Vemgo-Mabas
Native toNigeria, Cameroon
Native speakers
(11,000 cited 1993–2004)[1]
Afro-Asiatic
Dialects
  • Vemgo
  • Mabas
Language codes
ISO 639-3vem
Glottologvemg1240

Vemgo-Mabas is an Afro-Asiatic language of Cameroon and Nigeria. Dialects are Vemgo, Mabas. Blench (2006) considers these to be separate languages. Ethnologue lists a third dialect, Visik in Nigeria, which is not well attested;[1] Blench suspects it may be a dialect of Lamang instead.[2]

In Cameroon, Mabas is spoken only in one village on the Nigerian border, namely Mabas village (Mokolo arrondissement, Mayo-Tsanaga department, Far North Region) by about 5,000 speakers (ALCAM 1984). Although closely related, Mabas is distinct from Hdi (78% lexical similarity, 36% mutual intelligibility).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Vemgo-Mabas at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)
  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.


Categories