Ibinda (also ''Kibinda'', ''Chibinda'', ''Tchibinda'', ''Cibinda'') is ostensibly 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 ...

or a dialect group spoken in the Angolan province and

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Cabinda. LanguageMap-Kikongo-Kituba

Ibinda is Western Kongo ( Guthrie: H16d) as it is spoken in Cabinda. It is a combination of several dialects of the Kongo language (Kikongo) spoken by small ethnic groups in Cabinda. Among the principal ones are Iwóyo, Ikuákongo (Kakongo), Ikóchi, Ilínji (Ilinge), Kiyómbe (Quiombe), Kisúndi and Ivili although some are sometimes considered separate from Ibinda. Ibinda is a project of Cabindan separatists or nationalists who advocate the formation of a Republic of Cabinda and is the " national language" of the proposed state.Republic of Cabinda: People
at the Republic of Cabinda website. Retrieved 15 January 2010. Historically, vernacular speech in Cabinda has also been called Fiote, from ''m'fiôte'', a word meaning "black" or "colored person."
in ''International Spotlight: Angola'', A special advertising site produced by

washingtonpost.com ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...

. Retrieved 15 January 2010. Fiote referred to all local languages of Cabinda "because they were the languages spoken by black people." The term was also used to describe the inhabitants themselves and as an adjective meaning native or indigenous ("everything that was not of European origin was labeled 'fiote' – fiote papaya, mango fiote, potato fiote, etc."Cabindês, Fiote ou Ibinda: Língua Nacional de Cabinda."
Retrieved 15 January 2010. ). However, this term is considered derogatory and is eschewed by Cabindans. "Cabindans do not like being called Fiote... ecausethe word was used by the Portuguese to describe everything that was inferior – a bad road would be called a fiote road and bad food would be called fiote food." Some argue that the language should be called *Cabindese.

References

External links

*Omotola Akindipe, André Tati
Largest Ibinda language resource on the web (Mofeko)
*Jouni Filip Maho
NUGL Online: The online version of the New Updated Guthrie List, a referential classification of the Bantu languages
(with map), p. 52 {{Languages of Angola Kongo language Languages of Angola