Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Su, Isu, Isuwu, Suwu, Subu, Bimbia
CLASSIFICATION		Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Benue-Congo, Southern Bantoid
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		szv
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Bubia/Isubu” . Gratien Atindogbé and Doris Richter Genannt Kemmermann and Nancy Nyindem and Anne Storch (2006)

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
800
Native speakers worldwide

SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Mixed
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Isubu is used on a daily basis by the adults who are able to speak it within Bimbia. But the number of people living in Bimbia today is rather low. [...] Taken as a whole, the attitudes of the community members towards Bubia and Isubu are negative. However, adults are very sad about the situation and would have loved it to be different. Consequently, they are open to solutions that will remedy the situation and offer collaboration to any attempt to safeguard their linguistic patrimony. Obviously, they attach considerable value to their cultural heritage, but the trend is too strong and they feel that they cannot resist the influence of Kamtok, Mokpe and the two official languages: to succeed in the metropolises, one needs French and English. "

PLACES: Bimbia, Fako Division, South West Province, Cameroon

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<652
Native speakers worldwide

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Cameroon

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: "Cameroon, west of Douala and east of Victoria along coast, South West Province"

A few
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Today it is spoken by only a few speakers, including some children"

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Three villages on the coast and the islands on the foot of Mount Cameroon"

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<600
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"There are probably about 600 speakers and semi-speakers."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "The Isu language is clearly related to
Mokpe, or Bakweri, and indeed it has largely disappeared in favour Mokpe and Pidgin English."

PLACES: Cameroon

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Spoken in a single village, Bimbia, which is a few miles along the coast from Limbe, in northwest Cameroun."

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
800
Native speakers worldwide

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
800
Native speakers worldwide

			2006	Bubia/Isubu						Dokumentation Bedrohter Sprachen		Max Planck Institute	http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/bubia_isubu/	Gratien Atindogbé and Doris Richter Genannt Kemmermann and Nancy Nyindem and Anne Storch	Atindogbé, Gratien, Doris Richter genannt Kemmermann, Nancy Nyindem and Anne Storch. 2006. "Bubia/Isubu." Online: http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/bubia_isubu/.		800	100-999		English, Cameroonian Pidgin English	Mixed	"Isubu is used on a daily basis by the adults who are able to speak it within Bimbia. But the number of people living in Bimbia today is rather low. [...] Taken as a whole, the attitudes of the community members towards Bubia and Isubu are negative. However, adults are very sad about the situation and would have loved it to be different. Consequently, they are open to solutions that will remedy the situation and offer collaboration to any attempt to safeguard their linguistic patrimony. Obviously, they attach considerable value to their cultural heritage, but the trend is too strong and they feel that they cannot resist the influence of Kamtok, Mokpe and the two official languages: to succeed in the metropolises, one needs French and English. "	Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Bimbia, Fako Division, South West Province, Cameroon
9783110170498			2007	Endangered Languages in Central Africa	Language Diversity Endangered	163-178	Matthias Brenzinger	Mouton de Gruyter	Berlin					Bruce Connell	Bruce Connell. 2007. "Endangered Languages in Central Africa." In Language Diversity Endangered, edited by Matthias Brenzinger. 163-178. Mouton de Gruyter.		800	100-999		Duala, Mokpe			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
			2010	Isu fish names									http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Bantu/A20/Isu/Isu%%20fish%%20names.pdf	Roger Blench	Roger Blench. 2010. "Isu Fish Names." Online: http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Bantu/A20/Isu/Isu%%20fish%%20names.pdf.		<600	100-999	"There are probably about 600 speakers and semi-speakers."	Mokpe, Cameroon Pidgin English		"The Isu language is clearly related to Mokpe, or Bakweri, and indeed it has largely disappeared in favour Mokpe and Pidgin English."	Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Cameroon	"Spoken in a single village, Bimbia, which is a few miles along the coast from Limbe, in northwest Cameroun."	3.955366, 9.244283
		3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris				http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	800	100-999					Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				4.0094,9.5745
	Contributions to the sociology of language, #64		1992	A survey on language death in Africa	Language death: factual and theoretical explorations with special reference to East Africa	402	Brenzinger, Matthias	Mouton de Gruyter	Berlin & New York					Sommer, Gabriele	Gabriele Sommer. 1992. "A Survey On Language Death in Africa." In Language death: factual and theoretical explorations with special reference to East Africa, edited by Matthias Brenzinger. 402. Mouton de Gruyter.	EBALL	<652	100-999		Duala			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	"Cameroon, west of Douala and east of Victoria along coast, South West Province"	Cameroon
9780700711970			2007	Africa	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages		Christopher Moseley	Routledge			7			Gerrit J. Dimmendaal and F. K. Erhard Voeltz	Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. and F. K. Erhard Voeltz. 2007. "Africa." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. Routledge.		A few		"Today it is spoken by only a few speakers, including some children"							"Three villages on the coast and the islands on the foot of Mount Cameroon"

Isubu

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<652

A few

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<600

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Discussion

Isubu

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<652

A few

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<600

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Discussion

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