Mambila language

Mambila is a dialect chain stretching across Nigeria and Cameroon. It is one of the Mambiloid languages, a branch of Benue–Congo.

Mambila
RegionNigeria and Cameroon
Native speakers
(130,000 cited 1993)[1]
Niger–Congo
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
mzk – Nigerian Mambila
mcu – Camerounian Mambila
Glottolognige1255  Nigeria
came1252  Cameroon

Notable dialects are Barup, Bang, Dorofi, Gembu, Hainari, Kabri, Mayo Ndaga, Mbamnga, Tamien, Warwar (in Nigeria); Sunu Torbi (Torbi), Ju Naare (Gembu), and in Cameroon, Ju Ba and Langa. Mambila goes by numerous names, which, besides the dialectical names, include Bea, Ble, Juli, Lagubi, Nor, Nor Tagbo, Tongbo, and the spellings Mabila, Mambere, Mambilla.

Tep is generally considered a dialect by those in Tep and by speakers of other varieties of Mambila, but though Tep speakers are ethnically Mambila, their speech is not intelligible to other varieties. In terms of linguistic classification it may be more accurate to call it a different Mambiloid language. See Connell references below.

Blacksmiths among the Mambila once spoke Somyev, a related Mambiloid language, though this is nearly extinct.

References
  1. Nigerian Mambila at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Camerounian Mambila at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  • Connell, Bruce. 1998. Moribund languages of the Nigeria-Cameroon borderland. In Endangered Languages in Africa, edited by M. Brenzinger. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
  • Connell, Bruce. 2000. The Integrity of Mambiloid. In Proceedings of WOCAL97 (Second World Congress of African Linguistics), edited by E. Wolff. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  • Connell, Bruce. 2010. Language Ecology and Language Endangerment: an Instance from the Nigeria-Cameroon Borderland. Journal of West African Languages XXXVII (1):1—11.


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