Baka language

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Ubangian dialect cluster spoken by Baka people of Cameroon and Gabon

title: "Baka language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ngbaka-languages", "african-pygmies", "pygmy-languages", "languages-of-cameroon", "languages-of-gabon"] description: "Ubangian dialect cluster spoken by Baka people of Cameroon and Gabon" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baka_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ubangian dialect cluster spoken by Baka people of Cameroon and Gabon ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]

Field	Value
name	Baka
states	Cameroon, Gabon; minor groups separate in the Central African Republic
ethnicity	Baka
speakers
date	1988–2010
ref	e18
script	Latin
familycolor	Niger-Congo
fam1	Niger-Congo?
fam2	Atlantic-Congo
fam3	Volta-Congo
fam4	Adamawa–Ubangian
fam5	Ubangian
fam6	Sere–Ngbaka–Mba
fam7	Ngbaka–Mba
fam8	Ngbaka
fam9	Western
fam10	Baka–Gundi
lc1	bkc
lc2	gdi
lc3	gnz
lc4	bme
glotto	baka1271
glottorefname	Baka–Gundi
::

Baka (also called Be-bayaga, Be-bayaka, and Bibaya de L’est) is a dialect cluster of Ubangian languages spoken by the Baka Pygmies of Cameroon and Gabon. Ethnically, the people are closely related to the Aka, collectively known as the Mbenga (Bambenga). However, the languages are not closely related within the Atlantic-Congo family, apart from some vocabulary dealing with the forest economy, which suggests the Aka may have shifted to Bantu, with an estimated 15,000 people having done so.

Geographic distribution

Baka is spoken in much of the southeastern forest zone of Cameroon, in:

Eastern Region
- Kadey department (Ndélélé and Mbang communes)
- Haut-Nyong department (Dimako, Doumé, Abong-Mbang, Lomié, and Ngoyla communes)
- Boumba-et-Ngoko department (Moloundou, Yokadouma, and Gari-Gombo communes)
Southern Region
- Dja-et-Lobo department (Bengbis, Meyomessala, Sangmélima, Djoum, Oveng, and Mintom communes)

The Baka live together with other ethnic groups that are generally located along the main roads. The Baka speak a language very close to that of the Ngbaka Ma'bo of the Central African Republic, which clearly indicates that the Baka of Cameroon had recently arrived from an area much further to the east. In Cameroon, they are referred to as Eastern Pygmies, as opposed to the Bagyali, Pygmy groups from Océan Department who speak a Bantu language (A80 subgroup). The Baka number 25,000 in Cameroon. They are also found in Gabon (Phillips 1980) and in the Central African Republic.

Classification

Approximately 30% of Baka's vocabulary is not Ubangian. Much of this concerns a specialized forest economy, such as words for edible plants, medicinal plants, and honey collecting, and has been posited as the remnant of an ancestral Pygmy language which has otherwise vanished. However, apart from some words shared with the Aka, there is no evidence for a wider linguistic affiliation with any of the other Pygmy peoples.

Varieties

It is unclear if Gundi (Ngundi), Ganzi, and Massa (Limassa), are mutually intelligible with Baka proper. Most Massa have shifted to Gundi, which is spoken by 9,000 people.

The Ngombe tribe speaks Gundi. It may have been confused in the literature with the Ngombe population speaking the Bangandu language.

Phonology

Consonants

::data[format=table] | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar | Glottal | Plosive | plain | voiced | prenasalized | implosive | Fricative | plain | voiced | Affricate | voiced | prenasalized | Lateral | Nasal | Semivowel | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ~ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ~ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

/d͡z/ can also be heard as post-alveolar [d͡ʒ], among different dialects.

Vowels

::data[format=table]

Front	Back	Close	Close-mid	Open-mid	Open




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Orthography

Baka does not have a standard orthography, and there are many different ways to write it. The following is a 2009 recommendation which is supported by the . It is based on the General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages. ::data[format=table]

Baka alphabet (2009)	Pronunciation
A	B
a	b

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Tones are indicated by diacritics: the acute for high tone (á é ɛ́ í ó ɔ́ ú), and the grave for low tone (à è ɛ̀ ì ò ɔ̀ ù), middle tone is not indicated)

Brisson uses a noticeably different orthography in his dictionaries. He noticeably uses the glottal stop (ʔ) instead of the apostrophe.

References

(2012). "Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM)". CERDOTOLA.
Serge Bahuchet, 1993, ''History of the inhabitants of the central African rain forest: perspectives from comparative linguistics.'' In C.M. Hladik, ed., ''Tropical forests, people, and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development.'' Paris: Unesco/Parthenon.
[http://www.rogerblench.info/Genetics/SAFA%202004%20genetics%20paper.pdf Blench (in press)]
Bertille, Djoupee. (2002). "Morphologie Nominale du Baka". Université de Yaoundé.
Paulin, Pascale. (2010). "Les Baka du Gabon dans une dynamique de transformations culturelles".
Brisson, 2010

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