Oblo
RegionCameroon
Native speakers
Nearly extinct[1]
Unwritten
Language codes
ISO 639-3obl
Glottologoblo1238
ELPOblo

Oblo is a poorly attested, unclassified, and possibly extinct language of northern Cameroon. It is, or was, spoken in a tiny area including Gobtikéré, Ouro Bé, and Ouro Badjouma, in Pitoa, Bénoué Department.

Eldridge Mohammadou located Olbo around Bé, at the confluence of the Benue River and Kebi River, in Bibemi commune.[2] However, ALCAM (2012), following Ethnologue, reports that Oblo was spoken near Tcholliré in Mayo-Rey department, Northern Region.[3] Oblo is known only from eight words collected by Kurt Strümpell in the early 1900s.[2]

Oblo has been classified as one of the Adamawa languages, but it has not been included in recent classifications.[2] It might be best left unclassified altogether.[4]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Oblo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b c Ayotte, Michael and Charlene Ayotte. 2002. Sociolinguistic Language Survey of Dama, Mono, Pam, Ndai, and Oblo. SIL International.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Towards a new classification of African languages", Linguistic Contribution to the History of Sub-Saharan Africa, University of Lyons
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