads.unibo.it/article/download/16312/16941
3
                Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42                   ISSN 2785-0943



      Variation in Central Ring: Convergence or divergence?

                                PIUS W. AKUMBU1, ROLAND KIEßLING2
                    1
                     LLACAN (CNRS – INALCO – EPHE), 2UNIVERSITÄT HAMBURG


                          Submitted: 23/01/2023               Revised version: 19/06/2023
                             Accepted: 15/07/2023                  Published: 30/11/2023

                        Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (The authors
                        remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article).




                                                         Abstract
Central Ring (CR) Grassfields Bantu languages of Cameroon seem to form a distinct subgroup
within Ring that can be delimited from the West Ring subgroup by some isomorphs (e.g.,
absence of noun class 4, presence of a contrast of plural noun classes 10 vs. 13, absence of a
fully morphologicized aspectual focus system), a couple of isoglosses such as *m-lám (6a)
‘blood’, *m-fʉ́(k) (6a) ‘pus’, *kə-bvʊ̂ l (7) ‘ashes’, *fɨ ̀ɨ / *kʊ̀ l (9/10) ‘rope’, *kə-fûk (7/8) ‘farm’
and gender affiliations of nominal concepts, e.g., *ú-lûə ‘bridge’ in (3/13 vs. 3/6a). The
standing challenge is to sort out the precise motivations for these divergent developments,
i.e., to what extent they have been inspired by the felt need to accommodate to a target
external to CR in the first line, or to what extent the ultimate driving force could rather have
been the desire to dissociate from CR neighbours and increase linguistic distinctions as
symbolic consolidation of sociopolitical independence.


Keywords: Ring languages; Cameroon; variation; convergence; divergence.



1. Introduction


The Central Ring (CR) languages of the Cameroonian Grassfields form a distinct
subgroup within Ring that can be delimited from the West Ring (WR) subgroup by
various isomorphs and isoglosses1, as listed in Table 1. The isomorphs are the


1
    In accordance with established practice in dialectology and historical linguistics, we use the term
“isomorph” to refer to a line indicating the limit of the spread of a morphological feature shared across
a given area, in distinction to an isogloss that refers to such a line for lexical phenomena (Bussmann
1996, Beekes 1995, Händler & Wiegand 1982).


https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2785-0943/16312                                                                                 19
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                    Variation in Central Ring


following: absence of noun class 4, presence of a contrast of plural noun classes 10
vs. 13, absence of a fully morphologicized aspectual focus system. The most salient
isoglosses are: *m-lám (6a) ‘blood’, *m-fʉ́(k) (6a) ‘pus’, *kə-bvʊ̂ l (7) ‘ashes’, *fɨ ̀ɨ / *kʊ̀l
(9/10) ‘rope’, *kə-fûk (7/8) ‘farm’2. Another type of isomorph is constituted by the
gender affiliation of various nominal concepts, e.g., *ú-lûə ‘bridge’ in (3/13 vs. 3/6a).


                                                  CR                      WR
                  class 4                         -                       +
                  class 10 vs. 13                 +                       -
                  morphologicized aspect focus    -                       +
                  gender of *ú-lûə ‘bridge’     3/13                    3/6a
                  ‘blood’                         *m-lám (6a)            *tə-kâŋ (13)
                  ‘pus’                           *m-fʉ́(k) (6a)          *u-dzʉ̂d (3)
                  ‘ashes’                         *kə-bvʊ̂l (7)           *u-dzɨ ̂m (3)
                  ‘rope’                          *fɨ ̀ɨ / *kʊ̀l (9/10)   *kə-báʔ (7/8)
                  ‘farm’                          *kə-fûk (7/8)          *ú-súm (3/4)


                             Table 1: CR vs. WR isomorphs and isoglosses. 3


Eberhard, Simons & Fennig (2023) identify seven CR languages (Benue-Congo,
Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring), listed here with their Glottocodes
(Hammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath, & Bank 2022):                           Babanki (baba1266), Bum
(bumm1238), Kom (komc1235), Kuk (kukk1239), Kung (kung1260), Men
(mmen1238), and Oku (okuu1243). The following map shows the languages of the
Grassfields region discussed in this study.
     While the delineation of CR is far from established and complete, owing to serious
lacunae in documentation, various trends of divergence crystallize, setting apart
individual CR languages from the common CR core.4 Thus, Babanki, on the Southern

2
    Other WR/CR isoglosses include ‘all’: WR dzɛ̀m (+Babanki) vs. CR kɨ ́m; ‘road, path’: WR dzɨd
(+Babanki, Kom, Oku) vs. CR ūnɔ́m (Bum, Kuk, Kung, Men); ‘salt’: WR ḿtsòʔ vs. CR ḿgbáŋ (+Bu).
3
    The data used in this study have mostly been taken from the following sources: Babanki (Akumbu &
Chibaka 2012), Kom (Jones 2001), Oku (Yensi 1996, Blood & Davis 1999), Men (Chiatoh 1993, Mua
2015, Möller 2012, Björkestedt 2011, Bangha 2003), Kuk (Kießling 2016, Pleus 2015) and Kung
(Kießling 2019: 149, Schlenker 2012). Babanki data have been supplemented by the first author. Men,
Kuk and Kung data have been supplemented based on fieldnotes by the second author.
4
    See Watters (2003), Tatang (2016), Hammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath, & Bank (2022), Eberhard,
Simons & Fennig (2023) for divergent classifications of Central and West Ring languages.


                                                                                                          20
Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42




  Map 1: Grassfields Bantu languages (Wikimedia Commons 2022) modified by Pierpaolo Di Carlo


fringes of CR, seems to have acquired various Eastern Grassfields Bantu (EGB) features
such as general low tone on noun class prefixes, reallocation of several nouns from
gender 9/10 to 1/2, consecutive multiverb constructions for the expression of path
notions rather than asymmetrical verb serialisation which seems to be standard in CR
otherwise.
   Kuk and Kung on the Northwestern fringes of CR, diverge from the CR standard by
their complete merger of plural class 13 (*tə) with plural class 10 (*sə). This can be
seen as an instance of partial approximation towards WR standards in that the
contrast of plural classes 10 and 13 is given up, as in WR. Yet, distinction to WR is
maintained by the fact that the merger generalizes class 10 *sə which is precisely the
form that WR has given up in favour of class 13 *tə. Additionally, an affinity of both
Kuk and Kung to WR can be seen in the gender assignment of various nouns that
pattern with WR rather than with CR, e.g., ‘tail’ (3/4 or 3/6 vs. CR 3/13 or 3/6),
‘compound’ (7/8) vs. CR 7/6a~13), ‘neck’ (3/4~6a vs. CR 3/6~5/13). As a standing
challenge, the task remains to sort out the precise motivations that underlie these


                                                                                           21
Akumbu, Kießling                                                         Variation in Central Ring


divergent developments, i.e., to which extent they have been inspired by the felt need
to accommodate to a target external to CR in the first line, i.e., WR (Aghem
[aghe1241; Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, West Ring], Zoa [zhoa1238;
Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, West Ring]) in the case of Kuk and Kung
or Bafut (bafu1246; Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Ngemba) in the case
of Babanki – or to which extent the ultimate driving force could rather have been the
desire to dissociate from CR neighbours and increase linguistic distinctions as
symbolic consolidation of sociopolitical independence.
  In this study we explore these divergences under the perspective of their potential
direction and underlying motivation. While some of the linguistic facts may be
explained by convergence to external targets, others appear to be a manifestation of
naboopposition (Larsen 1917). We begin in §2 with Babanki which shares various
features with Eastern Grassfields Bantu (EGB) languages, and proceed in §3 to Bum
whose causative extension shows a remarkable deviation from CR standards in
shifting proto *s to h. In §4, the devoicing of initial Proto-Ring stops and affricates in
root initial position in Men, Kuk and Kung is discussed, followed by the merger of
plural Classes 10 and 13 in Kuk and Kung in §5. In §6, the affinity of both Kuk and
Kung to WR is evoked by examining the gender assignment of various nouns that
pattern with WR rather than with CR. The difficulty to sort out the precise motivations
that underlie these divergent developments is pointed out in the conclusion in §7.


2. Babanki


Babanki deviates from general CR by what looks like the acquisition of EGB features,
as compiled in Table 2. These features are: general low tone in noun class prefixes
(section 2.1), re-allocation of a few nouns from gender 9/10 to 1/2 (section 2.2),
consecutive multiverb constructions via a homorganic nasal prefix                   N-   for the
expression of path notions rather than asymmetrical verb serialisation (ASVC) which
seems to be standard in CR otherwise (section 2.3).


                                             CR            Babanki       EGB
         NPx tone                            H             L             L
         gender of loanwords                 9/10          1/2           1/2
         same subject clause linkage         ASVC          N-            N-


                    Table 2: Babanki deviation from CR and alignment with EGB




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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


2.1. Low tone in noun class prefixes


As in the Ring and Momo sub-groups of Western Grassfields Bantu generally, noun
class prefixes (NPx) in Central Ring languages have high tone underlyingly. However,
Babanki singles itself out as the only Ring language that rather has L tone NPx,
matching with EGB, as well as Narrow Bantu where NPx have low tone (Akumbu and
Hyman 2017: 1–2). As shown in the following examples involving the noun ‘fufu’, the
high tone in Oku kə́-bân (1a) and Kom á-báyn (1b) contrasts with the low tone in
Babanki cognate kə̀-báyn (1c).


(1)      NPx in selected Ring languages (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields,
         Central Ring)


a.      Oku
        mə́       nə̀    kùm    kə́-bân
        1SG       P2     touch 7-fufu
        ‘I touched fufu.’
b.      Kom
        má       làe   kùm    á-báyn
        1SG       P2     touch 7-fufu
        ‘I touched fufu.’
c.      Babanki
        mà       tə̀    kùm    kə̀-báyn
        1SG       P2     touch 7-fufu
        ‘I touched fufu.’


In isolation, the high tone in these noun prefixes is generally lowered to mid, as is
shown in Table 3, while the low tone in Babanki noun prefixes is maintained as such
without being affected by any further lowering.


      Tone          Babanki     Bum         Kom         Kuk         Kung        Men           Oku        Gloss
      H1 (HH̥ )     ə̀-fwín    ū-fwɛ́n    ɨ ̄-fwɛ́n   kə̄-fʌ́i    kə̄-fwéi   ā-fwé(i)n   ə̄b-fín   ‘leg (tibia)’
      H2 (HL̥)      ə̀-kwə́ŋ    ū-kpɛ̂n    ɨ ̄-kwœ́    kə̄-kpái   kə̄-kpʌ́i   ā-kɔ́(i)n    ə̄b-kɔ̂i   ‘arm’
      L1 (LH̥ )     ə̀-ɣɔ́ŋ     ī-wɔ᷇ŋ     ī-ɣɔ᷇ŋ     ī-wɔ᷇ŋ     ī-ɣɔ᷇ŋ     ē-ɣɔ᷇ŋ       ī-ɣɔ́ŋ    ‘spear’
      L2 (LL̥)      fə̀-kɔ̀ʔ    fū-kâk    fɨ ̄-kâʔ   fə̄-kâʔ    fə̄-kâʔ    fē-kâʔ      fē-kâk   ‘tree’


                                      Table 3: NPx tone of nouns in isolation



                                                                                                                         23
Akumbu, Kießling                                                   Variation in Central Ring




Now it might be argued that this general CR trend of NPx lowering of H to M produces
a situation which is half-way towards the Babanki L tone. So, there may not be much
of a difference, since it could be assumed that Babanki simply presents the final stage
in a development with the rest of CR lagging behind by one step. This scenario,
however, will not explain another crucial difference between CR and Babanki here,
which is obvious in nouns such as ‘tree’. In all of CR, it bears a HL falling contour
tone in the root, while in Babanki it is low throughout. This actually reveals that in
all of CR the original high tone of the NPx must have spread to the nominal root to
produce a falling tone with the lexical low tone of ‘tree’ before its lowering to mid
(Hyman 2005: 318). This is illustrated by the Oku (2a) and Kom (2b) examples where
spreading of the NPx H creates HL falling contour tones on underlying L roots in both
languages. Having spread to the root tone, the NPx H is then realized as M in isolation.
In Babanki (2c), however, the absence of such a falling tone attests to the fact that
there was no prior high tone in the NPx which could have affected the lexical low
tone.


(2)     NPx high tone spread and NPx lowering in Kom and Oku vs. Babanki
        (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring)


a.      Oku
        /fé-kàk/    —›   fékâk —› fēkâk       ‘tree’
b.      Kom
        /fɨ ́-kàʔ/   —›   fɨ ́kâʔ —›   fɨ ̄kâʔ   ‘tree’
c.      Babanki
        /fə̀-kɔ̀ʔ/    —›   fə̀kɔ̀ʔ   ‘tree’


The low-toned Babanki NPx is also subject to modification, i.e., it is raised to M under
high tone influence, i.e., in constructions where it appears between two H tones
(Akumbu 2019) as a result of partial assimilation, as indicated by underlining in (3b).
The last example in (3b) shows that the NPx tone is not raised to M if not directly
followed by a H tone.




                                                                                         24
Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42




(3)     Babanki prefix tone (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring)

a.      kə̀kɨ ́m                 ‘crab’
        və̀tsɔ́ŋ                 ‘thieves’
        və̀lə̀mə̀                ‘brothers’
b.     kə̀kɨ ́m kə́ və̄tsɔ́ŋ     ‘crab of thieves’
        və̀tsɔ́ŋ və́ kə̄kɨ ́m    ‘thieves of crab’
        kə̀kɨ ́m kə́ və̀lə̀mə̀   ‘crab of brothers’

The Babanki low NPx reflects the original situation, as reconstructed for Proto-Bantu
(Meeussen 1967). The high NPx of the other CR languages appears to have been
acquired from the augment which is reconstructed with a high tone (Hyman 2005).
Following Hyman’s argument, we assume that the H tone in the NPx of CR languages
is a result of the augment H tone spreading to the NPx and ousting its L tone in most
contexts before the augment was finally deleted, following the processes formulated
in (4) and spelt out explicitly with an Oku example.5

(4)     CR derivation of H tone prefixes from augment H

a.     Augment high tone spreading:
       /V́-(C)V̀-R/ —› V́-(C)V̂-R, e.g., Oku /V́-fè-ɣàm/ —› V́-fê-ɣàm
       AUG-NPx-R
b.     delinking of NPx low tone
       V́-(C)V̂-R —› V́-(C)V́-R, e.g., Oku V́-fê-ɣàm —› V́-fé-ɣàm
       AUG-NPx-R
c.     deletion of augment
       V́-(C)V́-R, e.g., Oku V́-fé-ɣàm —› fé-ɣàm
       AUG-NPx-R


Regarding the retention of the low NPx in Babanki, one could argue that the high
tone augment in Pre-Babanki was simply deleted before it could spread its tone to the
NPx, but it remains unclear why only Babanki would have been affected by this
process. We suggest that high tone spreading (HTS) from the augment to the NPx


5
    The NPx L is retained in N2 position as complement of various prepositions or as modifier in
associative constructions, e.g., Oku ī-ʃɔ́ŋ ə́ kè-kɔ̀s. This L prefix on N2 nouns “is characteristic of all or
most of Western Grassfields Bantu” (Hyman 1979: 36).


                                                                                                            25
Akumbu, Kießling                                                               Variation in Central Ring


must have occurred in CR after the split of Babanki from the rest of CR and its
association with Bafut, an EGB community (Yenshu Vubo 2001). Pre-Babanki, on its
part, would then have retained the low NPx under pre-Bafut influence, deleting the
H tone augment without any trace.6 Babanki’s preference to keep low NPx like their
current neighbour could be justified by the fact that “all noun prefixes have a low
tone” in Eastern Grassfields languages (Watters 2003: 240), e.g., Bafut (Mfonyam
1989, Tamanji 2009). The low NPx might also result from a high influx of Bafut L1
speakers imperfectly learning Pre-Babanki. Both situations, nevertheless, suggest
some type of contact induced convergence. On the other hand, a hypothesis of
divergence is also possible, in the event that the Babanki were deliberately attempting
to dissociate from Kom or the rest of Pre-CR. We currently do not have evidence to
determine whether the Babanki low tone NPx was motivated by convergence or
divergence. Such evidence might be hidden in the undocumented migration history
and socio-political relations as they happened before the 17th century between
various Grassfields communities.


2.2. Re-allocation of gender 9/10 nouns to gender 1/2


Babanki deviates from the rest of CR by re-allocating various nouns that refer to
borrowed nouns and some miscellaneous items to gender 1/2 instead of 9/10, as is
common in the rest of CR and WR, exemplified in Table 4.
     In this regard, Babanki aligns with neighbouring EGB languages, e.g., Bafut which
does not only show the same tendency to assign borrowings to 1/2 (Mfonyam 1989:
124, Tamanji 2009), but also often matches on the level of the individual concepts
assigned to 1/2, independently of cognacy of the lexical root, e.g., RAT, HORSE, FLOWER,
TABLE, LOCK, ORANGE, RADIO, MOON/MONTH.               Two other items also assigned to 1/2 in
Bafut, i.e., ‘moon, month’ and ‘potato’, have been dragged along and reassigned to
1/2 for the same reason.




6
    If loss of the high tone augment had been inspired by contact to EGB, it must have occurred before
the high tone spreading to the NPx. If it had been later, it would be hard to account for the absence of
high tone effects in low tone roots such as Babanki ə̀-ɣàm in (2).


                                                                                                     26
Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


                           Language              ‘orange’           ‘pot’              ‘potato’          class
                           Proto-EG              *?                 *tòn ̀            *?                1
                           Bafut                 lâmsɨ ̀           àntɔ̀ɔ̀           àndɔ̀ŋə̀         1
                           Mankon                lāmsɨ ̀           àntò             ?                 1
                           Babanki               lâmsə̀            ntɔ̀n              ndɔ̀ŋ             1
                           Kom                   lámbās           ntɔ̀in             ndɔ̀ŋ             9
                           Oku                   ?                  ntɔ̀n              ndɔ̀ŋ             9
                           Men                   lámâs              tɔ̀in              ndɔ̏ŋ             9
                           Aghem                 lámá             tɔ̀e               ndɔ́ŋ             9


                     Table 4: Cognates of CR class 9 nouns assigned to Babanki class 1


A comparison of the relevant nouns in Bafut and Babanki is provided in Table 5,
where Babanki non-cognate items are given in square brackets.


                                   Bafut                                                    Babanki
                                   SG                       PL                              SG                   PL
            ‘orange’               lâmsɨ ̀                 bɨ ̀lâmsɨ ̀                    lâmsə̀              və̀lâmsə̀
            ‘radio’                rɛ̄dyō                  bɨ ̀rɛ̄dyō                     lédyò              və̀lédyò
            ‘table’                tábɛ̀rɨ ̀               bɨ ̀tábɛ̀rɨ ̀                  tə́bə̀lə̀            və̀tə́bə̀lə̀
            ‘lock’                 lɔ́gɨ ̀                  bɨ ̀lɔ́gɨ ̀                     lɔ́k                 və̀lɔ́k
            ‘flower’               fɨ ̀láwà               bɨ ̀fɨ ̀láwà                  fə̀láwà            və̀fə̀láwà
            ‘pig’                  kúɲàm                  bɨ ̀kúɲàm                     ŋkʉ̌ɲàm             və̀ŋkʉ̌ɲàm
            ‘rat’, ‘mouse’         fórə̄                   bɨ ̀fórə̄                      [tʃǒkʉ̀ʔ]           [və̀tʃǒkʉ̀ʔ]
            ‘cock’                 àŋkə̀gɨ ̀               bàŋkə̀gɨ ̀                     ŋkə̀ʔ                və̀ŋkə̀ʔ
            ‘horse’                lə́ŋə́                   bɨ ̀lə́ŋə́                      lə̀ŋ                 və̀lə̀ŋ
            ‘cat’                  búʃì                   bɨ ̀búʃì                      bùʃí               və̀bùʃí
            ‘co-wife’              fúʔù                   bɨ ̀fúʔù                      fɨ ̀f                və̀fɨ ́f
            ‘friend’               ǹʃúkàʔà              bɨ ̀ʃūbɨ ́kàʔà               [wùndɔ́ŋ]           [və̀ndɔ́ŋ]
            ‘witch’                sɔ̀rɨ ̀, ndɨ ̀ɨ ̀        bɨ ̀sɔ̀rɨ ̀, bɨ ̀lɨ ̀ɨ ̀        [ʒɨ ́]               [və̀ʒɨ ́]
            ‘moon’, ‘month’        sàŋ                     bɨ ̀sàŋ                        sàŋ                 və̀sàŋ
            ‘pot’                  àntɔ̀ɔ̀                 bàntɔ̀ɔ̀                       ntɔ̀yn               və̀ntɔ̀yn
            ‘potato’               àndɔ̀ŋə̀                bàndɔ̀ŋə̀                      ndɔ̀ŋ                və̀ndɔ̀ŋ


