Nimbari language

The Nimbari language (also Niam-Niam), which is no longer spoken, was a member of the Leko–Nimbari group of Savanna languages. It was spoken in northern Cameroon. Ethnologue (22nd ed.) lists Badjire, Gorimbari, and Padjara-Djabi villages as Nimbari locations in Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions.

Nimbari
Niam-Niam
Region	northern Cameroon
Ethnicity	130 (2002)[1]
Extinct	1930s[2]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Leko–Nimbari Nimbari
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nmr
Glottolog	nimb1256
ELP	Nimbari

Nimbari was labeled "G12" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal.

Distribution

Nimbari is located near Pitoa (Pitoa commune, Bénoué department) and Mayo-Louti (Figuil commune), Northern Region. The so-called Nyam-Nyam of Mayo-Kébi should not be confused with the so-called Nyam-Nyam of Tignère and Galim (Adamawa Region), whose real name is Nizaa (or Suga), of Mambiloid affiliation.^[3]

History and classification

Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that Nimbari cannot be classified with certainty due to limited data.^[4] It is a Fali name meaning 'people of Mbari'. People who identify as Nimbari currently speak Kangou (or Kaangu, Kaang), a variety of Southern Fali, and identify the ethnic name Nimbari with their village, Gorimbari.^[5] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) report from a 2008 field trip that the name Mbaari refers to an inselberg (Fali language: ɡɔ́rì) central to the village of Gorimbari (Gorimbaara [ɡóːrímbáːrà]). Nimbari is derived from the Fali term níí mbáárì 'people/person (niru) of Mbaari'.

Strümpell (1922/23) reported Nimbari to be the autonym of Niam-Niam language speakers.^[6] Originally, Strümpell (1910) called the language Niam-Niam, and had documented some limited data of questionable quality from elderly rememberers; the language was already no longer in everyday use at the time of data collection.^[7] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that some items in Strümpell's word list share similarities with Duru languages (Dii, Duupa, Dugun), and also with Samba Leko and Kolbila to a lesser extent. However, many words have no clear parallels with other Adamawa languages.

References

1. Nimbari language at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
2. Nimbari at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
3. 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.
4. Raimund Kastenholz, Ulrich Kleinewillinghöfer. 2012. Nimbari as a language name. Adamawa Languages Project.
5. Westermann, Scott, and Annette Westermann. 2001. Sociolinguistic language survey of Nimbari ALCAM [393]. Rapid Appraisal May–June 2001, Basheo and Guider Subdivisions, Benoué and Mayo-Louti Divisions, North Province, Cameroon. Ngaoundéré: LTB Cameroon.
6. Strümpell, F. 1922/23. 'Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen des Mandaragebirges', Zeitschrift für Eingeborenensprachen 13: 47-75, 109-149.
7. Strümpell, F. 1910. 'Vergleichendes Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen Adamauas , von Hauptmann Strümpell – Garua. Mit Vorbemerkungen von Bernhard Struck – Groß-Lichterfelde', Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 3/4: 444-488.