| Bebele | |
|---|---|
| Region | Cameroon |
| Native speakers | (24,000 cited 1971) |
| Language family | Niger–Congo? |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | beb |
| Glottolog | bebe1248 |
| Guthrie code | A.73a |
Bebele (Bamvele, Bëbëlë) is a Bantu language of Cameroon. It is mutually intelligible with other Beti dialects such as Ewondo and Fang.
Varieties
The Bémbélé group includes all the neighboring languages that claim to belong to the Eki group. These are Bebele (Bembélé), Yasám, Yekaba, Yesamba, Bajia, Bafék, and Yanavok.
Bémbélé covers, along with Bébélé (Bamvele), Yébaka, Yesamba, and Bajia, the entire part of Haute Sanaga department, located south of the Sanaga River (in the communes of Minta, Nanga-Ebogo, Bibé, and Nsem). Meanwhile, the "Feuk", Yangavék (Yangafeuk), and Bafék (Bafeuk) are located north of the Sanaga River (in Ntui commune), and the Yasém (Asem) are confined to the village of Yassem at the northern end of the commune of Ngoro (department of Mbam-et-Kim). Bémbélé also extends into the Eastern Region in the departments of Lom-et-Djerem (Diang commune) and Haut-Nyong (Nguélémendouka commune).
They are estimated at 56,200 speakers (Djomeni 2004).
References
- Bebele at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
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