Bebele (Bamvele, ''Bëbëlë'') is a
Bantu language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.
The t ...
of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. It is
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
with other
Beti dialects such as
Ewondo and
Fang
A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...
.
Varieties
The Bémbélé group includes all the neighboring languages that claim to belong to the Eki group. These are Bebele (Bembélé), Yasám, Yekaba, Yesamba, Bajia, Bafék, and Yanavok.
Bémbélé covers, along with Bébélé (Bamvele), Yébaka, Yesamba, and Bajia, the entire part of
Haute Sanaga
Haute may refer to:
People
* Nicholas Haute (1357 – c.1415), English knight, landowner and politician
** William Haute (MP) (1390-1462), son of Nicholas, Member of Parliament, English politician
** William Hawte
Sir William Hawte (also Haute or ...
department, located south of the
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem Rive ...
(in the communes of Minta,
Nanga-Ebogo, Bibé, and Nsem). Meanwhile, the "Feuk", Yangavék (Yangafeuk), and Bafék (Bafeuk) are located north of the Sanaga River (in Ntui commune), and the Yasém (Asem) are confined to the village of Yassem at the northern end of the commune of
Ngoro
Ngoro is a town and commune in the Mbam-et-Kim department of Centre Region in Cameroon.
See also
*Communes of Cameroon
The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organise ...
(department of
Mbam-et-Kim
Mbam-et-Kim is a department of Centre Region in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 25,906 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 64,540. The capital of the department lies at Ntui.
Subdivisions
The department is divided administrat ...
). Bémbélé also extends into the Eastern Region in the departments of
Lom-et-Djerem
Lom-et-Djerem is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 26,345 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 228,691. The capital of the department lies at Bertoua.
Subdivisions
The department is divided ...
(
Diang commune) and
Haut-Nyong
Haut-Nyong is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 36,384 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 216,768. The capital of the department lies at Abong-Mbang.
Subdivisions
The department is divide ...
(
Nguélémendouka commune).
They are estimated at 56,200 speakers (Djomeni 2004).
References
Beti languages
Languages of Cameroon
{{Bantu-lang-stub