Bikya language
From Free net encyclopedia
Bikya (also known as Furu) is a language of the Niger-Congo family that is spoken in Cameroon. It is unknown if this language is still extant. In 1986 four surviving speakers were identified, although only one (a man in his seventies) spoke the language fluently.
Bikya is probably best know for the work of English linguist Dr. David Dalby who filmed an 87 year old African woman, who spoke Bikya as her native tongue. All records indicate that she was the last fluent speaker of the tongue. The archival footage was shot to perserve the lanuage before it was lost forever.
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Bibliography
- Breton, Roland (1995) 'Les Furu et leur voisins', Cahier Sciences Humaines, 31, 1, 17–48.
- Breton, Roland (1993) 'Is there a Furu Language Group? An investigation on the Cameroon-Nigeria Border', The Journal of West African Languages, 23, 2, 97–98.