                             Table 5: Bafut and Babanki nouns in Gender 1/2


Table 5 shows that in many cases it is not the forms themselves that have been
borrowed from Bafut to Babanki, but rather the noun class assignment of a substantial
number of nominal concepts has been streamlined with Bafut, independently of their
formal expression. This is evident from (a) the non-cognate forms marked by square


                                                                                                                                 27
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                Variation in Central Ring


bracketting, i.e., ‘rat, mouse’, ‘friend’, and ‘witch’, and (b) cognate forms that show a
considerable degree of formal divergence, e.g., Babanki ntɔ̀yn ‘pot’ (vs. Bafut àntɔ̀ɔ)̀
or ŋkə̀ʔ ‘cock’ (vs. Bafut àŋkə̀gɨ ̀) (Akumbu & Wills 2022). Notice, for instance, that the
Bafut item for ‘cock’ retains a root-final velar stop that has been shifted to glottal stop
in most of CR including Babanki. Also, the Bafut item for ‘pot’ seems to have
compensated the loss of the root final nasal by vowel lengthening, and installed an
extra vowel, which might have been a prefix historically.7
This suggests that the agents of change may have been bilingual Babanki speakers
orienting towards the Bafut model - either with an aspiration to align with their Bafut
allies or else to dissociate from their CR neighbours – or even both.8


2.3 Consecutive multiverb constructions


Babanki also deviates from the CR standard in its expression of verb linkage in various
types of same subject multiverb constructions, aligning with EGB languages by using
a homorganic nasal prefix N- for verbal consecutivisation. In contrast, all the other
CR languages seem to lack such consecutivising nasal prefix N-, simply juxtaposing
the verbs without any formal linking device in asymmetrical serial verb constructions
for various functions, e.g., deictic orientation, path/vector indication, aspect, result,
detrimental effect, manner and comparison, as is common in West Ring (Kießling
2011), and in Kuk (5), Kung (6), and Men (7).


(5)     Kuk (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring): asymmetrical
        SVCs with various co-verbs



a.      Completion with co-verb mʌ̀nì ‘finish’ (iterative: mʌ̀lkə̀)
        ù    pfɨ ́ʌ   mʌ̀lkə̀   tʃʊ̄ɔ́     wéá         kə́ bó      pát̚
        3SG chew finish          descend 2.children       N2:7.lion    completely
        ‘He ate all the children of the lion - finish!’



7
    The loss of the root final nasal and compensatory lengthening analysis needs further checking
especially because Bafut coda consonants are only nasals.
8
    While specific alliances are not discussed in this study, it helps to point out that some historical
accounts of migration in the Grassfields area report wars between Babanki vs. Oku, Babanki vs. Kom
but none between Babanki and Bafut (Chilver & Kaberry 1967, Geary 1980, Yenshu Vubo 2001),
suggesting greater political ties between these two.


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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


b.    Detrimental effect with màʔà ‘throw away’
      m̄     kə̂    sʉ̀lə̀      màʔà         m̀ múɔ̄
      1SG F2        scatter.IPF throw.away.IPF 6a.water
      ‘I will be scattering water.’
c.    Comparison with co-verb tsùɔ ‘pass’
      mə́            tàb   tsùɔ ɣȍ
      1SG:P1.FOC tall       pass 2SG
      ‘I’m taller than you.’
d.    Deictic orientation: centripetal bɛ̀ ‘come’
      ù    nèi   bɛ̀     ɣò     m̀       tsɔ̌mbī  m̀
      3SG take come 2SG            with 6a.groundnuts OF.6a
      ‘She brings you groundnuts.’
e.    Path/vector: tʃúɔ ‘descend; down’
      kpʌ̀       tʃúɔ          tú     k-ɨ ́ŋ
      chop.IMP descend.IMP 7.head 7-D1
      ‘Chop off this head!’


(6)   Kung (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring): asymmetrical
      SVCs with various co-verbs


a.    Completion with co-verb mʌ̀sə̀ ‘finish’
      ɣàsə́        khɨ ̀a  mʌ̀sə̀   ɣɛ́      ʌ́ náe
      1PL.EXCL P0   slice finish matter at today
      ‘We have finished discussing the topic for today.’
b.    Detrimental effect with màʔà ‘throw away’ (imperfective: màʔkə̀)
      ù     tīnə́    màʔkə̀    mē
      3SG push.IPF throw.IPF 1SG
      ‘He is pushing me uselessly (e.g., in bullying).’
c.    Path/vector: fə́sə́ ‘take out’ (< fə́ ‘exit’), kɔ́ʔsə́ ‘lift’ (< kɔ́ʔ ‘ascend’)
      wǔə          kúɔ      sʌ̀i    fə̄sə́      kɔ̄ʔsə́      mē      ʌ̄    bûʔ      kə̏
      SM.1:P0.FOC catch pull          take.out lift            1SG      at hole(s)      OF.7
      ‘S/he has dragged me out of the hole.’
d.    Path/vector: kɔ́ʔ ‘ascend, climb; up’
      bɔ́ŋ         kɔ́ʔ          mwàʔlə̀ k-ê
      pick.IMP    ascend.IMP book           7-D2
      ‘Pick up that book!’


                                                                                               29
Akumbu, Kießling                                                              Variation in Central Ring


(7)   Men (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring): asymmetrical
      SVCs with various co-verbs


a.    Completion with co-verb mɨ ̀sè ‘finish’
      è     və́      fɨàʔ     mɨ ̀sȅ
      3SG    1.PF     work      finish
      ‘S/he has finished work.’
b.    Detrimental effect with màʔà ‘throw away’
      è     və́     ꜜtsʊ́ intê máʔà   kàʔ  m-ê
      3SG    1.PF    chop.PF throw        trees 6a-D3
      ‘S/he has cut down and thrown away those trees.’
c.    Deictic orientation: centripetal pèin ‘come’
      mʌ́     kʊ́ lə̂             pèin
      1SG.PF return.from.farm come
      ‘I have come back from the farm.’
d.    Path/vector: ndzɨ ́sé ‘insert’ < ndʒí ‘enter’
      mʌ́     ndʌ̀m ndzɨ ́sé ʃéin
      1SG.PF put       insert bag
      ‘I have put it into the bag.’


