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]
^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).
^
abcBinam 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.
ISBN9789956796069.
MacEachern, S. (2002). Residuals and resistance: Languages and history in the Mandara Mountains. When languages collide: Perspectives on language conflict, language competition and language coexistence, 21-44.
Seignobos, C., & Tourneux, H. (1984). Note sur les Baldamu et leur langue (Nord-Cameroun). Africana Marburgensia, 17(1), 13-30.
Tourneux, H. (1987). Note complémentaire sur les Baldamu et leur langue. Africana Marburgensia, 20(1), 52-58.