The twelve Mambiloid languages are languages spoken by the
Mambila
The Mambilla or Mambila people of Nigeria live on the Mambilla Plateau (in 'Sardauna' local government area of Taraba State in Nigeria). A small fraction of Mambilla migrants left the Mambilla Plateau for the Ndom Plain (also known as northern Tik ...
and related peoples mostly in eastern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
and in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
. In Nigeria the largest group is Mambila (there is also a small Mambila population in Cameroon). In Cameroon the largest group is Vute.
Languages
The following classification follows Blench (2011). Languages with (?) are not listed in that source, but close to other languages according to ''Ethnologue''. Ndoro–Fam may be a separate branch of Benue–Congo.
*
Ndoola (Ndoro)
*Mambiloid proper
**
Nizaa (Suga)
**Mambila–Konja
***Konja:
Kwanja, ?
Twendi
***Mambila–Vute
****Mambila–Kamkam
*****Magu–Kamkam–Kila:
Mbongno,
Mvanip (Mvano), ?
Somyev, ?
Ndunda
*****
Mambila
The Mambilla or Mambila people of Nigeria live on the Mambilla Plateau (in 'Sardauna' local government area of Taraba State in Nigeria). A small fraction of Mambilla migrants left the Mambilla Plateau for the Ndom Plain (also known as northern Tik ...
****Tep–Vute
*****
Tep
*****Vute:
Vute
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria. The orthography was standardized on March 9, 1979. Noted dialect clusters are eastern, central, and Doume.
Phonology
Consonants
Consonants in Vute are ...
,
Wawa
''Ethnologue'' also lists
Njerep, which most likely lies somewhere in the Mambila–Kamkam branch. The extinct
Yeni,
Luo and
Kasabe languages were apparently Mambiloid, the first two close to Njerep.
Fam is sometimes classified with Ndoro, but appears to be more divergent.
The unclassified language
Bung shows its strongest resemblance to be with the Ndung dialect of
Kwanja. It also has words in common with other Mambiloid languages such as
Tep,
Somyev and
Vute
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria. The orthography was standardized on March 9, 1979. Noted dialect clusters are eastern, central, and Doume.
Phonology
Consonants
Consonants in Vute are ...
, while a number of words' origins remain unclear (possibly
Adamawan).
[Bruce Connell, 1997: Moribund Languages of the Nigeria-Cameroon Borderland](_blank)
Names and locations (Nigeria)
Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations (in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
only) from Blench (2019).
References
* Blench, Roger, 2011
'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu' ''Bantu IV'', Humboldt University, Berlin.
External links
*Marieke Martin, 2011
'The Erosion of Noun Classes in Mambiloid'
{{Niger-Congo branches
Northern Bantoid languages