Hema 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. T ...

and one of three languages spoken by the

Hema people The Hema people or Bahema (plural) are an ethnic group of Nilotic origin who are concentrated in parts of Ituri Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ethnic group The Hema are a Nilotic ethnic group, related to the Bany ...

of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Hema is sometimes called ''Southern Hema'' in contrast to the unrelated language

Lendu The Lendu language is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Balendru, an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, specifically the Ituri Region ...

, also known as ''Northern Hema''. The ethnically Hema dialect of Nyankore, called ''Hima'', is related but distinct.

References

Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Nyoro-Ganda languages {{Bantu-lang-stub