Daba (also known as Dabba) is a

Chadic The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 150 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and northern Cam ...

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...

spoken in

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 ...

Far North Province The Far North Region, also known as the Extreme North Region (from french: Région de l'Extrême-Nord), is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nig ...

and in one village in neighboring

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Blench (2006) considers

Mazagway Mazagway (Musgoy; also known as Mazagway-Hidi) is a Chadic language spoken in Cameroon, in North Region (Cameroon), North Province and Far North Province. Blench (2006) classifies it as a dialect of Daba language, Daba.Blench, 2006The Afro-Asiati ...

to be a dialect.Blench, 2006
The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List
(ms) Daba is spoken throughout the northern part of the

Mayo-Louti Mayo-Louti is a Departments of Cameroon, department of North Province (Cameroon), North Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of and as of 2001 had a total population of 334,312. The capital of the department is Guider. Subdivision ...

department in the Northern Region (in

Mayo-Oulo Mayo-Oulo is a town and commune in Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each provi ...

commune), extending slightly into

Mayo-Tsanaga Mayo-Tsanaga is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,393 km and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 699,971. The capital of the department is at Mokolo. It is located within the Mand ...

Department (in Hina and

Bourrha Bourrha is a town and commune in Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each province ...

communes) and Diamaré Department (

Ndoukoula Ndoukoula is a town and commune in Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each provi ...

commune in the Far North Region). Daba (Kanakana), the most western variety that is isolated from the rest of the dialects, is spoken in Douroum, in the northern part of the

commune and in the

Garoua Daba Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...

area (enclave of Hina commune) and in

commune. Tpala, in the northeast, is spoken in the

area.

Notes

References

* J. Mouchet. 1966. ''Le parler daba: esquisse grammaticale''. Yaounde: Institut de Recherches Scientifiques du Cameroun. Biu-Mandara languages Languages of Cameroon Languages of Nigeria {{Nigeria-stub