Neha Patil (Editor)

Bikya language

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Native to
  
Cameroon

Glottolog
  
biky1238

ISO 639-3
  
byb

Region
  
North West Province, Menchum Division, Furu-Awa Subdivision, Furubana village

Native speakers
  
probably extinct (date missing)

Language family
  
Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Beboid? Furu Bikya

Bikya (also known as Furu) is an extinct Southern Bantoid language spoken in Cameroon. In 1986 four surviving speakers were identified, although only one (a man in his seventies) spoke the language fluently.

Bikya is probably best known for the work of English linguist Dr. David Dalby who filmed an 87-year-old African woman who spoke Bikya as her native tongue. It was thought that she was the last speaker, but Kiessling (2007) reports that Bikya has the largest number of remaining speakers of the Furu languages.

It, and presumably all of Furu, is perhaps a Beboid language (Blench 2011).

References

Bikya language Wikipedia