"Cross-generational transmission is sound; most speakers are bilingual with the majority language of the area. Yet the significantly disparaged status of the Baka ethnic group, acculturation threatening the populations close to urban areas, the spread of these urban areas, inter-ethnic marriage, often-forced processes of sedentism, and the damage caused to the forests, overall, severely endangers the Baka population."

"The Baka population is one of the only hunter-gatherer populations whose language is not a Bantu language. We suppose that all these populations, at one point or the other, adopted the language of a close, current or ancient neighbor. Thus the Baka language is a sister to Ngbaka Ma’bo... There are several varieties of Baka, despite a fair level of mutual understanding between the different speakers. Each of these varieties is strongly affected by languages of the neighboring populations (for instance, Fang, in Gabon)... The deforestation, the exploitation of subsurface resources... forces a part of the population to migrate towards the urban centers where they find themselves left behind, mistreated, underpaid, and overall, disparaged. They face discrimination on a daily basis...The Baka are viewed at the very bottom of the social ladder. Adding to which, in some countries, they fall under policies of forced sedentism."

"The Baka language is neither formally recognized nor broadcast through the media. A few education programs, however, usually upon the initiative of religious communities, advocate for bilingual education (learning how to read in mother tongue, for instance). These methods include ORA in Cameroon, and Rapidolangue (Raponda Walker foundation) in Gabon. A radio project geared towards the forest populations is being put together in Congo but doesn’t directly involve the Baka at this point, even though they are hunter-gatherer communities."

"Baka are unique... as only two of the fifteen ethnic groups with whom Baka have social and economic relations speak languages from the same linguistic family. This, of course, does not limit Baka communication since they are fluent in the language of their farming neighbors. Yet the reverse is seldom true in that their farming neighbors infrequently speak the Baka language."

"The Baka are often looked down upon by the [neighboring] Fang.. The Fang have successfully convinced the Baka that they are inferior to them, due to the fact that they are not schooled and therefore uneducated... The majority of the Baka, thus persuaded of their inferiority, are proud to show that they can speak Fang... [they are] spending more and more time in the company of Fang, speaking the language of their neighbors to the detriment of their own."