Fang language

Not to be confused with Fang language (Cameroon).
Fang
Pangwe
Faŋ, Paŋwe
Native toEquatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and São Tomé and Príncipe
EthnicityFang
Native speakers
1 million (2006–2013)[1]
Dialects
  • Southwest Fang
  • Ntoumou-Fang
  • Okak-Fang
  • Mekê-Fang
  • Mvaïe-Fang
  • Atsi-Fang
  • Nzaman-Fang
  • Mveni-Fang
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2fan
ISO 639-3fan
Glottologfang1246
A.75,751[2]
Idioma fang (Fang language) spread

Fang (/ˈfɒŋ/) is a Central African language spoken by around 1 million people, most of them in Equatorial Guinea, and northern Gabon, where it is the dominant Bantu language; Fang is also spoken in southern Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and small fractions of the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. It is related to the Bulu and Ewondo languages of southern Cameroon.

Under President Macías Nguema, Fang was the official language of Equatorial Guinea, although in 1982, the Third Constitution once again replaced it with Spanish. Since then, each version of the Constitution has recognized Fang and other languages indigenous to the country as integral to the national culture, despite these languages not having official status.

There are many different variants of Fang in northern Gabon and southern Cameroon. Maho (2009) lists Southwest Fang as a distinct language. The other dialects are Ntoumou, Okak, Mekê, Atsi (Batsi), Nzaman (Zaman), Mveni, and Mvaïe.

  1. ^ Fang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online