Ngbandi, Northern | Ethnologue

A language of Democratic Republic of the Congo

ISO 639: ngb
Alternate Names: Baza, Mongwandi, Ngbandi du Nord, Ngwandi
Autonym: Ngbandi
Population: 250,000 in Democratic Republic of the Congo (2000 SIL). 75,000 monolinguals. Total users in all countries: 250,290.
Location:: Bas-Uele province: Bondo territory; Nord-Ubangi province: Businga, Mobayi-Mbongo, and Yakoma territories.
Language Status: 5* (Developing).
Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, North, Adamawa-Ubangi, Ubangi, Ngbandi
Dialects: 2 dialects, about equal in size. Sango [sag] is derived from Ngbandi.
Language Use: Vigorous. Some speakers of other languages use it for trade in border areas. All domains. Oral use in some churches. Oral literature. Positive attitudes. Most also use Lingala [lin]. Used as L2 by Bolondo [bzm], Pagibete [pae], Yango [yng].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 8%. 20,000 read; 5,000 can write. NT: 1988.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Ngbandi, Northern
Writing: Latin script [Latn].
Other Comments: Ethnic groups: Abasango, Bwato, Mbaati, and Nzomboy (Monjomboli). Christian.

Location: Bas-Uele province: Bondo territory; Nord-Ubangi province: Businga, Mobayi-Mbongo, and Yakoma territories.