Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 2, 2026

Bomitaba language

Bomitaba (Mbomitaba) is a Bantu language of the Republic of Congo, with a couple hundred speakers in the Central African Republic.

Last revised
Jun 2, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
194 w
Citations
5
Source
Bomitaba
Native toRepublic of Congo, Central African Republic
Native speakers
(9,800 cited 2000)1
Dialects
  • Northern (Matoki)
  • Central (Epena)
Language codes
ISO 639-3zmx
Glottologbomi1238
C142

Bomitaba (Mbomitaba) is a Bantu language of the Republic of Congo, with a couple hundred speakers in the Central African Republic.

Maho (2009) lists the C141 Enyele (Inyele), C142 Bondongo languages, which do not have ISO codes, as being closest to Bomitaba,2 as well as C143 Mbonzo (also known as Bonjo or Impfondo), which does have an ISO code.3

Bomitaba is spoken in the northern part of the Congo, particularly on the banks of the Likouala-aux-Herbes river north of Epena. South of Epena the people identify as ethnically Bomitaba but speak the Dibole language, as the term 'Bomitaba' likely arose only during the colonial period.4

References

References

  1. Bomitaba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2023. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-sixth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bok/
  4. LEITCH, Myles, and Myles Leich. “LANGUAGE AND DIALECT IN EPENA DISTRICT SOUTH.” Annales Aequatoria, vol. 30, 2009, pp. 808-9. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25836953. Accessed 27 May 2023.