For the expression of the same functions, i.e., path/vector in motion events (8), results
(9) and comparison (10), Babanki refrains from using serialization, but rather resorts
to a consecutivising construction formed by prefixing all non-initial verbs with a
homorganic nasal linker           N-.   In this Babanki aligns with Bafut (and other EGB
languages) where the same nasal prefix is used for consecutivising function.
Historically, two interpretations are possible: either Babanki acquired the pattern
from Bafut, or all of CR lost an erstwhile consecutivising homorganic nasal prefix and
only Babanki retained it – under EGB (i.e., Bafut) influence. The underlying
motivation might have been either a desire by the Babanki to accommodate to Bafut
standards or to distinguish themselves from CR neighbours, an issue that could best
be retraced from historical records which we lack.


(8) Locatives/Directional constructions


a.    Babanki (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring)
      ɲám      sə̀-tsɛ̀m   sə́         yì   kúʔ    n-dʒʉ́   á   ə̄-kàŋ
      animal    10-all      SM          P1    climb   N-go     to 5-heaven
      ‘All the animals went (up) to heaven.’



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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


b.    Bafut (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Ngemba; Tamanji 2009:
      203)
      nàà        dʒá        tsɨ ̀m             dʒí      kɔ́ʔɔ́        Ŋ-ɣɛ̀ɛ ̂   á     àbùrɨ ̀
      animals the              all                SM        climb         N-go       to heaven
      ‘All the animals went (up) to heaven.’


(9) Resultative constructions


a.    Babanki (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring)
      wùbúm      yì     tɛ̀m            nyàm                 n-ʒwí
      hunter       P1      shoot 9-animal                        N-kill

      ‘The hunter shot the animal dead.’
b.    Bafut (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Ngemba; Tamanji 2009: 204)
      ŋùbóò     w-á         à         kɨ ̀        túmə̂        n-àà          j-á        n-ʒwítə̂
      hunter       1-the        SM         P2          shoot         9-animal        9-the       N-kill

      ‘The hunter shot the animal dead.’


(10) Comparative constructions


a.    Babanki (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring)
      tɔ̀lɔ̀kyí     yì       ɲ-ɲɨ ́ŋ        n-tʃó              ŋgó
      1.tortoise     P2        N-run          N-surpass           1.deer
      ‘Tortoise ran faster than Deer.’
b.    Bafut (Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring; Tamanji 2009:
      205)
      kwímáŋkɔ̀ʔɔ̀ à              lɛ́      ŋ-kxə̌            n-tʃǎ          n-gyâ
      1.tortoise          SM         P3       N-run             N-surpass       1-deer
      ‘Tortoise ran faster than Deer.’


Tracing the reasons for this influence requires going back to historical events
approximately three to four hundred years back when the Babanki and Bafut are
believed to have been related or a single Tikari group living in the Ndop plain (Chilver
& Kaberry 1967: 19, Yenshu Vubo 2001, Ngwa 2022: 623). According to Bafut legend,
they fled from Fulani warriors in Foumban and lived in the Ndop plain for many
years. Ritzenthaler (1967: 11–12) reports that “when their Fon died, three of his



                                                                                                             31
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                  Variation in Central Ring


stronger sons wrangled fiercely over which should succeed him. The argument seemed
about to flare into open battle until one son suggested that they divide the tribe and
that two of them move elsewhere to establish new villages”. The group was divided
into four parts so as to give two parts to the son who made the brilliant suggestion and
one part to each of the other sons. One of the sons with one part decided to stay in
Ndop and form present day Bamunka while the other moved to form present day Bafut.
The one with two parts moved to form present day Babanki. It is not known with
certainty whether the Babanki and Bafut ever lived together again or as direct
neighbours thereafter but it is known that to get to their present sites, each group went
through diverse migratory routes and fought many wars along the way.

3. Bum

Another CR puzzle pertains to the isolated innovation of the phoneme /h/ in Bum
(Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, Central Ring). Remarkably, the
innovation of /h/ is restricted to the causative extension –hi as reflex of the Proto-
Ring *-sV suffix that retains its sibilant in all other CR languages, as shown in (11).

(11) Causative suffix -hi vs. –sV (rest of CR)

a.    mwɔ̀m-hì ‘try’, but Kom mwɔ̀m-sɨ ̀, Oku mwɔ̀m-sè, Mbizinaku mwɔ̀m-sə̀, Babanki
      mwɔ̀m-sə̀, Men mwɔ̀m-sè
b.    līm-hî ‘extinguish’, but Kom lʉ́m-sɨ ́, Oku līm-sê, Mbizinaku lə̄m-sə̂, Babanki lɛ́m-
      sə́, Men ndɨ ́m-sé, Babungo nú-sə́
c.    yūɣ-hî ‘perspire’ but Kom yōʔ-sɨ ́, Oku zvʊ̄ k-s-în, Mbizinaku ʒvʊ̄ k-sə̂, Babanki ʒʉ́ʔ-
      sə́, Men zʊ́ʔ-sé

The restriction of Bum glottal spirantisation to the causative suffix can be inferred
from the retention of prior *s in lexical roots (12) as well as in other affixes, e.g., the
adnominal prefix sə- for class 10 (13) and its corresponding enclitic =su (14).

(12) Bum retention of *s in root-initial/final position


a.    ī-sɛ̂ ‘eye’, cf. Kom ī-sʉ́, Men ē-sí, Oku ī-ʃiɛ̂, Mbizinaku ī-ʃʉ̂, Babanki ə̀-ʃɨ ́
b.    ū-wʊ́s ‘fire’, cf. Men ē-wʊ᷇s, Mbizinaku ə̄-və́s




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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


(13) Bum retention of *s in the nominal prefix of class 10 sə-9


a.       sə̄-bvû ‘goats’, cf. Kuk sə̄-byí, Kung sə̄-ʙə᷇, Men sē-pfɨ ̄
b.       sə̀-kʊ̏l ‘ropes’, cf. Kung sə̀-kʊ̏l, Men sē-kwɨ ̀l


(14) Bum retention of *s in the nominal enclitic of class 10 =su


a.       ɲám= sú ‘animals’, cf. Babanki ɲám= sə́, Kom ɲám=sɨ ̄, Oku ɲám=sə̄
b.       ndʒàm= sú ‘axes’, cf. Babanki ndzàm=sə́, Kom ndʒàm=sɨ ̀, Oku ndʒàm=sə́


