Baldemu language

Baldemu
Baldemu
Mbazlam
Baldare
Native to	Cameroon
Region	Far North Province
Native speakers	4 (2003)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Chadic Biu–Mandara North Maroua Baldemu; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bdn
Glottolog	bald1241
ELP	Baldemu
	Coordinates: 10°51′N 14°38′E / 10.850°N 14.633°E

Baldemu, or Mbazlam, is a nearly extinct Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon. Baldamu is spoken in Bogo commune, Diamaré department, Far North Region by only 5 speakers as of 2012.^[3] Speakers have been shifting to Fulfulde.^[1]

Name

The language is (or was) known as Baldemu or Baldare to its speakers.^[4] It is sometimes rendered Baldamu, Balda, Mbazlam, or Mbazla.^[3]

Baldamu is mentioned in Bryan and Westermann's Handbook of African Languages under the name Balda, suspected to be only a toponym. It is most closely related to Giziga, Mofu Duvangar, and Mofu Gudur according to C. Seignobos and H. Tourneux.^[3]

Status

Since migrating from the surrounding mountains to the village of Balda, Baldemu speakers have shifted to Fulfulde. Baldemu speakers who migrated to Kaélé similarly shifted to Mundang.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Baldemu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Gravina, R. (2011). Internal classification of Chadic Biu-Mandara. In Topics in Chadic Linguistics VI, Papers from the 5th Biennial International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages (pp. 67-84).
^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b Brye, E. (2003). A rapid appraisal language survey of the Baldemu language. SIL Electronic Survey Reports, 15, 13.