Leti language (Cameroon)

Not to be confused with Leti language or Eton language.

Leti, or Mangisa, is a Bantu language of Cameroon, spoken by the Mengisa people. Most Mengisa have switched to the Eton language, though a number of them continue to use Leti as a secret ritual language. A smaller number speak Leti as their mother tongue.^[1]

Leti
Native to	Cameroon
Ethnicity	Mengisa
Native speakers	"small population" (2014)[1] ritual L2 use
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo languages Benue–Congo languages Southern Bantoid languages Bantu Mbam Sanaga Tuki? Leti
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: leo – Leti mct – Mengisa (duplicate code)
Glottolog	leti1245
Guthrie code	A.63 (Mengisa)[2]

Leti is quite close to Tuki and may be a dialect.^[3] It is also closely related to Eton.^[4]

Mengisa is spoken in the northern part of Sa'a commune (in Lekié department, Central Region).^[4]

References

1. Leti at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
   Mengisa (duplicate code) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
3. Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
4. Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.