Tikar
Native toCameroon
EthnicityTikar, Bedzan
Native speakers
110,000 (2005)[1]
Dialects
  • Ndobo
  • Bedzan (Medzan)
Language codes
ISO 639-3tik
Glottologtika1246

Tikar (also called Tigé, Tigré or Tikari) is a Northern Bantoid, semi-Bantu language that is spoken in Cameroon by the Tikar people, as well as by the Bedzan Pygmies, who speak their own dialect of the language.[2] A recent hypothesis by Roger Blench suggests that the Tikar language could be a divergent language in the Niger-Congo language family with an uncertain origin.[2]

Classification

The little evidence available suggests that it is most closely related to the Mambiloid and Dakoid languages.[2]

Dialects

The Tikar language has four dialects, including Tikari, Tigé, and Túmú.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ Tikar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c Blench, Roger (2011). "'The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu" (PDF). Berlin: Humboldt University. p. 16.
  3. ^ Stanley, Carol. 1991. Description morphosyntaxique de la langue Tikar (parlée au Cameroun). Ph.D. Sorbonne. SIL International.
  4. ^ PRICE, DAVID (1979). "Who Are the Tikar Now?". Paideuma. 25: 89–98. JSTOR 23076439.
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