Nimbari language
| Nimbari | |
|---|---|
| Niam-Niam | |
| Native to | northern Cameroon |
| Region | Bénoué, Mayo-Louti |
| Ethnicity | 130 (2002)[1] |
| Extinct | 1930s[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nmr |
| Glottolog | nimb1256 |
| ELP | Nimbari |
The Nimbari language (also Niam-Niam), is an extinct Leko–Nimbari group of Savanna languages. It was spoken in northern Cameroon. Ethnologue (22nd ed.) lists Badjire, Gorimbari, and Padjara-Djabi villages as Nimbari locations in Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions.
Nimbari was labeled "G12" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal.
Distribution
Nimbari is located near Pitoa (Pitoa commune, Bénoué department) and Mayo-Louti (Figuil commune), Northern Region. The so-called Nyam-Nyam of Mayo-Kébi should not be confused with the so-called Nyam-Nyam of Galim and Tignère, whose real name is Nizaa (or Suga), of Mambiloid affiliation.[3]
History and classification
Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that Nimbari cannot be classified with certainty due to limited data.[4] It is a Fali name meaning 'people of Mbari'. People who identify as Nimbari currently speak Kangou (or Kaangu, Kaang), a variety of Southern Fali, and identify the ethnic name Nimbari with their village, Gorimbari.[5] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) report from a 2008 field trip that the name Mbaari refers to an inselberg (Fali language: ɡɔ́rì) central to the village of Gorimbari (Gorimbaara [ɡóːrímbáːrà]). Nimbari is derived from the Fali term níí mbáárì 'people/person (niru) of Mbaari'.
Strümpell (1922/23) reported Nimbari to be the autonym of Niam-Niam language speakers.[6] Originally, Strümpell (1910) called the language Niam-Niam, and had documented some limited data of questionable quality from elderly rememberers; the language was already no longer in everyday use at the time of data collection.[7] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that some items in Strümpell's word list share similarities with Duru languages (Dii, Duupa, Dugun), and also with Samba Leko and Kolbila to a lesser extent. However, many words have no clear parallels with other Adamawa languages.
Vocabulary
| gloss | Nimbari |
|---|---|
| rain, water | beːm |
| egg | bḛlḛ |
| moon | fwo |
References
- ↑ Nimbari language at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
- ↑ Nimbari at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Raimund Kastenholz, Ulrich Kleinewillinghöfer. 2012. Nimbari as a language name. Adamawa Languages Project.
- ↑ Westermann, Scott, and Annette Westermann. 2001. Sociolinguistic language survey of Nimbari ALCAM [393]. Rapid Appraisal May–June 2001, Basheo and Guider Subdivisions, Benoué and Mayo-Louti Divisions, North Province, Cameroon. Ngaoundéré: LTB Cameroon.
- ↑ Strümpell, F. 1922/23. 'Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen des Mandaragebirges', Zeitschrift für Eingeborenensprachen 13: 47-75, 109-149.
- ↑ Strümpell, F. 1910. 'Vergleichendes Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen Adamauas , von Hauptmann Strümpell – Garua. Mit Vorbemerkungen von Bernhard Struck – Groß-Lichterfelde', Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 3/4: 444-488.
- ↑ Boyd, Raymond (1988), "Les langues Adamawa" (PDF), Le milieu et les hommes: recherches comparatives et historiques dans le bassin du Lac Tchad (actes du 2ème colloque Méga-Tchad, ORSTOM Bondy, le 3 et 4 octobre 1985), Colloques et séminaires, vol. lloques et séminaires, Paris: Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d'Outre-Mer (ORSTOM), pp. 231–240, retrieved 2026-07-30