Mangbetu, or ''Nemangbetu,'' is one of the most populous of the

Central Sudanic languages Central Sudanic is a family of about sixty languages that have been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Central Sudanic languages are spoken in the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Congo (DRC), Nigeria and ...

. It is spoken by the

Mangbetu people The Mangbetu are a Central Sudanic ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, living in the northeastern province of Haut-Uele. Culture The Mangbetu are known for their highly developed art and music. One instrument associated with ...

of northeastern Congo. It, or its speakers, are also known as ''Amangbetu, Kingbetu, Mambetto.'' The most populous dialect, and the one most widely understood, is called Medje. Others are Aberu (Nabulu), Makere, Malele, Popoi (Mapopoi). The most divergent is Lombi; ''Ethnologue'' treats it as a distinct language. About half of the population speaks Bangala, a

trade language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

similar to

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

, and in southern areas some speak Swahili. The Mangbetu live in association with the Asua Pygmies, and their languages are closely related.

Dialects

Mangbetu dialects and locations as listed by Demolin (1992): *''Mangbetu proper'' is spoken north of Isiro, in the subregion of Haut-Uele and north of the

Bomokandi River The Bomokandi River is a river in the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river originates in the southeast of Haut-Uélé province near Gombari, and flows in a ENE direction through Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé Bas-Uélé ...

. It is found in

Nangazizi Nangazizi is a settlement in the province of Haut-Uélé in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location Nangazizi is in the Azanga chiefdom of the Rungu Territory in Haut-Uélé. Niangara is further to the north on the Uele River. It is on th ...

and Rungu in the collectivité of Azanga, Ganga in the collectivité of Okondo, Tapili in the collectivité of Mangbetu, Medanoma in the collectivité of Mangbele, in Ndei collectivité north of Isiro, and in Mboli collectivité near Goa. *''Medje'' (''Mɛdʒɛ'') is spoken south of Isiro, around Medje in Mongomassi and Medje collectivités, and also in the ethnic Mangbetu collectivités of Azanga and Ndei. *''Makere'' is spoken around Zobia in the subregion of Bas-Uele. *''Malele'' is spoken in

Poko Territory Poko is a territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extra ...

Bokula, Moiso & Agozia-Kario Irumu. 1994. Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre). ''Annales Aequatoria'' 10: 203‒245. - in the areas of Balele, Niapu, and Kisanga. *''Mapopoi'' is spoken in Panga and the

Aruwimi River The Aruwimi River is a tributary of the Congo River, located to the north and east of the Congo.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , Vol. Two The Aruwimi begins as the Ituri River, which rises near Lake ...

. *''Nabulu'' is spoken in Bafwasamoa, 15 km north of Nia-Nia. *''Lombi'' is spoken in

Bafwasende Territory Bafwasende is a town in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the Lindi River The Lindi is a minor river of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It flows through the Tshopo and North Kivu provinces. Set ...

- in Barumbi around the Opienge River, and in

Maiko National Park Maiko National Park is a national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies in one of the most remote forest areas of the country and covers . The park is divided into three sectors, straddling the states of Nord Kivu, Province Orien ...

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Retroflex consonants are slightly trilled as �ʳ �ʳ ��ɖʳ

Other Features

One unusual feature of Mangbetu is that it has both a voiced and a voiceless

bilabial trill The voiced bilabial trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is B\. Features Features of the voiced ...

as well as a

labial flap In phonetics, the voiced labiodental flap is a speech sound found primarily in languages of Central Africa, such as Kera and Mangbetu. It has also been reported in the Austronesian language Sika. It is one of the few non- rhotic flaps. The ...

. : "to bring out" : "to fan" : "to enclose" : "to defecate" : "to get fat" The labial trills are not particularly associated with back vowels or prenasalization, pace their development in some American languages.Olson & Koogibho (2013) "Labial vibrants in Mangbetu"
/ref> : "leaping like a leopard" : "kind of plan"

References

{{Authority control Central Sudanic languages Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo