Nimbari language

Nimbari
Nimbari
Niam-Niam
Region	northern Cameroon
Ethnicity	130 (2002)
Extinct	1930s
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Leko–Nimbari Nimbari; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nmr
Glottolog	nimb1256
ELP	Nimbari

The Nimbari language (also Niam-Niam), which is no longer spoken, was a member of the Leko–Nimbari group of Savanna languages. It was spoken in northern Cameroon. Ethnologue (22nd ed.) lists Badjire, Gorimbari, and Padjara-Djabi villages as Nimbari locations in Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions.

Nimbari was labeled "G12" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal.

Distribution

Nimbari is located near Pitoa (Pitoa commune, Bénoué department) and Mayo-Louti (Figuil commune), Northern Region. The so-called Nyam-Nyam of Mayo-Kébi should not be confused with the so-called Nyam-Nyam of Tignère and Galim (Adamawa Region), whose real name is Nizaa (or Suga), of Mambiloid affiliation.^[3]

History and classification

Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that Nimbari cannot be classified with certainty due to limited data.^[4] It is a Fali name meaning 'people of Mbari'. People who identify as Nimbari currently speak Kangou (or Kaangu, Kaang), a variety of Southern Fali, and identify the ethnic name Nimbari with their village, Gorimbari.^[5] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) report from a 2008 field trip that the name Mbaari refers to an inselberg (Fali language: ɡɔ́rì) central to the village of Gorimbari (Gorimbaara [ɡóːrímbáːrà]). Nimbari is derived from the Fali term níí mbáárì 'people/person (niru) of Mbaari'.

Strümpell (1922/23) reported Nimbari to be the autonym of Niam-Niam language speakers.^[6] Originally, Strümpell (1910) called the language Niam-Niam, and had documented some limited data of questionable quality from elderly rememberers; the language was already no longer in everyday use at the time of data collection.^[7] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that some items in Strümpell's word list share similarities with Duru languages (Dii, Duupa, Dugun), and also with Samba Leko and Kolbila to a lesser extent. However, many words have no clear parallels with other Adamawa languages.

References

^ Nimbari language at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
^ Nimbari at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ 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.
^ Raimund Kastenholz, Ulrich Kleinewillinghöfer. 2012. Nimbari as a language name. Adamawa Languages Project.
^ Westermann, Scott, and Annette Westermann. 2001. Sociolinguistic language survey of Nimbari ALCAM [393]. Rapid Appraisal May–June 2001, Basheo and Guider Subdivisions, Benoué and Mayo-Louti Divisions, North Province, Cameroon. Ngaoundéré: LTB Cameroon.
^ Strümpell, F. 1922/23. 'Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen des Mandaragebirges', Zeitschrift für Eingeborenensprachen 13: 47-75, 109-149.
^ Strümpell, F. 1910. 'Vergleichendes Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen Adamauas , von Hauptmann Strümpell – Garua. Mit Vorbemerkungen von Bernhard Struck – Groß-Lichterfelde', Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 3/4: 444-488.