Bum may have acquired the glottal fricative from South Ring languages such as
Bamessing (Kens1251; Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields, South Ring;
DeVries 2008), Bamunka (bamu1256; Benue Congo, Bantoid, Narrow Grassfields,
South Ring; Ngeloh Takwe 2002), or Yemne-Kimbi languages (Good et al. 2011).
Since Bum and South Ring do not have any geographical contact (as can be seen in
Map 1), unless it happened during the migratory period or through trade connections,
the most likely source would be a geographically closer Yemne-Kimbi language.
Support for this possibility comes from the word for buttock, i.e., Bum īsâh and Buu
(buuu1246; Benue Congo, Bantoid, Yemne-Kimbi) ésáh which both have the glottal
fricative in final position. Whether such cognates were simply borrowed or not, the
underlying motivation might have been either a Bum strategy to align with the speech
of some Yemne-Kimbi allies or to create a distinction with CR neighbours. Again, it
remains uncertain which of these options could have been responsible for the current
situation.


4. Men, Kung and Kuk devoicing of plosives and affricates


Men, Kuk and Kung break away from CR by devoicing of initial Proto-Ring stops and
affricates in root initial position: *b, *bv, *d, *dz, *g, *gb > p, pf, t, ts, k, kp, as
summarized in Table 6 and exemplified in Tables 7–9. Devoicing of labials is
restricted to Men, as seen in Table 7.


9
    Bum class 10 aligns with all other classes in having an adnominal prefix, i.e., sə-. However, as in Kung
(Kießling 2019), all nouns seem to provide the option of replacing their prefixes by noun class enclitics
(not suffixes) under specific syntactic and pragmatic conditions. The details of these conditions remain
to be clarified for Bum and other Ring languages in which this NPx vs. enclitic variation is found.


                                                                                                         33
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                                       Variation in Central Ring




                    PGr              *b             *d             *dz           *g              *gb
                    PB               *b             *d             *?            *g              *?
                    Babanki          b              d              dz~dʒ         g               ?
                    Bum              b              d              dʒ            g               ?
                    Kom              b              d              dʒ            g               ?
                    Kuk              b              t              ts (~tʃ)      ?               kp
                    Kung             b              t              ts (~tʃ)      k               ?
                    Men              p              t              ts (~tʃ)      k               kp
                    Oku              b              d              dʒ            g               ?
                    Aghem            b              d              dz            g               gb
                    Bu               b              t              ts            k               ?
                    Isu              b              d              dz            g               gb
                    Weh              b              d              dz            g               gb
                    Zoa              b              d              dz            g               gb


                          Table 6: Central / West Ring devoicing of initial stops




  Language                ‘fufu’         ‘thigh’        ‘hole’, ‘pit’         ‘red’     ‘bad’             ‘dance’   ‘tired’
  PB           *b         *?             *-bèdè       *?                    *-bèŋg   *-bɪ ́ɪp          *-bín    *-bʊ́d
  PGr          *b         *-bán ̀       *?             *-bʊ̀k ̀              *-bàŋ    *-bɪ ́p           *-bín    *-bód-ɪ
  Aghem        b          kɨ ́bɛ́        kɨ ́bî        kɨ ́bôʔ              bàŋ      bɔ́               bɨ ́n     búo
  Bu           b          kə́bái        kɯ́ bî        kə́bʊ̂ʔ               bàŋ      bə́               bə́i      bów
  Isu          b          kə́bá         kə́bî         kə́bwɔ̂ʔ              bàŋ      bɛ́b              bə́n      bwí
  Kuk          b          kə̄bá         ?              kə̄bûʔ               bàŋ      bʌ́b              bʌ́n      búɔ
  Kung         b          kə̄báe        kə̄bê         kə̄bûʔ               bàŋ      bʌ́f              bʌ́n      búɔ
  Men          p          āpáin        āpî          āpûʔ                pàŋ      póf              péin     pɔ́
  Babanki      b          kə̀báin       kə̀bì         kə̀bʉ̀ʔ               bàŋ      byɨ ́f            bɛ́n      bwáʔ


                                             Table 7: Men devoicing of *b


Devoicing of the dental series *d and *dz is illustrated in Tables 8-9. West Ring Bu
(sometimes) seems to pattern with Kuk and Kung in devoicing non-labial stops and
affricates.




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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42




      Language                     ‘long’                 ‘cry’               ‘heavy’                 ‘get old’          ‘sit’         ‘cross’
            PB          *d     *dà, *dèepù             *-dìd           *-dìtù, *dìtò           *-nùnù         *-dìàd         *?
            PGr         *d             *-dàb             *-ddìl              *-ddɪ ̀d                *-dùn             *?             *?
        Aghem           d               dà                dìi                  dɨ ̀n                  dwɨ ̀n           dɔ̀ʔɔ̀         dàŋ
            Bu          t               tàh                tìi                  tɨ ̀                    ?                ?            tàŋ
            Isu         d               dàb               dìi                 dʌ̀d                    dzʊ̀n            dɔ̀ʔɔ̀         dàŋ
            Kuk         t               tàb                tìi                tə̀kə̀                   tɨ ̀n           tʌ̀ʔʌ̀         tàŋ
            Kung        t              tyàf                tì                   tɨ ̀l                 tyɨ ̀n           tèʔè          ?
            Men         t              tyàf                tʃì                  tɨ ̀l                 tɥìn            tàʔə̀         tyàŋ
       Babanki          d              dyə̀f                dì                  dìʔ                   dwìn          [ɲʉ́ʔmə́]        dyàŋ


                                   Table 8: Men/Kuk/Kung (*Bu) devoicing of *d



  Language                  ‘hunger’            ‘back’             ‘say, tell’            ‘bunch’        ‘voice’          ‘path’           ‘nice’
      PB           *j        *-jádà           *-yìmà               *?                    *?            *-júì        *-jìdà              *?
     PGr           *j        *-jè(ŋ)            *-jìm                *?                    *?          *-gɪ ̀[l] ̀      *-jì[l] ̀          *bòŋ
    Aghem          dz         dzɨ ̀ŋ             dzɨ ̀m               dzɛ̀                 dzɨ ̀ɣà         dzɨ ̀           dʒɨ ̀              dzɒ̀
      Bu           ts         tsə̀ŋ              tsɨ ̀m                ?                      ?               tsɨ ̀         tsɨ ̀ɣ              tsɔ̀
      Isu          dz         dzɔ́ŋ              dzɨ ́m               dzài                 dzɨ ̀           dzɨ ̀           dzʌ́d         dzwàb
     Kuk           ts         tsɨ ̀ŋ             tsɨ ̀m               tsàa                 tsò              tsə̀       [ūnɔ́m]            tsɔ̀bə̀
     Kung          tʃ         tʃʌ̀ŋ              tʃʌ̀m                 ?                  tsȍ(m)           kìə         [ūnóm]              tsɔ̀f
     Men           tʃ         tʃə́ŋ              tsɨ ̀m              tsàin                  tsɛ̀        kyɨ ̀(ɣ)       [ēndʊ́m]              tsɔ̀f
   Babanki         dʒ         dʒɨ ̀ŋ            dzə̀m                 gàʔ                   gə̀              gɨ ̀          dʒì             [bɔ̀ŋ]


                                  Table 9: Men/Kuk/Kung (*Bu) devoicing of *dz


Babanki bɔ̀ŋ ‘be nice’ may present a PGr retention under influence of contact to EGB,
whereas CR + WR have innovated *dzɔ̀b throughout.
   Instances of *g > k, *gb > kp (Tables 10-11) are rare and patchy, probably due to
the low frequency of *g and *gb in initial position.


