Lese language

Lese
Efé
Native toDemocratic Republic of the Congo
RegionIturi forest
Native speakers
(70,000 cited 1991)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
les – Lese
efe – Efe
Glottologlese1243  Lese
efee1239  Efe

Lese is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people live in association with the Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.

Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).[2]

Lese is spoken in Mambasa Territory, Watsa Territory, and Irumu Territory.[3]

  1. ^ Lese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Efe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Bahuchet, Serge (2006). "Languages of the African Rainforest 'Pygmy' Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture". Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective (PDF). Leipzig. HAL hal-00548207.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Bokula, Moiso; Irumu, Agozia-Kario (1994). "Bibliographie et matériaux lexicaux des langues Moru-Mangbetu (Soudan-Central, Zaïre)". Annales Aequatoria. 10: 203‒245.