Leti language (Cameroon)

Not to be confused with Leti language or Eton language.
Leti
Native toCameroon
EthnicityMengisa
Native speakers
"small population" (2014)[1]
ritual L2 use
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
leo – Leti
mct – Mengisa (duplicate code)
Glottologleti1245
A.63 (Mengisa)[2]

Leti, or Mangisa, is a Bantu language of Cameroon, spoken by the Mengisa people. Most Mengisa have switched to the Eton language, though a number of them continue to use Leti as a secret ritual language. A smaller number speak Leti as their mother tongue.[1]

Leti is quite close to Tuki and may be a dialect.[3] It is also closely related to Eton.[4]

Mengisa is spoken in the northern part of Sa'a commune (in Lekié department, Central Region).[4]

  1. ^ a b Leti at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Mengisa (duplicate code) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  4. ^ a b Binam 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. ISBN 9789956796069.