| Iyasa | |
|---|---|
| Bongwe | |
| Native to | Cameroon Equatorial Guinea Gabon |
| Ethnicity | Yasa and Pygmies[1] |
Native speakers | 2,400 in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (2000–2011)[1] unknown number in Gabon[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yko |
| Glottolog | yasa1242 |
A.33a[2] | |
| ELP | Iyasa |
 Yasa is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Iyasa (Yasa, Yassa) is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea by the Iyasa and Ndowe coastal fishing peoples. It is also spoken by Pygmies, perhaps Babongo, in Gabon. Approximately 3,000 people speak Iyasa,[3] though some note that this number may be an overestimation.[4]
Iyasa also goes by the names Bongwe, Lyaasa, and Maasa. Dialects are Bweko, Vendo, Bodele, Marry, One, Asonga, Bomui, Mogana, Mooma, Mapanga. It may in turn be a dialect of Kombe. Speakers report that Kombe and Iyasa are almost perfectly mutually intelligible.[5]
- ^ a b c Iyasa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ "Did you know Iyasa is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- ^ Belew, Anna (2018). "Discourses of speakerhood in Iyasa: Linguistic identity and authenticity in an endangered language". Language Documentation & Conservation: 339–358. hdl:10125/24769. ISSN 1934-5275.
- ^ Bouh Ma Sitna, Charles Lwanga (2004). Le Syntagme Nominal du Yasa. University of Yaoundé I: Master's thesis.