Kolbila is an Adamawa language used in Cameroon and Nigeria.

Kolbila
Kolbilla
Native toCameroon
RegionAdamawa Region
Native speakers
4,500 (2018)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3klc
Glottologkolb1240
ELPKolbila

Distribution

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Kolbila is closely related to Samba Leko. It is spoken by fewer than 4,000 speakers in several settlements along the Ngaoundéré-Garoua road in Bantanjé (Bantadje) canton of northwest Cameroon (Sabine Littig 2017). There were three major waves of settlement in these locations:[2]

  • Demsa (in 1954)
  • Mayo Boki (in 1972)
  • Mbé (in 1976)

According to ALCAM (2012), Kolbila is spoken near Faro National Park at Demsa', located about 20 kilometers north of the town of Mbe along the Ngairi-Garoua road in Demsa commune. Kolbila was originally spoken in Bantadjé of Poli commune, Bénoué department, North Region. It is separated from the Samba Leko area by Longto. It is part of the "Pape" group of languages according to linguist Lars Lode.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Kolbila at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)  
  2. ^ Littig, Sabine (2017). Kolbila: Geography and history.
  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.
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  • Kolbila - Adamawa Languages Project