Bikya language

Bikya
Furu
Native toCameroon
RegionNorthwest Region, Menchum department, Furu-Awa Subdivision, Furubana village
Extinctby 2002, with the death of Dana Agayando
Language codes
ISO 639-3byb
Glottologbiky1238
ELPBikya

Bikya (also known as Furu) is a potentially extinct Southern Bantoid language spoken in Cameroon. It is one of the three, or four, Furu languages. In 1986 four surviving speakers were identified, although only one (a man in his seventies) spoke the language fluently.

Dana Agayando, born around 1910, was said to be the last speaker of Bikya in 1995.

English linguist Dr. David Dalby filmed[when?] an 87-year-old African woman who spoke Bikya as her native tongue. At the time, it was believed that she was the last Bikya speaker.

It, and presumably all of Furu, is perhaps a Beboid language.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Kouega, Jean-Paul (July 2007). "The Language Situation in Cameroon". Current Issues in Language Planning. 8 (1): 3–93. doi:10.2167/cilp110.0. ISSN 1466-4208.
  2. 1 2 Breton, Roland (1995). "Les Furu et leurs Voisins: Découverte et essai de classification d'un groupe de langues en voie d'extinction au Cameroun" (PDF). Cahiers des Sciences Humaines. 31 (1): 17–48.
  3. ↑ Dyer, Gwynne (October 2, 1997). "Profusion of tongues in the global village". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Blench, Roger (7–9 April 2011). "The membership and internal structure of Bantoid and the border with Bantu" (PDF). Retrieved 5 March 2024.