Mangbetu, or ''Nemangbetu,'' is one of the most populous of the
Central Sudanic languages. It is spoken by the
Mangbetu people of northeastern Congo. It, or its speakers, are also known as ''Amangbetu, Kingbetu, Mambetto.'' The most populous dialect, and the one most widely understood, is called Medje. Others are Aberu (Nabulu), Makere, Malele, Popoi (Mapopoi). The most divergent is Lombi; ''Ethnologue'' treats it as a distinct language. About half of the population speaks
Bangala, a
trade language similar to
Lingala, and in southern areas some speak
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...
.
The Mangbetu live in association with the
Asua Pygmies, and
their languages are closely related.
Dialects
Mangbetu dialects and locations as listed by Demolin (1992):
*''Mangbetu proper'' is spoken north of
Isiro
Isiro (pronounced ) is the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies between the equatorial forest and the savannah and its main resource is coffee. Isiro's population is estimated a ...
, in the subregion of
Haut-Uele and north of the
Bomokandi River. It is found in
Nangazizi
Nangazizi is a settlement in the province of Haut-Uélé in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Location
Nangazizi is in the Azanga chiefdom of the Rungu Territory in Haut-Uélé.
Niangara is further to the north on the Uele River.
It is on t ...
and
Rungu in the
collectivité of Azanga, Ganga in the collectivité of Okondo, Tapili in the collectivité of Mangbetu, Medanoma in the collectivité of Mangbele, in Ndei collectivité north of
Isiro
Isiro (pronounced ) is the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies between the equatorial forest and the savannah and its main resource is coffee. Isiro's population is estimated a ...
, and in Mboli collectivité near Goa.
*''Medje'' (''Mɛdʒɛ'') is spoken south of
Isiro
Isiro (pronounced ) is the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies between the equatorial forest and the savannah and its main resource is coffee. Isiro's population is estimated a ...
, around Medje in Mongomassi and Medje collectivités, and also in the ethnic Mangbetu collectivités of Azanga and Ndei.
*''Makere'' is spoken around Zobia in the subregion of
Bas-Uele.
*''Malele'' is spoken in
Poko Territory[Bokula, Moiso & Agozia-Kario Irumu. 1994. Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre). ''Annales Aequatoria'' 10: 203‒245.] - in the areas of Balele, Niapu, and Kisanga.
*''Mapopoi'' is spoken in Panga and the
Aruwimi River.
*''Nabulu'' is spoken in Bafwasamoa, 15 km north of Nia-Nia.
*''Lombi'' is spoken in
Bafwasende Territory - in Barumbi around the
Opienge River, and in
Maiko National Park.
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
Retroflex consonants are slightly trilled as
�ʳ �ʳ ��ɖʳ
Other Features
One unusual feature of Mangbetu is that it has both a voiced and a voiceless
bilabial trill as well as a
labial flap
In phonetics, the voiced labiodental flap is a speech sound found primarily in languages of Central Africa, such as Kera and Mangbetu. It has also been reported in the Austronesian language Sika. It is one of the few non- rhotic flaps. The ...
.
: "to bring out"
: "to fan"
: "to enclose"
: "to defecate"
: "to get fat"
The labial trills are not particularly associated with back vowels or prenasalization, pace their development in some American languages.
Olson & Koogibho (2013) "Labial vibrants in Mangbetu"
/ref>
: "leaping like a leopard"
: "kind of plan"
References
{{Authority control
Central Sudanic languages
Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo