Limba language

Not to be confused with Limba language (Cameroon) or Limbu language.
Limba
Yimba
Native toSierra Leone, Guinea
Native speakers
(520,000 cited 1993-2019)[1][2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
lia – West–Central
lma – East
Glottologlimb1267

The Limba language, Hulimba, is a Niger–Congo language of Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the Niger–Congo family.[3] Dialects include Tonko, Sela, Kamuke (or Ke), Wara-wara, Keleng, Biriwa, and Safroko. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of noun classes, marked by an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of enclitics.

  1. ^ "Limba, East". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  2. ^ "Limba, West-Central". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  3. ^ Güldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN 978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID 133888593.