Native to Cameroon | ||
Native speakers (2,700 Bangandu cited 1977)
12,000 Ngombe (2010 census) Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Savannas
Gbaya
Southern
Bangandu ISO 639-3 Either:
bgf – Bangandu
nmj – Nombe Glottolog bang1347
ngom1265 (extensive bibliography) | ||
Bangandu (Bàngàndò) is a Gbaya language of Cameroon and CAR.
There are two populations: Bangandu proper, in Cameroon, and Ngombe (Ba(n)gando-Ngombe, Ngombe-Kaka) clustered around Mambéré-Kadéï Prefecture across the border in the Central African Republic. There are several populations called Ngombe, and it is not clear to which the spurious ISO code for Ngombe belongs. On a global scale, Bangandu is considered to be a threatened language with approximately anywhere between 2,700-3,500 speakers. Language status levels can be derived from the Ethnologue Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale.
Bangandu Speakers
Speakers of Bangandu tend to be localized around regions of Southern Cameroon. The language of Bangandu is classified as a field dependent and relies on a specific level of field dependence in order to be learned, according to authors J.W. Berry, S.H Irvine and E.G. Hunt in their book Indigenous Cognition: Functioning in Cultural Context. Field dependent language learning involves the complete envelopment of an individual into the community of which the language is spoken. Authors J.W. Berry, S.H Irvine and E.G. Hunt further develop upon the lack of education indigenous speakers receive in order to thrive outside of the Bangandu community. This aspect of the Bangandu community could be indirectly linked to the exclusivity of the Bangandu language. Multiple accounts of Bangandu speakers, including an account written by author Victor Barnouw found in journal American Anthropologist tend to depict indigenous speakers as agriculturalists and gatherers.