5. Merger of plural classes 10 and 13

Kuk and Kung on the Northwestern fringes of CR, diverge from the CR standard by
their complete loss of plural class 13 (*tə) in favour of plural class 10 (*sə). This




                                                                                                                                                       35
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                           Variation in Central Ring


means that nominal concepts assigned to 10 in Kuk and Kung may either correspond
to 10 in the rest of CR or to 13.


                   Language            ‘skin’, ‘hide’       ‘grind’              ‘fall’
                     PB         *g     *-gʊ̀bò, *-gòbì      ?              *-gʊ̀, *-bʊ̀
                     PGr        *g         *-gʊ̀b ̀         *-gòk              *-gùa
                    Aghem       g             gù            gùo                bvʊ̀
                     Bu         k           [tsə̀ŋ]          kùa                [və̀]
                     Isu        g            dzɔ́ŋ           gùɔ               [bvɔ̀]
                     Kom        g             gvɨ ́          gvà                [fé]
                     Kuk        ?              ?            [tsʌ́m]              [bʌ̀]
                    Kung        k             kù°          [tsʌ́m]               kù
                     Men        k            [pfɨ ̄]         kùɔ               [pfʊ̀]
                     Oku        g            gûo            gùo                [fɛ̄ì]
                   Babanki      g            gwʉ̀           [bvù]               [fə́ŋ]


                       Table 10: Men/Kuk/Kung (*Bu) devoicing of *g




                           Language                          ‘cut off’, ‘fell’
                               PB               *g, *b                *?
                              PGr                     *g              *?
                             Aghem                    gb              gbɔ̀
                               Bu                      ?               ?
                               Isu                    gb            gbùw
                              Kom                     gv             gvèl
                              Kuk                     kp              kpʌ̀
                              Kung                     ?               ?
                              Men                     kp              kpɨ ̀
                             Babanki                   ?            [bvàʔ]


                       Table 11: Men/Kuk/Kung (*Bu) devoicing of *gb


This is schematically shown in Table 12 with the full nominal forms themselves given
in Table 13 below. The nouns in the upper half of both tables above the division line
are assigned to class 10 in CR and continue as such in Kuk and Kung, whereas the



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Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


nouns in the lower half below the division line are assigned to class 13 in CR and
continue in class 10 in Kuk and Kung.


           Meaning             Central Ring    Kuk          Kung          West Ring
           ‘axes’              10              10           10            13
           ‘animals’           10              10           10            13
           ‘goats’             10              10           10            13
           ‘hoes’              10              10           10            13
           ‘buffaloes’         10              10           10            13
           ‘cows’              10              10           10            13
           ‘rashes, scabies’   10              10           10            13
           ‘soot (under pot)’ 10               10           10            13
           ‘locusts’           10              10           10            13
           ‘pots’              10              10           10            13
           ‘maize plants’      10              [6]          10            [6]
           ‘mountains’         13              10           10            13
           ‘feathers’          13              10           10            13
           ‘charcoals’         13              10           10            13
           ‘hearthstones’      13              10           [10]          13
           ‘he-goats’          13              10           10            13
           ‘wings’             13              10           10            13
           ‘blood’             [%]             10           10            13
           ‘chiefs’            13              10           ?             13
           ‘cutlasses’         13              10           10            [%]
           ‘leaves’            13              10           10            13
           ‘roots’             13              10           10            13
           ‘lakes’             13              10           10            13
           ‘places’            13              10           10            13
           % non-cognate root


         Table 12: Assignment of nominal concepts to class 10 vs. 13 in Central / West Ring


This neutralisation in Kuk and Kung can be seen as an instance of partial
approximation towards WR standards in that the contrast of plural classes 10 and 13
is given up, as in WR. Yet, a clear distinction to WR is maintained by the fact that the
merger in Kuk and Kung generalizes class 10 *sə which is precisely the form that WR
has given up in favour of class 13 *tə, as seen in the last column of Tables 12-13.




                                                                                              37
Akumbu, Kießling                                                                  Variation in Central Ring




        Meaning                Central Ring        Kuk            Kung            West Ring
        ‘axes’                 sē-ndʒàm (Men)    sə̀-ndzȁm     sə̄-fú         tɨ ́-ndzâm (Agh)
        ‘animals’              sē-ɲâm (Men)      sə̄-ɲâm       sə̄-ɲâm        tə́-ɲâm (Isu)
        ‘goats’                byí -sə́ (Bab)     sə̄-byí       sə̄-ʙə᷇         tə́-byí (Isu)
        ‘hoes’                 sē-fɨ ́ɣ (Men)     sə̄-fɨ ̂ɣ      sə̄-fə᷇         tɨ ́-fû (Agh)
        ‘buffaloes’            sē-fūŋ (Men)      sə̄-fʊ́ŋ       sə̀-fʊ̀ŋ°       tə́-fɔ́ŋ (Isu)
        ‘cows’                 mbòŋ-sɨ ̀ (Kom)    sə̀-mbɔ̀lɔ́ʔ   sə̄-mbɔ̀ŋ       tə̀-mbɔ̏ŋ (Isu)
        ‘rashes, scabies’      sē-kwàs (Men)     sə̀-kpȁl      sə̀-kpȁs       [tɨ ̀-kpɨ ̀ŋ (Agh)]
        ‘soot (under pot)’     sē-lə̄ʔ (Men)      sə̀-lɨ ̀ʔ      sə̀-lə̀ʔ°       tə́-lə́k (Isu)
        ‘locusts’              sē-pīŋ (Men)      sə̄-bʌ᷇i       sə̄-bʌ᷇i        tɨ ́-bé (Agh)
        ‘pots’                 ntòn-sə̀ (Oku)     sə̀-tɔ̏        sə̀-tɔ̏e        tə̀-ntɔ ̀ (Zoa)
        ‘maize plants’         sē-sʌ̀f (Men)      [ʌ̄-sʌ̂b]      sə̀-sʌ̏f        [à-sɔ̀ (Agh)]
        ‘mountains’            tē-kwáʔà (Men)   sə̀-ŋmgbàʔ    sə̄-ŋgbàʔ      tə́-kâʔà (Isu)
        ‘feathers’             tɨ ́-vɨ ̂l (Kom)    sə̄-və̂        sə̄-wúlə̀      tə́-wʌ̂t (Zoa)
        ‘charcoals’            tē-kʲí (Men)      sə̄-kéi       sə̄-kíə        tə́-kái (Isu)
        ‘hearthstones’         tē-tsɪ ́s (Men)    sə̄-tsʊ́l      [sə̀-tsʊ̀ŋə̏]   tə́-tsʊʌ́t (Zoa)
        ‘he-goats’             tē-fə́f (Men)      sə̄-fʌ́b       sə̄-fʌ́f        tə́-fə́b (Weh)
        ‘wings’                tēy-ɣâa (Oku)     sə̄-ɣâʔlə̀    sə̄-ɣɛ̂ɛ        tɨ ́-ɣ(w)ɔ̂ (Agh)
        ‘blood’                [mɨ ́-lúŋ (Kom)]   sə̄-kâŋ       sə́-kâŋ        tə́-kâŋ (Isu)
        ‘chiefs’               tə̀-fɔ̀yn (Bab)     sə̀-fɔ̏        sə̄-fɔ̂         tə̀-fɔ ̏ (Zoa)
        ‘cutlasses’            tɨ ́-fô (Kom)      sə̄-fʲîa      sə̄-fɛ̂         [ú-kûm (Weh)]
        ‘leaves’               tə̀-fʉ́ (Bab)       sə̄-fu᷇w       sə̄-fu᷇         tɨ ́-fú ú (Agh)
        ‘roots’                tɨ ̄-ɣa᷇ŋ (Bum)     sə̄-ɣa᷇ŋ       sə̄-ɣa᷇ŋ        tə́-ɣá ŋə́ (Isu)
        ‘lakes’                tɨ ̄-lûe (Kom)     sə̄-ɲî        sə̄-ɲî         tɨ ́-ɲʉ̂ (Agh)
        ‘places’               tə̄-lu᷇k (Bum)      sə̄-lʊ᷇ʔ       sə̄-lʊ᷇ʔ        tə́-lɔ́ ʔɔ́ (Isu)


                             Table 13: Class 10 vs. 13 in Central / West Ring




6. Gender assignment in Kuk/Kung

Additionally, an affinity of both Kuk and Kung to WR can be seen in the gender
assignment of various nouns that pattern with WR rather than with CR, e.g., ‘tail’ (3/4
or 3/6 vs. CR 3/13 or 3/6), ‘compound’ (7/8) vs. CR 7/6a~13), ‘neck’ (3/4~6a vs.
CR 3/6~5/13), as indicated in Table 14 where matching gender affiliation is
highlighted by absence of greying.




                                                                                                        38
Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads 3-1 (2023): 19-42


               Language      ‘hand’   ‘foot’   ‘arm’   ‘leg’   ‘thigh’    ‘tail’   ‘neck’   ‘compound’
               Aghem          7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/4       3/4       3/4        7/8
               Bu             7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/4       3/6a      3/6a       7/8
West Ring




               Isu            7/6      7/6     7/4     3/4      7/8       3/4       3/6a       7/8
               Weh            7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/4       3/4       3/6a       7/8
               Zoa            7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/8       3/6a      3/6a       7/8
               Kuk            7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/4       3/6a      3/4        7/8
               Kung           7/6      7/6     7/4     7/4      7/4      3/4~6a    3/4~6a      7/8
Central Ring




               Men            7/6      7/6     7/13    7/13     7/13      3/13      5/13       7/8
               Bum            7/8      7/8     3/6     3/6       ?        3/13      3/13       7/13
               Kom            7/8      7/8     3/6     3/6      7/8       3/6       3/6        7/6a
               Oku            7/6      7/6     3/4     3/4      7/8       3/13     [7/8]       7/8
               Babanki        7/6      7/6     ?5/6    3/6      7/8       3/13      3/13       7/6a


                         Table 14: Kuk/Kung (and Men) affinity to WR in gender assignment



7. Conclusion

It has been shown in this study that Babanki shares at least two features with Bafut:
Noun class prefixes have L tone in both languages and Babanki re-allocates various
lexical items that refer to borrowed nouns and some miscellaneous words to gender
1/2 instead of 9/10, as is common in the rest of CR and WR. Furthermore, Bum’s
remarkable deviation from CR standards in shifting proto causative extension *s to h
has been examined. In addition, the devoicing of Proto-Ring stops and affricates in
root initial position in Men, Kuk and Kung, as well as the merger of plural classes 10
and 13 in Kuk and Kung have been discussed. Finally, the affinity of both Kuk and
Kung to WR has been evoked by examining the gender assignment of various nouns
that pattern with WR rather than with CR. As a standing challenge, the task remains
to sort out the precise motivations that underlie the above divergent developments,
i.e., to which extent they have been inspired by the felt need to accommodate to a
CR-external target in the first line, i.e., WR (Aghem, Zoa) in the case of Kuk and Kung,
and Bafut in the case of Babanki – or to which extent the ultimate driving force could
rather have been the desire to dissociate from CR neighbours and maximize linguistic
distinctions as symbolic consolidation of sociopolitical independence.




                                                                                                      39
Akumbu, Kießling                                                              Variation in Central Ring


Abbreviations


 1…13 = noun classes                  EXCL   = exclusive               P1   = immediate past tense
 1PL = 1 plural
          st
                                      F2    = hodiernal future tense   P2   = hodiernal past tense
 1SG = 1st person                     FOC    = focus                   P3   = distant past tense
 2SG = 2 person
           nd
                                      H   = high tone                  PB = Proto-Bantu

 3SG = 3rd person                     HTS    = high tone spread        PF =   perfective
 AUG   = augment                      IMP   = imperative               PGr   = Proto-Grassfields
 ASVC =   asymmetrical verb           IPF   = imperfective             PL   = plural
 serialization                        L   = low tone                   R   = root
 CR   = Central Ring                  M    = mid tone                  SVC   = serial verb
 D1   = near speaker demonstrative    N   = nasal                      construction
 D2   = near listener demonstrative   NPx    = noun class prefix       SG   = singular
 D3   = distal demonstrative          OF    = out of focus marker      SM   = subject marker
 EGB =   Eastern Grassfields Bantu    P0    = present/perfect tense    WR    = West Ring



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CONTACT
pius.akumbu@cnrs.fr
(Roland.Kiessling@uni-hamburg.de)




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